By Stefanie Seskin, on January 29th, 2010 in Local, Policy
Tupelo, Mississippi is best known as the birthplace of Elvis Presley, but its fame may grow even larger next week. At Tuesday’s meeting, the City Council is set to vote on a complete streets ordinance. If passed, Tupelo’s policy will be the first in the state - setting a great precedent for other Mississippi communities.
In 2009, the Trust for America’s Health found Mississippi to have the highest percentage of overweight and obese adults and children in the country, as well as the lowest levels of physical activity among adults.
Tupelo Mayor Mayor Jack Reed Jr., who took office in July, has named improved public health and quality life among his priorities. He campaigned on making the city one of the healthiest in the state, and challenged residents to walk, jog, or run a total of 26.2 miles - the equivalent of a marathon - during the month of November.
His ultimate goal is for Tupelo to be named the “Healthiest Town in Mississippi” by the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation. The insurer has challenged communities across the state to encourage and reward health and wellness, awarding three $25,000 grants to towns with proven progress. Additionally, the municipality that has made the most significant strides and has demonstrated the highest level of commitment will receive the “Healthiest Town” title, along with a $50,000 grant.
Mayor Reed has been very supportive of the complete streets ordinance, understanding that a continuous network of safe facilities for pedestrian and bicyclist facilities will encourage active living. “In the past sidewalks for example have been kind of helter skelter…this is just a way to rededicate ourselves to more sidewalks more safe walking paths, biking paths, [and] trails,” said Mayor Reed.
The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal ran an editorial supporting the policy, stating “Streets, built and/or maintained with everyone’s taxes, and with costs recouped if paid by developers, maintained with all taxpayers’ money, should serve the interest of all users.”
Tupelo’s Department of Development Services spearheaded the ordinance effort, and complete streets principles are included in the pedestrian and bicycle plan and new development code currently being developed by the city. Tupelo drafted its excellent ordinance after consulting with planners in Arkansas and Alabama communities with complete streets policies.
Tupelo, home to 35,000, draws an additional 100,000 Elvis fans every year. With a Mayor dedicated to active, healthy living, and City committed to a strong complete streets policy, people from all over will be dusting off their blue suede shoes and taking to the streets.
By Barbara McCann, on January 26th, 2010 in Federal, News
The entire U.S. Department of Transportation leadership was in snowy Minneapolis yesterday to hear from local elected officials, DOT heads from four states, agency officials, transportation researchers, and advocates in the second stop of their Reauthorization Listening Tour.
They heard plenty about complete streets. During the plenary session, Minnesota DOT Secretary Tom Sorel spoke about his support for complete streets and his work with the statewide coalition on a bill soon to be introduced in the state legislature. I gave a short presentation on the safety and livability aspects (.pdf) of complete streets in Minnesota and nationwide.
Every breakout session featured at least one complete streets proponent, including Ethan Fawley, head of the Minnesota Complete Streets Coalition; Richard Murphy, President of the Minnesota chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects; and Mayor John Robert Smith, President and CEO of Reconnecting America and co-chair of the Transportation for America campaign.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota’s Michael Huber discussed the insurer’s commitment to prevention and its support of a variety of programs to promote active living, including complete streets. With their support, we brought complete streets workshops to communities across Minnesota that are actively pursuing complete streets policies locally. Several elected officials, including Councilmember Steve Elkins of Bloomington and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, spoke about their complete streets efforts.
For the most part, Secretary Ray LaHood simply listened to the presenters, speaking briefly to introduce the all-star lineup. He did, however, say he believes Americans truly want more transportation options, and the re-authorization should deliver such choices. U.S. Representative James Oberstar co-hosted the gathering and stated several times that complete streets fits squarely into his concept of livability in the new transportation authorization.
While both Secretary LaHood and Representative Oberstar expressed their strong belief that a federal transportation authorization is of critical and immediate importance, there was little indication that the bill will be moving forward in the near future. In the meantime, support for complete streets provisions in that bill continues to grow.
