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Complete Streets

America Walks fully endorses the concept of "Complete Streets" which calls for road design that enables safe access and travel for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages and abilities. "Complete Streets" aims to remedy decades of transportation planning that prioritized cars over other modes. The goal is for streets to include elements like sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes and wide shoulders to accommodate different modes of transportation while not sacrificing pedestrian safety. America Walks will work with groups like the Complete Streets Coalition to promote this approach through education and advocacy.

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Heidi Simon
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164 views

Complete Streets

America Walks fully endorses the concept of "Complete Streets" which calls for road design that enables safe access and travel for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages and abilities. "Complete Streets" aims to remedy decades of transportation planning that prioritized cars over other modes. The goal is for streets to include elements like sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes and wide shoulders to accommodate different modes of transportation while not sacrificing pedestrian safety. America Walks will work with groups like the Complete Streets Coalition to promote this approach through education and advocacy.

Uploaded by

Heidi Simon
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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America Walks Position Statement:

COMPLETE STREETS
Creating complete streets for pedestrians requires that
we design streets that promote pedestrian use by
prioritizing safety and access to destinations and
encourage the development of a pleasant environment.
For most of the second half of the 20th Century, road
design was predicated on the needs of motorist, with the
result that many American cities are now crisscrossed by
wide, high-speed arterials and freeways and suburban
communities feature road networks that lack sidewalks,
crosswalks and other pedestrian infrastructure.

America Walks Position on


Complete Streets:
America Walks fully endorses the
concept of complete streets as a
cornerstone of efforts to improve
pedestrian safety and enhance the
walking environment.

Objectives:

The lack of safe and welcoming places to walk has had a


two-fold and self-reinforcing effect: 1) fewer Americans
walk; and 2) those that do walk are at great risk of being
injured or even killed.
The percentage of commuters walking to work (the most
consistent measure of walking rates) has declined from
5.6% in 1980, to just 2.5% in 2005 a drop of more than
55%. Pedestrian fatalities have declined as well, from
8,070 in 1980, to 4,881 in 2005. But the drop in fatalities
(39.5%) has not kept pace with the decline in walking
rates. The risk of being killed or injured as a pedestrian,
per mile walked, has increased over time.

Make complete streets the


underlying principle of
transportation engineering
and planning in communities
across the country.

To meet these objectives,


America Walks will:

Work with existing groups


such as the Complete
Streets Coalition to promote
complete streets.

What You Can Do Locally:

Join the Complete Streets


Coalition.

Educate your local elected


officials about complete
streets.

Complete Streets is a response to the lack of infrastructure for pedestrians and other non-motorists.
The idea is that complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users.
Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along
and across a complete street.
While there is no set formula for a complete street, it will typically have some or all of the following
elements:
Sidewalks
Bus pullouts
Bike lanes
Special bus lanes
Wide shoulders
Raised crosswalks
Plenty of crosswalks
Audible pedestrian signals
Refuge medians
Sidewalk bulb-outs
Incorporating bike lanes, wide shoulders, bus pullouts and/or special bus lanes might widen streets.
The result could be a street that, while having infrastructure to accommodate more modes, is less
safe for pedestrians and therefore not complete. Planners must be careful not to sacrifice pedestrian
safety while trying to complete the street.
A growing movement led by the Complete Streets Coalition is taking hold across the country. The
City of Chicago recently adopted a complete streets policy, and Sacramento, California has
reaffirmed a 2004 agreement to complete the streets. Meanwhile, more than 70 percent of voters in
Honolulu, Hawaii supported a ballot measure asking the citys transportation department to make
pedestrians and cyclists a priority in transportation planning.
Rehabilitating decades of myopic, car-centric transportation planning to complete the streets will take
the support of all levels of government national, state, regional, county and local and the
involvement of multiple disciplines and a range of stakeholders.
For more information, visit www.americawalks.org.

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