Wiki Wednesday: Complete Streets
With all the brouhaha over Broadway Boulevard lately, we thought it would be a good time to revisit the concept of Complete Streets. In a recent StreetsWiki entry, Andy Hamilton gets back to the basics.
A Complete Street is a roadway designed to safely accommodate all users-- pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, transit riders, and those with adisability. For decades, traffic engineers have designed streets,particularly urban arterials, primarily for the efficient movement ofprivate motor vehicles. Residents across the U.S. are demanding streetfeatures that consider the needs of other users.
Word. In fact, with Congressional legislation in the hopper and the backing of one of the nation's most powerful lobbies, the AARP, the Complete Streets movement may be poised to go mainstream in time for next year's federal transportation funding reauthorization. Writes Hamilton:
Since the early 2000's, state laws, local ordinances, and regionaltransportation funding agencies have begun a quiet revolution, adoptingComplete Streets policies (though not usually using this term). Suchpolicies are not one-size-fits-all, and need not be threatening totraffic engineers. They generally require that, depending on thecontext, roadway construction projects must include consideration ofits various users.
Now that higher gas prices have everyone from seniors to school kids looking at car-free means of transport, there is a lot of Complete Streets news to pass along. If you'd like to contribute to this or any other StreetsWiki entry -- or add one of your own -- you can start by joining the Livable Streets Network.
Photo: American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog Los Angeles
Brightline West Breaks Ground on Vegas to SoCal High-Speed Rail
Brightline West will be a 218-mile 186-mile-per-hour rail line from Vegas to Rancho Cucamonga - about 40 miles east of downtown L.A. - expected to open in 2028
This Week In Livable Streets
Active Streets Mission-to-Mission, LAPD reports on its use of force in 2023, Pasadena Transit plans, Metro subway construction, and more
Eyes on the Street: Santa Monica Connection from E Line Bike Path to Downtown Is Almost Complete
“Always be closing gaps in your bikeway network.”
CicLAvia Opens Venice Boulevard – Open Thread
CicLAvia opened six miles of Venice Boulevard - from Culver City Station to Venice Beach
