Westminster engages the community in a mobile needs assessment at a park-n-ride bus station. Photo via Westminster’s Mobility Action Plan.
Through our first Complete Streets Consortium Series, the National Complete Streets Coalition has been working with three Tennessee regions to foster state-wide collaboration and overcome barriers to safer, more equitable streets.
Now, we are excited to announce that a trio of Colorado cities has won our second-ever Complete Streets Consortium technical assistance. The Cities of Arvada, Aurora, and Westminster applied for and won the award collaboratively, and will together receive a set of three free technical assistance workshops. Each of the winning cities will host one of the workshops, which will be tailored to the region’s specific opportunities and challenges including creating first/last mile connections to new transit stations.
“This award is a testament to the hard work that’s already happening in these communities,” said John Robert Smith, Senior Policy Advisor at Smart Growth America. “I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with many mayors from the state of Colorado and have been consistently impressed with the level of strong local leadership I’ve seen there. At our first Consortium Series in Tennessee, the energy and participation has been invigorating, and I know we can count on Colorado to bring the same enthusiasm to their involvement.”
“A region can’t thrive if some people are struggling just to get to the grocery store,” said Emiko Atherton, Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America. “Often, overcoming that challenge takes regional cooperation. Through our Tennessee Consortium Series, we’ve learned how important it is to bring together multiple agencies to learn from one another, share strategies and successes, and foster new, stronger partnerships. We’re excited to continue this work with Arvada, Aurora, and Westminster.”
The series of workshops will provide participants with tools and strategies to implement Complete Streets that advance economic, health, and community vibrancy goals. Discussions will focus on how to create a safe and inviting transportation network for everyone in the community, including bicyclists, drivers, transit operators and users, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.
Congratulations to the winning cities. We can’t wait to get started!
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This technical assistance is funded through a grant to Smart Growth America from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Sustainable Communities under their Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have partnered with EPA through this grant to support the Complete Streets Consortium Workshop series. EPA’s Building Blocks program funds quick, targeted assistance to communities that face common development problems. Through the program, Smart Growth America has already provided free assistance to more than 85 communities across the United States from Hawaii to Maine.