By Stefanie Seskin, on January 11th, 2010 in Resources
Today’s post comes from Margo Pedroso, Deputy Director of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership.
From 1969 to 2001, the percentage of students walking and bicycling to school in the United States has declined dramatically from 41 percent to 13 percent. The majority of these active and healthy trips have been replaced by parents driving their children to school—resulting in traffic congestion and safety issues around schools, and less physical activity for children.
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has over 400 partner organizations, including the National Complete Streets Coalition. Together, we are working to advocate for and to strengthen the practice of safely walking and bicycling to and from schools across the country. To do this, we’re working with local, state, and national partners to create policy and infrastructure changes to improve safety and access to schools.
Before we can reverse the downward trend in walking and bicycling, it’s important to understand why there have been such dramatic changes in our children get to school. When you listen to parents and researchers, key reasons that emerge relate to distance to school and safety concerns. Distance must be addressed by locating schools closer to the neighborhoods of the students they serve. But, even for children who live within a mile of school, only half currently walk or bicycle to school. Parents are choosing to drive children who live close to school because of safety concerns about the amount of traffic on the roads, the speed of traffic, lack of sidewalks and crosswalks, and concerns about crime.
In essence, many parents are choosing to drive their children because their neighborhoods have incomplete streets: streets lacking essential safety features for pedestrians and bicyclists, and where speed and volume of cars has been the main priority in designing the streets.
That’s where the federal Safe Routes to School program, which was created by the 2005 SAFETEA-LU federal transportation bill, comes in. Through Safe Routes to School, state Departments of Transportation have provided $600 million from fiscal years 2005 to 2009 to make it safer for more children to walk and bicycle to school. Through Safe Routes to School funding, communities are conducting bicycle and pedestrian safety education, enforcing speed limits and traffic rules, holding promotional events to encourage more children to walk and bicycle, and are making engineering improvements around schools.
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership recently issued a new report, Safe Routes to School: Putting Traffic Safety First (.pdf), to explore the safety benefits from Safe Routes to School interventions and to highlight local success stories. Springfield, Missouri has slowed driver speeds and increased usage of crosswalks by adding flashing school zone speed limit signage, repainting crosswalks, and reducing speed limits. Thanks to a comprehensive child pedestrian safety program and infrastructure improvements around schools, Miami-Dade County has experienced a 43 percent decrease in the number of children struck by cars. The program is working. And, Safe Routes to School benefits the whole community: one study found that 65 million Americans in urban areas live within a half-mile of a school, demonstrating how Safe Routes to School improvements have a broad benefit for people of all ages.
Unfortunately, the demand for Safe Routes to School funding exceeds what is available. The National Safe Routes to School Task Force concluded that the federal Safe Routes to School funding will only serve about 7.5 percent of schools in the nation, and even for those schools, most will have additional needs not covered through the federal funding. This is why it’s critical that local and state agencies throughout the national also adopt and implement complete streets policies – to design, build and retrofit our roads for all users. Applying Complete Streets design principles around and on routes to schools will result in neighborhoods where parents and children feel safe while walking and bicycling to school—without having to retrofit streets using limited Safe Routes to School funds.
Our state Safe Routes to School networks, which are now operating in 20 states, often select complete streets policies as a primary focus of their efforts to create a supportive policy environment for walking and bicycling to school. Networks in California, Louisiana and New York have had successes with Complete Streets policies (.pdf) in the past few years and we look forward to expanding this work in 2010 and 2011.
These synergies are why the Safe Routes to School National Partnership strongly supports Complete Streets, and is a member of the National Complete Streets Coalition.
By Barbara McCann, on December 30th, 2009 in News
 Ben Rockwell tries to squeeze past a lamppost on Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach, CA. (Photo: Bob Chamberlin, Los Angeles Times) Just before the holidays, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) settled two long-running ADA lawsuits filed by disability rights advocates over poor access for people with disabilities on state roads. Under the settlement, Caltrans has agreed to spend $1.1 billion over the next 30 years to make existing sidewalks accessible. The agency will upgrade existing curb ramps that do not comply with access laws and install curb ramps where needed when resurfacing or reconstructing roadways. The settlement applies to 2,500 miles of existing sidewalk, crosswalks, and 300 park-and-ride facilities that are owned and maintained by Caltrans. Intersections and pedestrian overpasses and underpasses are also covered.
