Complete streets is a transportation policy and design approach that requires streets to be planned, designed, operated and maintained to enable safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode of transportation. Complete Streets allow for safe travel by those

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults o ...

cycling Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from tw ...

, driving automobiles, riding

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

ation, or delivering goods. The term is often used by transportation advocates,

urban planners An urban planner (also known as town planner) is a professional who practices in the field of town planning, urban planning or city planning. An urban planner may focus on a specific area of practice and have a title such as city planner, town ...

, traffic and highway engineers, public health practitioners, and community members in the United States and Canada. Complete Streets are promoted as offering improved safety, health, economic, and environmental outcomes. Complete Streets emphasize the importance of safe access for all users, not just automobiles. Related concepts include

living street A living street is a street designed with the interests of pedestrians and cyclists in mind by providing enriching and experiential spaces. Living streets also act as social spaces, allowing children to play and encouraging social interactions o ...

Woonerf A woonerf () is a living street, as originally implemented in the Netherlands and in Flanders (Belgium). Techniques include shared space, traffic calming, and low speed limits. The term "woonerf" has been adopted directly by some English-langu ...

, and

home zone A home zone (or play street) is a living street (or group of streets) as implemented in the United Kingdom, which are designed primarily to meet the needs of pedestrians, cyclists, children and residents and where the speeds and dominance of cars ...

History

After World War II, many communities in the United States were designed to facilitate easy and fast access to destinations via

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

. In rural and

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

communities, people often rely on the automobile as their sole means of transportation and even in areas with public transportation and safe places to walk and bicycle, they live in a state of automobile dependence wherein automobiles are the central focus of transportation, infrastructure and land use policies to the extent that other modes of transportation, such as walking, cycling and mass transit, have become impractical. Oregon enacted the first Complete Streets-like policy in the United States in 1971, requiring that new or rebuilt roads accommodate bicycles and

pedestrian A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

s, and also calling on state and local governments to fund pedestrian and bicycle facilities in the public

right-of-way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

. Since then, 16 additional state legislatures have adopted Complete Streets laws. In 2003, Barbara McCann, who would later become the Executive Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, coordinated a search for a replacement for the term "routine accommodation." The term "complete streets" was suggested by David Goldberg, the communications director for Smart Growth America, and it was adopted by a coalition of advocacy groups to refer both to a comprehensive approach to street design and to the coalition itself. The National Complete Streets Coalition was founded in 2005 by a coalition of advocacy and trade groups, including

AARP AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons) is an interest group in the United States focusing on issues affecting those over the age of fifty. The organization said it had more than 38 million members in 2018. The magazi ...

, the

American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...

and the

American Society of Landscape Architects The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) is a professional association for landscape architects in the United States. The ASLA's mission is to advance landscape architecture through advocacy, communication, education, and fellowshi ...

. The

American Public Transportation Association The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit group of approximately 1,500 public and private sector member organizations that promotes and advocates for the interests of the public transportation industry in the United S ...

Blue Cross Blue Shield Minnesota Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ob ...

, the

National Association of Realtors The National Association of Realtors (NAR) is an American trade association for those who work in the real estate industry. It has over 1.4 million members, making it one of the biggest trade associations in the USA including NAR's institutes, so ...

, and the

Institute of Transportation Engineers The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) is an international educational and scientific association of transportation professionals who are responsible for meeting mobility and safety needs. ITE facilitates the application of technology and ...

are examples of other current Coalition Steering Committee members. Federal complete streets legislation was proposed in 2008 and 2009, but failed to become law. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Transportation issued a policy statement on bicycle and pedestrian accommodation, declaring its support for their inclusion in federal-aid transportation projects and encouraging community organizations, public transportation agencies, and state and local governments to adopt similar policies. By early 2013, more than 490 jurisdictions in United States had adopted a Complete Streets policy, including twenty-seven states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Some of these jurisdictions passed legislation enacting their policies into law, while others chose to implemented their policies by executive order or internal policy. Still more jurisdictions have passed non-binding resolutions in support of Complete Streets, or created transportation plans that incorporate Complete Streets principles.

Design elements

The specific design elements of Complete Streets vary, based on context and project goals, but they may include: * Pedestrian infrastructure such as

sidewalks A sidewalk (North American English), pavement (British English), footpath in Australia, India, New Zealand and Ireland, or footway, is a path along the side of a street, highway, terminals. Usually constructed of concrete, pavers, brick, stone ...

; traditional and raised

crosswalks A pedestrian crossing (or crosswalk in American English) is a place designated for pedestrians to cross a road, street or avenue. The term "pedestrian crossing" is also used in the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, both of which pertain to road sig ...

; median crossing islands;

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 196 ...

compliant facilities including audible cues for people with low vision, pushbuttons reachable by people in wheelchairs, and

curb cuts A curb cut ( U.S.), curb ramp, depressed curb, dropped kerb ( UK), pram ramp, or kerb ramp ( Australia) is a solid (usually concrete) ramp graded down from the top surface of a sidewalk to the surface of an adjoining street. It is designed primaril ...

