By Barbara McCann, on March 16th, 2010 in Federal
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood has issued a new policy statement that calls for full inclusion of pedestrians and bicyclists in transportation projects, with particular attention paid to transit riders and people of all ages and abilities – essentially, a Complete Streets policy. “This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized,” he said in his blog yesterday.
Secretary LaHood made a big splash at last week’s National Bike Summit, but his enthusiastic tabletop speech is no match for yesterday’s new policy statement in scope and potential effect, as transportation agencies across the country begin to follow the USDOT’s lead and adopt Complete Streets policies.
The statement details what agencies large and small can and should do to integrate non-motorized modes into future projects:
- Consider walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes;
- Ensure convenient choices for people of all ages and abilities;
- Go beyond minimum design standards;
- Integrate bicycle and pedestrian accommodation on new, rehabilitated, and limited-access bridges;
- Collect data on walking and biking trips;
- Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling and track them over time;
- Maintain sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are maintained, especially during snowy weather; and
- Improve non-motorized facilities during maintenance projects.
We are thrilled and gratified.
This move will make our job easier, as we still have a long way to go toward full policy adoption: fewer than half the states have policies, Complete Streets has not yet become federal law, and only a small fraction of all cities and towns have policies.
The new USDOT policy signals that we are starting to turn a corner on policy adoption, which means we need to be working on the next step: effective policy implementation. Fortunately, we’re getting some help in this area. At its conference in Savannah yesterday, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (a long time Coalition member), unveiled its new Recommended Practice for designing multi-modal urban streets, Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach. This document has been in the works for quite some time, engaging the Congress for the New Urbanism and hundreds of transportation professionals to link land use context to multi-modal roadway design. It will be a great resource.
Later in the day, I learned that Berkeley researchers are helping the California Department of Transportation develop a whole new set of performance measures to gauge whether Deputy Directive 64-R1 (.pdf), the DOT’s Complete Streets policy, is achieving their goals for safety and mobility. Caltrans just issued a new Implementation Action Plan (.pdf), a significant milestone in transforming everyday practice to create a system for all users.
So we’re celebrating the new policy issued by the USDOT and rolling up our sleeves to ensure that this policy – and all Complete Streets policies – results in the transformation of our roads into welcoming corridors for people of all ages and abilities, however they choose to travel.
By Barbara McCann, on March 9th, 2010 in Federal
 Mayor Becker speaks at last week's Clean Energy Economy Forum (whitehouse.gov). Last week, I attended the White House’s Clean Energy Economy Forum “Livability and Sustainable Communities – Taking Action for a Clean Energy Future.” Complete Streets got plenty of attention as one way to begin to create a ‘Clean Energy Economy.’ Mayor Ralph Becker of Salt Lake City talked about institutionalizing Complete Streets and described the transformation planned for North Temple Street with light rail, bike lanes, a shared use path, permeable pavement, and other features that would create “a new model for an urban arterial in Utah.” He shared the stage with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan, who re-affirmed their intent to knit together transportation and housing policy to achieve clean energy goals.
Most interesting was the subtext about how the Administration can lead – by following. Secretary Donovan said HUD recognizes the environmental, financial, economic, and job-creation benefits of creating ‘green’ housing stock, and that President Obama believes the federal government should set the pace, while Secretary LaHood noted that transportation innovation is not starting in Washington, but is already happening all over America. Both cabinet secretaries spent considerable time discussing their new grant programs aimed at unlocking such innovation by providing resources for communities to start pursuing greener housing and transportation projects.
Secretary LaHood noted that the first $1.5 billion in TIGER grants will help get a lot of people out of their cars and onto better transit systems and out walking and bicycling. Many of these projects include Complete Streets components. Secretary Donovan discussed the HUD’s proposed $100 million in planning grants, and encouraged comments on the proposal via HUD’s wiki site (comments are due Friday!).
During the question period, I noted that the many communities adopting Complete Streets policies would be looking to create Complete Streets in all of their future transportation investments. I asked how DOT and HUD can help with this institutionalization. Secretary LaHood answered that there was frustration in the TIGER process because they were able to fund such a small portion of the applications, but that he was hopeful the additional $600 million in this year’s budget would help begin to meet the demand. Secretary Donovan said the $100 million in regional planning grants, and an additional $40 million to be made available for Community Planning Challenge Grants, could also be used to help communities with Complete Streets planning.
Clearly, Secretaries LaHood and Donovan want to lead – by providing communities with the resources to innovate. These new programs are a resource for communities working for Complete Streets – and they can be a powerful avenue to demonstrate to Congress the need and viability of a federal Complete Streets provision that would apply to all federal transportation funds.
By Stefanie Seskin, on March 3rd, 2010 in Weekly-News
 www.pedbikeimages.org / Laura Sandt In the past two weeks, we’ve learned about three new policies:
In Montana, Bozeman became the second city to adopt a policy when its City Commission adopted Resolution No. 4244 (.pdf) on February 22. The policy principles will be applied to single projects and privately funded development, and through a series of smaller improvements to incrementally improve the transportation network for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit vehicles and riders, children, older adults, and people
with disabilities.
Earlier last month, the Mayor and Council of Franklin, Pennsylvania adopted Resolution No. 18 of 2010 (.pdf) to increase the safety, health, and general welfare of the city’s residents and visitors by accommodating all users in all new construction or reconstruction of roadways. Franklin is the second city in the state to adopt a complete streets policy.