The settlement is in line with Caltrans’ internal Complete Streets policy (.pdf), updated in October of 2008, in which the department pledges to provide “for the needs of travelers of all ages and abilities in all planning, programming, design, construction, operations, and maintenance activities and products on the State highway system.” Note that the settlement does not require the installation of new sidewalks, but addresses the repair of sidewalks that are crumbling, too steep, or lack usable curb cuts or detectable warnings – conditions that prevent people who use wheelchairs or have other disabilities from reaching destinations or force them into the street. With a 30-year timeframe, the settlement should allow Caltrans to do much of the work in the course of scheduled maintenance.
The settlement also requires Caltrans to follow federal and state accessibility requirements in its work. Federally, that would mean compliance with the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), standards which apply to buildings and other facilities and includes a section on roadways. The US Access Board has developed much more detailed and useful Public Right of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG), which are still amid the rulemaking process; the Complete Streets Act of 2009 includes a provision directing the Board to promulgate final standards.
Attorneys from Disability Rights Advocates, representing Californians for Disability Rights, the California Council of the Blind, and the two named plaintiffs with disabilities Ben Rockwell and Dmitri Belser, were joined by AARP in the lawsuit. “AARP Foundation Litigation chose to represent the class members because with 77 million aging Baby Boomers in this country, we need to make sure our communities are places where everyone can live and get around,” said Julie Nepveu, a senior attorney with the AARP Foundation Litigation. “This unprecedented settlement helps move us toward that goal.”
By Stefanie Seskin, on December 14th, 2009 in Local
Walt Seifert, Executive Director of the Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates, sent us the following account of a public workshop held in Citrus Heights, California last month. Citrus Heights, a supporting member of the National Complete Streets Coalition, is a city of about 85,000 northeast of Sacramento. The Sacramento area has been a leader in complete streets policies, including a county policy that covers some roads in Citrus Heights. Sacramento is also home to Representative Doris Matsui, a complete streets champion and sponsor of the Complete Streets Act of 2009 (H.R. 1443). Last year, the California General Assembly passed AB 1358, requiring all cities and counties to include complete streets when updating their general plans, commencing January 1, 2011.
Walt reports:
On November 17, 2009, I attended a workshop on the update of the City of Citrus Heights General Plan ready to advocate for bicycling. About 25 residents were there to hear a presentation and ask questions. Though Citrus Heights is a new city, starting operations in 1997, it is mostly built out. It was created out of part of northern Sacramento County in an area defined by a huge suburban mall, wide, busy suburban roads and a freeway. It has many single-family residences, apartment complexes and considerable commercial uses as well.
A consultant provided a presentation on the background of the general plan and the general plan process. He said the city would be focusing on four areas for the update: climate change, complete streets, water resources and flood hazard management.
The consultant explained the city was not taking the lead on climate change but was required to comply with changes in state law. He also said that the issue of climate change was not going to be debated, but how the city responded to state requirements would be covered.
On complete streets, the presentation suggested the city was unsure how its citizens were going to react to the idea. One presentation slide had this question, “Do complete streets fit Citrus Heights’ community values?” It seemed as though staff was anticipating an answer of, “No, they don’t. We don’t want them.”
But when people in the audience spoke, the first asked why Citrus Heights couldn’t be more like Davis with more bicycling and solar panels. A second said she had resolved to walk a hundred miles and bike 500 miles during the summer. She wasn’t able to do that in Citrus Heights because she found it to be too dangerous. A third talked about the inadequate bicycle and pedestrian faculties in the city and the need to do more.
At that point, the city staff took the microphone and talked about how the Citrus Heights City Council was ahead of the curve and had already approved projects that were essentially complete streets projects, listing some examples.
