Complete Streets in the United States

Complete Street policies help make streets safe and comfortable for all users – motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians, including children, disabled and older persons and public transportation patrons. Creating an inviting street environment promotes healthy and active lifestyles and provides alternatives to driving, thus addressing climate change and reducing dependence on foreign oil. Such policies have already been adopted by more than 175 public agencies, including 39 states, throughout the United States, and legislation has been introduced in the US Congress to ensure that new federally-funded road projects must also take the needs of multiple users into account. This paper discusses the growth of the Complete Streets movement and its role in road design and planning processes, particularly in relation to Context Sensitive Solutions. The paper then goes on to describe how the geometric design of our urban arterials and collector streets can provide more room for nonmotorized travelers, make street crossings easier for pedestrians, and help to control traffic speeds, thus reducing pedestrian, bicycle and automobile crashes. Finally, it shows how this can be done within existing rights-of-way and within tight maintenance and construction budgets, thus making better use of taxpayer dollars. A discussion of cost considerations concludes this paper.

• 
• Corporate Authors:

  Transportation Research Board

  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Authors:
  • LaPlante, John N
  • McCann, Barbara
• Conference:
  • Transportation Research Board 90th Annual Meeting
  • Location: Washington DC, United States
  • Date: 2011-1-23 to 2011-1-27
• Date: 2011

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: DVD
• Features: References; Tables;
• Pagination: 11p
• Monograph Title: TRB 90th Annual Meeting Compendium of Papers DVD

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Climate change; Complete streets; Context sensitive design; Planning and design; Policy making; Right of way (Traffic); Sustainable development
• Geographic Terms: United States
• Subject Areas: Design; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01332995
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: 11-0413
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: Mar 21 2011 2:13PM