; and

curb extension A curb extension (or also neckdown, kerb extension, bulb-out, bump-out, kerb build-out, nib, elephant ear, curb bulge, curb bulb, or blister) is a traffic calming measure which widens the sidewalk for a short distance. This reduces the crossing ...

s. *

Traffic calming Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims to encourage safe ...

measures to lower speeds of automobiles and define the edges of automobile travel lanes, including a

road diet A road diet, also called a lane reduction, road rechannelization, or road conversion is a technique in transportation planning whereby the number of travel lanes and/or effective width of the road is reduced in order to achieve systemic improveme ...

, center medians, shorter curb corner radii, elimination of free-flow right-turn lanes, angled, face-out parking, street trees, planter strips and ground cover. * Bicycle accommodations, such as protected or dedicated

bicycle lane Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor ...

s, neighborhood greenways, wide

paved shoulder Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway al ...

s, and bicycle parking. * Public transit accommodations, such as

bus rapid transit Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...

, bus pullouts, transit signal priority, bus shelters, and dedicated bus lanes. Such elements have been used successfully in projects across the United States as shown in the following examples: * In Orlando, Florida, a road diet was employed to reduce Edgewater Drive from 4 lanes to 3 with bike lanes and streetscape beautifications. The change reduced crashes 35 percent and increased bicycling and walking 23 and 30 percent respectively. The change also helped spur economic development and was claimed to enhance the neighborhood's

sense of place The term sense of place has been used in many different ways. It is a multidimensional, complex construct used to characterize the relationship between people and spatial settings. It is a characteristic that some geographic places have and some ...

. * In

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

, a redesign on East Boulevard completed in three phases converted a 4 lanes into 3 lanes and improved left-turn access for vehicles. * In New York City, transit improvements through

Select Bus Service Select Bus Service (SBS; stylized as +busservice) is a brand used by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s Regional Bus Operations for limited-stop bus routes with some bus rapid transit features in New York City. The first SBS rout ...

included off-board fare payment to speed boarding times and dedicated lanes for buses. As a result, bus speeds increased 20 percent and total number of bus riders increased 10 percent. In addition, Fordham Road's locally based businesses saw a 71 percent increase in retail sales, compared to 23 percent borough-wide.New York City Department of Transportation (2012). ''Measuring the Street: New Metrics for 21st Century Streets'' *

Marin County, California Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is across ...

added bike lanes to the busy Alameda del Prado roadway. As a result, the area saw a 366 percent increase in weekday bicyclists and 540 percent increase in weekend bicyclists. Complete Streets policies normally allow for three kinds of exceptions to roadway projects roadways: freeways or other roads where non-motorized transportation is banned by law; roadways where the cost of accommodation would be too disproportionate to the need or expected use; and roadways where lack of present and future need is shown to make accommodation unnecessary.

Benefits

Proponents of Complete Streets policies believe that they improve safety, lower transportation costs, provide transportation alternatives, encourage health through walking and biking, stimulate local economies, create a sense of place, improve social interaction, and generally improve adjacent property values. Opponents may consider automobile-only infrastructure to be a better use of public funds, or consider efforts to encourage other forms of transportation to be coercive. Individual projects and policies have sometimes faced specific local opposition, typically based on concerns over traffic flow and automobile access. Complete Streets Diagram

Safety

Complete streets policies are meant in part to improve safety, and various studies suggest that Complete Streets principles have done so. A

Federal Highway Administration The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

safety review found that designing the street with pedestrians in mind—sidewalks, raised medians, turning access controls, better bus stop placement, better lighting,

traffic calming Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims to encourage safe ...

measures, and treatments for disabled travelers—all improve pedestrian, bicyclist and motorist safety. Rates of pedestrian injuries and fatalities decrease 88% when sidewalks are added, 69% hybrid beacon signals are added, and 39% when medians are added. The University of Oregon published a before and after study of 25 complete street projects and found significant automobile speed crash reductions for projects throughout the country.

Health

A variety of reports and organizations have suggested that complete streets policies could improve

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

by promoting walking and bicycling. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend adoption of a Complete Streets policy as a strategy to prevent

obesity Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...

. A report of the National Conference of State Legislatures named Complete Streets policies as the most effective policy avenue for encouraging bicycling and walking.Shinkle, Douglas, & Teigen, Anne. (2008)
Encouraging Bicycling and Walking: The State Legislative Role
National Conference of State Legislatures. One study found that 43% of people with safe places to walk within 10 minutes of home met recommended physical activity levels, while just 27% of those without safe places to walk were active enough. The

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...

recommends fighting

childhood obesity Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or well-being. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence ...

by changing

ordinances Ordinance may refer to: Law * Ordinance (Belgium), a law adopted by the Brussels Parliament or the Common Community Commission * Ordinance (India), a temporary law promulgated by the President of India on recommendation of the Union Cabinet * Or ...

to encourage construction of sidewalks, bikeways, and other places for

physical activity Physical activity is defined as any voluntary bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure.Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, 2009. World Health Organization. Geneva, Switzerland. Accessed 13/ ...

. A report of the

National Conference of State Legislators The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), established in 1975, is a "nonpartisan public officials’ association composed of sitting state legislators" from the states, territories and commonwealths of the United States. Background ...

found that complete streets policies are the most effective policy avenue for encouraging bicycling and walking. Over one third of regular public transit users meet the minimum daily requirement for physical activity.