In the space of a few minutes the tenor of the discussion changed from “Do we really want complete streets in Citrus Heights?” to “We are a leader in complete streets!” It was all catalyzed by the power of the idea of complete streets and state legislation. I didn’t have to say the word “bicycle.” I didn’t have to say anything. Even though they might have had some trepidation, staff was ahead of me with their plan to focus on complete streets. Residents seemed to be ahead of them by wanting more. It was heartwarming and gratifying.
Events like this could be happening hundreds of times across California as the state complete streets legislation takes affect. It could happen thousands of times across the country if federal complete streets legislation is passed.
By Stefanie Seskin, on December 10th, 2009 in Weekly-News
Our fantastic interns, Ryan Whitney and Eryn Rosenblum, helped write this week’s post.
 Photo: Dan Burden/Walkable Communities Despite the impending winter, the complete streets movement is at an all-time high. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand became the twelfth cosponsor on the Complete Streets Act of 2009, and Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison became the forty-third cosponsor of the House bill. Early last week, the EPA awarded Charlotte, NC’s complete streets policy with the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in Policies and Regulations. State and local advocates, elected officials, and transportation professionals continue to push for and create complete streets in communities across the country (see below for the latest).
The continued success of our movement is thanks to the many members and supporter of the National Complete Streets Coalition. I’m proud to say our yearly donation campaign is off to a great start, helping us continue and build on our successes in 2010. We’re looking to raise $5,000 by December 31 - can you help?
Communities around the country continue to respond to Dangerous by Design and the national epidemic of preventable pedestrian deaths. TIME Magazine recently covered the report and highlighted the dismal conditions in Florida, home to the four most dangerous metro areas in the country for pedestrians. Floridians, however, are starting to take action: in Southwest Florida, for example, cities like St. Petersburg and Punta Gorda have started repairing their streets to make them more accessible for walkers and bicyclists, and Lee County just passed a resolution in support of complete streets. In New Jersey, where pedestrians represent nearly 20 percent of traffic deaths, a recent article argues that pushing for complete streets “is not asking too much in the name of public safety. North Jersey is one of the most densely populated parts of the country. But just because it’s crowded doesn’t mean it cannot also be made safe: Safe for those who drive, and safe for those who walk.”
These articles, from prominent publications like TIME as well as local newspapers across the country, continue the positive trend of highlighting a key point of the report: that many of our roads truly are dangerous by design. The finding in these stories is that the fault does not lie with walkers, bicyclists, wheelchair users or other non-drivers who expect to be safe in their own communities. Rather, the problem lies in designing and planning roads that neglect the needs and abilities of real people in favor of cars alone.
And now a roundup of recent state and local activity that fuels our movement:
Topeka, KS: City Council adopted a resolution to follow complete streets principles in new construction or reconstruction. Local advocates played a key role in the development and passage of this policy, holding a complete streets workshop and a public rally a few months ago. Topeka is the first jurisdiction in Kansas to adopt some form of a complete streets policy, and the 38th to do so this year. (WIBW)
Bakersfield, CA: Bike Bakersfield’s Robert Smith cited California’s Complete Streets law as impetus for the city to shift from auto-centric street design to a model that considers all users, including low-income individuals. Street design is a hot topic in the city after the Dangerous by Design report from Transportation for America ranked Bakersfield as the worst in the state for pedestrian injury and death from automobiles. (Bakersfield Californian)
San Francisco, CA: The City has quickly acted upon the partial lifting of an injunction that limited roll-out of its visionary bike plan, laying the first bike lane in 3 years, installing the city’s first separated bike lane, painting a green bike box, and adding sharrows along several routes. (Streetsblog San Francisco)
Manistique, MI: A walkability audit, conducted by the Strategic Alliance for Health Coalition and walkability expert Dan Burden, has generated interest in developing a Complete Streets policy to encourage active forms of transportation. (Daily Press)
Texas: The Texas DOT became the first state DOT to adopt the Manual for Walkable Urban Thoroughfares as an accepted roadway design criteria for the state, a major step forward in creating streets for people and the latest in a national move toward better streets. (Citiwire)
Dallas, TX: Recognizing the current paradigm shift occurring to ‘’humanize” our cities, Russ Skies of the Congress for the New Urbanism highlighted the recent completion of the Main Street Garden in Dallas as a step in the right direction. He recommends the use of Complete Streets and other practices as inexpensive tools to further transform our cities in to places and spaces that are safe for all users, not just drivers. (Dallas Morning News)
Washington: The Transportation Choices Coalition plans to expand its complete streets efforts next year by campaigning for state-level complete streets legislation. (Seattle Transit Blog)
Spokane, WA: New council member Jon Snyder spoke to the Pacific Northwest Inlander about his transportation goals for the city, including a complete streets policy. “It costs the city money not having this complete streets policy,” he said. A local coalition of advocates are working to develop a policy campaign.
By admin, on December 7th, 2009 in admin
Complete Streets Supporters,
Over the past record-breaking year, the National Complete Streets Coalition has worked with dozens of communities to adopt new complete streets policies, introduced bills into Congress, and drew the engagement of the Obama Administration. But all this success comes with a catch – we need more resources to keep up with the growing demands on our time and our small staff. We need your continued support to ensure that the Complete Streets movement is not simply a flash in the pan, but a true, sustaining movement to make our communities healthier, safer, and more livable.
Today, I ask that you and your organization to make a financial contribution to the National Complete Streets Coalition – which will be matched dollar for dollar thanks to a generous gift by Toole Design Group, a transportation planning and design firm.
 Your support helps transform the transportation landscape. Photo: Dan Burden Many communities and advocates depend on the resources and knowledge of the Coalition to further local efforts. The Obama Administration, through the U.S. Department of Transportation, has expressed keen interest in working with us to make our streets safe and livable for everyone. With additional resources, we can take advantage of this historic opportunity and become a strong partner in their work.
We hope to raise $5,000 by December 31st – can you help? Our Coalition’s work is sustained through annual memberships, starting at a modest $100. Organizations or individuals able to make a larger contribution are invited to join as Partners at the Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum level. All donations are tax-deductible. Don’t forget – thanks to the Toole Design Group, the first individual donations will be matched dollar for dollar, doubling your impact - while the match lasts. Toole Design Group and our other corporate partners support us, knowing that a strong Complete Streets movement is essential to their mission of bringing safer streets to everyone.
With your support, and with the hard work of Coalition members and the Coalition staff, we were able to celebrate many successes in 2009 that will lead to more opportunities in 2010:
- Last spring, we introduced the Complete Streets Act of 2009 in the U.S. Senate and House (S. 584 and H.R. 1443). Our congressional briefing on the new bills was standing room only, and the audience heard from passionate local and national leaders. Co-sponsorship continues to rise and our next task is getting a Complete Streets provision in a draft Senate transportation bill.
- In November, we met with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who said, “It turns out a complete streets approach offers the perfect intersection of my twin guideposts: safety and livable communities.” We are talking to his staff about specific ways to advance Complete Streets inside the U.S. Department of Transportation.
- Advocates won state laws in Connecticut, Hawaii, and Wisconsin, and several state Departments of Transportation developed new internal policies. Nine state bills were introduced in 2009. We are working with coalitions in Minnesota, Louisiana and other states on new bills for 2010.
- In total, thirty-six jurisdictions nationwide adopted policies in 2009 – a record-breaking year. Many communities became the first in their state to commit to complete streets, including Hennepin County, MN, North Little Rock, AR, Ada County, ID, Montclair, NJ, and Fairhope, AL. And after celebrating reaching the 100-policy milestone at a Congressional reception in October, we returned to the office to field more and more requests for information and help.
With your financial contributions, we can take advantage of this growing complete streets activity and transform our transportation landscape. Your donation will make it possible for us to work on the adoption of complete streets policies across the country, increase our workshops and other resources for transportation professionals, and be sure that a strong Complete Streets measure is in the next federal transportation law.