Economic

Proponents of Complete Streets believe that as communities become safer, more attractive, and provide more transportation choices, local economies thrive an
land values rise
Successful Complete Streets implementation has helped some communities stimulate local economies. A revitalization project in Lancaster, CA helped create 50 new businesses and over 800 new jobs. After a 2007 Complete Streets redesign in parts of New York City, there was a nearly 50% increase in retail sales on 9th Avenue in Manhattan and a nearly 50% decrease in commercial vacancies in Union Square. Transit and bicycle/pedestrian projects create more construction jobs than traditional roadway jobs: Complete Streets projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 created more jobs than projects on road repair and new construction. Under the stimulus, transit projects created nearly twice the job hours for every $1 billion than highway projects. Pedestrian and bicycle projects create between 1.8 and 3.8 more jobs than auto-only projects. This job creation, however, is not a

free lunch A free lunch is the providing of a meal at no cost, usually as a sales enticement to attract customers and increase revenues from other business. It was once a common tradition in saloons and taverns in many places in the United States, with th ...

since it requires greater government expenditure.

Environment

Complete Streets can also have
positive effect on the environment
By providing safe options for people to walk and bike, Complete Streets can lead to fewer people driving in their cars, resulting in lowered automobile emissions. The 2009 National Household Travel Survey found that 39% of all trips in metropolitan areas are three miles or less and 17% of all trips are one mile or less. Most of these trips can easily be made on foot or bicycle and Complete Streets provide the infrastructure to allow people to safely do so. Traveling by foot or bike are zero-emission means of travel. Communities with strong Complete Streets policies and implementation, including Boulder, Colorado, see a reduction in their emissions. Over the last several years, fewer people in Boulder drove alone and bicycle and transit trips increased. As a result, the city cut annual carbon dioxide emissions by half a million pounds.

Benefits in policy

In addition to benefits provided by infrastructural elements of Complete Streets, the development of Complete Streets policy encourages facilitation of community inclusiveness and educational opportunities as well as establishes a context sensitive approach in design and implementation of transportation improvements. At a total of 899 currently enacted Complete Streets policy documents within U.S, states and territories, the 82 Complete Streets policies passed and enacted in communities in 2015 have been analyzed by the National Complete Streets Coalition in collaboration with Smart Growth America under a policy grading-rubric consisting of comprehensive elements. In this analysis the Coalition found that community outreach and context sensitivity were important characteristics included throughout the documented examples and were weighted considerably in determining the efficiency and effectiveness of examined policies. Complete Streets implementation is complementary in making sure transportation projects fit within their context in that implementation goals provided within policy align with

context sensitive solutions Context-sensitive solutions (CSS) is a theoretical and practical approach to transportation decision-making and design that takes into consideration the communities and lands through which streets, roads, and highways pass ("the context"). The term ...

such as instructing municipalities to include public meetings, maintained communication with stake-holders, and street transportation use classification. Additionally, community outreach that is promoted and achieved through educational opportunities of Complete Streets principles helps establish community social connectivity and encourages participation in active transportation modes. In 2003, the Partnership for Active Communities established a five-year plan to bring together multidisciplinary organizations with the goal of moving toward Complete Streets and improving transportation facilities in the Sacramento, California area. Inter-organizational partnerships and a comprehensive communication plan within the effort lead to awareness of safety issues associated active transportation methods along under-designed infrastructure. Educational opportunities within the project helped solidify connectivity among community members and organizations while working to remedy transportation issues with influence in policy changes.

Counterarguments

Critics have coined the term "incomplete streets" to refer to this trending redesign of roadways, arguing that a standardized redesign of streets neglects the history and social character of public spaces.Incomplete Streets Processes, practices, and possibilities Edited By Stephen Zavestoski, Julian Agyeman. Routledge, 2015 Projects have been criticized for the use of standardized, less durable design tools that do not compliment pre-existing spatial characters. Some have claimed that transportation engineers in the US have become too focused on separating cyclists from pedestrians and motorists. This may limit cyclists’ perceptions of where it is acceptable to cycle. It can also compel people to ride on a bike path even if they prefer to ride in traffic. In his 1970s book,

Effective Cycling Effective Cycling is a trademarked cycling educational program designed by John Forester, which was the national education program of the League of American Wheelmen for a number of years until Forester withdrew permission for them to use the na ...

, John Forester advocated for what became known as

vehicular cycling Vehicular cycling (also known as bicycle driving) is the practice of riding bicycles on roads in a manner that is in accordance with the principles for driving in traffic, and in a way that places responsibility for safety on the individual. The ...

References

''This page was adapted, with permission, from informational materials developed by th
National Complete Streets Coalition
This information is in the public domain, and is not copyrighted material.''

External links

National Complete Streets Coalition

Livable Communities Resource Guide

Michigan Complete Streets Coalition
{{DEFAULTSORT:Complete Streets Living streets Sustainable urban planning Sustainable transport Transportation planning Cycling infrastructure Cycling safety Walking Parkways