 Together, we can create streets that serve everyone. Photo: Jan Moser/pedbikeimages.org We don’t have big government or foundation grants – we rely on our members to support our efforts. Our Coalition structure means we are extremely efficient, with member groups stepping up in their area of expertise to advance Complete Streets. This year the Association of Bicycle and Pedestrian Professionals, AARP’s Public Policy Institute, the American Planning Association, Transportation for America, America Bikes and others have all contributed to major Complete Streets initiatives, coordinated through the Coalition. We expect such collaborations to increase – and that will require our staff time and resources.
We welcome contributions of any amount. Please donate today and help us achieve our goal: $5,000 by December 31st. Remember – if you act quickly your donation will be matched dollar for dollar by Toole Design Group.
Thank you in advance for your support. It makes a real difference in the growth of the complete streets movement. Let’s make 2010 a year to remember.
Sincerely,
Barbara McCann
Executive Director, National Complete Streets Coalition
To donate by credit/debit card, visit our donation page.
If you’d prefer to write a check, donations must be made out to Smart Growth America (Tax ID No. 270038938) with a notation that the funds are for the National Complete Streets Coalition.
Mail all checks to:
National Complete Streets Coalition, 1707 L St NW Suite 1050, Washington DC 20036
By Stefanie Seskin, on December 2nd, 2009 in News
 The USDG made Elizabeth Avenue a complete street. Photo: EPA/Abby Hall On December 1st, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded Charlotte, NC’s Urban Street Design Guidelines – a model in complete streets planning and design – with the coveted National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in Policies and Regulations.
“We congratulate the City of Charlotte on this accomplishment, which confirms what we’ve known for years: Charlotte is showing the way for American cities that want to turn away from sprawling, automobile-oriented development toward providing livable streets that are safe and comfortable for all people, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation,” said Barbara McCann, executive director of the National Complete Streets Coalition.
“The way I look at it, we are responsible for about 30 percent of the land in the City of Charlotte,” said Danny Pleasant, Director of the Charlotte Department of Transportation. “It only makes sense to do everything possible to make sure that it contributes to community livability and is an asset to our community.”
The Urban Street Design Guidelines (USDG), adopted by City Council in October 2007, focus on providing the best possible streets to accommodate growth, create transportation choices, and maintain Charlotte’s livability. According to the EPA Award, the USDG promote sustainable development patterns and streets that are more pleasant and safe for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and motorists. In accepting the award, Pleasant added, “We hope our whole nation can come to complete streets.” A video featuring residents, business owners, and elected officials discussing the positive impacts of Charlotte’s USDG will soon be available on the EPA website.
The USDG create a six-step process for designing streets wherein the varying interests and needs of all users – and various land uses – are considered and the design tradeoffs are systematically examined for every project. This process is taught in our Complete Streets workshops, and is a model for communities implementing complete streets policies. This process, along with the design guidance provided in the USDG, has already helped transform a multitude of urban and suburban streets and intersections. The USDG offer a clear path to creating roads that are more sustainable and offer greater safety and livability.
Charlotte’s story will be explored in-depth in the upcoming Best Practices Manual on Complete Streets, to be published in January 2010 by the American Planning Association.
Through the National Award for Smart Growth Achievement, EPA seeks to recognize and support public entities (from cities to state governments and the many types of public entities in-between) that promote and achieve smart growth, while at the same time bringing about direct and indirect environmental benefits.
By Barbara McCann, on November 17th, 2009 in Federal
 Barbara McCann and Secretary Ray LaHood talk complete streets. Photo: Transportation for America Several members of the National Complete Streets Coalition and Transportation for America participated in a meeting yesterday with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood that centered on how Complete Streets can help create a safer environment for pedestrians and other road users.
Transportation for America’s Executive Director James Corless presented the Secretary with a petition calling on the Department to make pedestrian safety a priority through a commitment to Complete Streets. The petition followed the release of the new report on pedestrian safety, Dangerous by Design.
Secretary LaHood said his newly created Safety Council would look into the Complete Streets approach and expressed interest in visiting a community that has made the commitment to transforming the way it designs streets to include everyone. “The right of way doesn’t just belong to cars — it belongs to pedestrians and bicyclists as well,” said Secretary LaHood. “The DOT Safety Council is going to look at this report and work with advocacy groups to ensure our streets are as safe as possible.”
Executive Director Barbara McCann spoke to the Secretary about the more than 110 communities that have adopted Complete Streets policies, both to improve safety and to create more livable communities – two of the Secretary’s top priorities. Representatives of Coalition members AARP, America Bikes, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, and Smart Growth America talked about how Complete Streets help older adults, bicyclists, and children, as well as public transportation and better growth policies.
By Stefanie Seskin, on November 11th, 2009 in Weekly-News
 Ask Secretary Ray LaHood to make complete streets a priority! Dangerous by Design, the new report from Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Project, illustrates just how serious pedestrian safety must be taken. The loss of life is equivalent to a jumbo jet going down roughly each month, yet receives little attention or funding and could be prevented by safer, complete streets.
Transportation for America, the National Complete Streets Coalition, and others are meeting with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Monday afternoon. At this meeting, we will deliver signatures from thousands of Americans who believe complete streets must be a priority.
Sign the petition today and help us send a strong message to the US Department of Transportation!
Secretary LaHood has already shown a passion for safety and is a vocal proponent of livable communities. Complete Streets handily links both of the issues (as well as number of others). If Secretary LaHood makes it one of his priorities, transportation projects nationwide will provide safe travel for all users, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation. This is a great opportunity for organizations, communities, and individuals across the country to show how the tremendous magnitude of support for complete streets - please sign the petition today!
 Not designed with pedestrians in mind. Our meeting is riding on a wave of media attention for
Dangerous by Design from news outlets nationwide. NPR’s Morning Edition aired a piece on the hostility of suburban roadways, including interviews with Barbara McCann, Executive Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, and a transit rider who regularly risks injury (or worse) dashing across six lanes of traffic to her bus stop. The Christian Science Monitor also picked up on the report’s release, discussing it from several angles: safety, public health, and providing for our aging population.
On a more local level, change is already happening. Lee County, Florida has had a complete streets resolution on the table for a few months, but the last week’s Dangerous by Design report has helped push them into action. Last Monday, the News-Press ran an editorial in favor of the resolution. The reason, said the editorial board, is simple: “Florida is rated No. 1 per capita in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities.”
The following day, Jim Nathan, president of the Lee Memorial Health System, wrote a letter to News-Press saying “it is all too common for pedestrians and bicyclists to end up in the Trauma Center at Lee Memorial Hospital” and that “many of these accidents are preventable” with better, safer streets for everyone.
Later that afternoon, the Lee County commissioners unanimously approved a complete streets resolution citing not only the safety imperative, but also the need for active living and reduced emissions. Commissioner Brian Bigelow was moved by testimony from community members, including one who was hit by car with bicycling. “She is a victim of what’s really wrong with the way we’ve been kind of singularly focused on accommodating automobiles in our county. It’s been quite literally to the exclusion of other alternative modes of transportation.”
 This street is designed for everyone's safety. Credit: Laura Sandt, www.pedbikeimages.org In Connecticut, a coalition of advocacy groups issued a press release stating that “minor changes to transportation policies and funding practices” can help prevent pedestrian fatalities, which represent 12.6% of total traffic fatalities statewide but receive less than 2% in safety funding. Connecticut recently passed a complete streets law, showing progress in becoming more friendly to people who do not travel by car alone. Though the law dedicates 1% of transportation funding to implementing the law, the DOT can do more. The coalition of advocates are specifically calling for 10% of federal Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) money and 10% of federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding for programs that prevent traffic injuries and fatalities.
Many communities want to replicate the great success of Columbia, Missouri, where there are relatively few deaths but many people walking. In 2004, Columbia adopted a complete streets ordinance, requiring pedestrian and bicyclist accommodation in road projects. Dangerous by Design ranks Columbia is the safest community for pedestrians in the state.
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