And, in Indiana, the Madison County Council of Governments (MCCOG) adopted its Complete Streets Policy (.pdf), which will be applied to new construction and reconstruction of local roadways that use federal funds allocated by the MCCOG and all projects added to the region’s Transportation Improvement Program. They are the second MPO in Indiana to adopt a policy.
Work continues in a number of other communities (and states!):
Michigan: Advocates are hard at work in communities across the state, and state legislators are considering a statewide complete streets law. The Michigan Complete Streets Coalition is successfully recruiting new partner organizations. The state Department of Community Health (MDCH) will fund five local health departments to pursue complete streets policies this year and another five to do the same next year. MDCH and Michigan Public Health Institute will hire a Complete Streets Project Coordinator to assist local communities and work on the state-level campaign.
Minnesota: The Complete Streets bills have passed the House Transportation Finance Committee and the Senate Transportation Committee, with strong and bipartisan support. On Monday, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported on the bill and the greater complete streets movement in the state.
Mississippi: In addition to Tupelo, three other communities are looking to complete streets policies. Hernando’s Mayor Chip Johnson reports their bill will come before the Board of Alderman soon. Ridgeland is already on board with the concept and Palahatchie is studying the benefits of a complete streets approach.
Missouri: Representative Mike Sutherland introduced HCR 67, a resolution in support of Complete Streets in Missouri. The resolution makes the case for routinely including all users in transportation planning, design, construction, and maintenance and is part of a larger effort between advocates and the state Department of Transportation to follow complete streets principles.
Pennsylvania: Philadelphia was recently awarded funding to develop its Complete Streets Handbook. Allentown is developing its own complete streets policy, as directed by its draft Connecting Our Community (.pdf) plan.
By Stephanie Potts, on February 17th, 2010 in Federal
 Image courtesy the US DOT The Department of Transportation just announced the recipients of its $1.5 billion discretionary grant program funded by last year’s stimulus bill. The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program is the US DOT’s first attempt at a competitive grant program where projects of all modes compete based on their ability to meet national goals. Applicant projects had to show multiple benefits, including long-term goals of stimulating economic competitiveness, improving public safety, enhancing livability, developing sustainable transportation options, and helping achieve a state of good repair.
It comes as no surprise that many of the projects include complete streets elements. One of the recipients was complete streets project to spur revitalization and economic development in the historic Millwork District of downtown Dubuque, IA. As many as 60 percent of the new residents within the district are estimated to be traveling to work downtown, and the project will allow them to more conveniently and safely walk, bike, or take transit to work.
US Sentor Tom Harkin of Iowa issued a press release on this project today, stating “This funding goes to the very heart of Dubuque’s mission to transform the city into one of the best places to live and do business.” He continued, “In the end, residents will see reduced traffic congestion and improvement in the ability to walk to work or take public transit. The area is expected to provide much needed housing for working families with jobs downtown.” Sen. Harkin is the sponsor of the Complete Streets Act of 2009, S. 584.
Some of the other complete streets projects include bicycle and pedestrian networks in Philadelphia, PA and Indianapolis, IN; multi-modal transportation hubs in St. Paul, MN and Normal, IL; and “complete” bridges in Tulsa, OK and between Milton, KY and Madison, IN. Roads in rural Lake County, MT will be improved to complement local efforts in providing safe routes for people traveling by foot or bike to work, school, and other destinations. Portland, OR will reconstruct SW Moody Avenue as a complete street with three traffic lanes, dual streetcar tracks, and pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Bus Rapid Transit and a commuter bikeway will be established between Denver and Boulder, CO. A number of other recipient communities will investments in public transportation - light rail, streetcars, and buses - will encourage sustainable, walkable, bikable development along those routes. Check out the full list of funded projects (.pdf) for details.
There was overwhelming demand from cities, regions and states across the country for TIGER funding, with more than 1,400 applications from all 50 states totaling almost $60 billion. As Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood wrote on his blog, “From freight rail to streetcars, from roadways to waterways to bikeways, we are affirming the truly multi-modal nature of American transportation.”
The success of the TIGER program exemplifies the thirst for a different approach to transportation and is a model for the performance based transportation funding system we hope to see in the next transportation bill.
By Stefanie Seskin, on February 15th, 2010 in State Policy
Last Monday, Minnesota became the fifth state this year to introduce complete streets legislation. Bills SF 2461 and HF 2801 will ensure every road construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation project funded partially or completely by the state to follow a complete streets approach. The legislation is a major step forward for Minnesota, supported both by the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Minnesota Complete Streets Coalition, and over 70% of Minnesotans.
The Minnesota Complete Streets Coalition, Representative Mike Obermueller (author of the House bill), and Senator Tony Lourey (author of the Senate bill) held a press conference after introduction (see video). Rep. Obermueller cited the safety imperative of the legislation. Over the last decade, 500 bicyclists and pedestrians were killed on roads in Minnesota, and another 20,000 were injured. “One of the reasons for these injuries and fatalities is that state standards too often dictate that Minnesota roads move cars as quickly as possible and ignore the abilities of seniors, children, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders,” Obermueller said. Sen. Lourey emphasized that the bill would apply to all future projects and could save money by preventing costly retrofits.
Enthusiasm for complete streets has been on the rise in Minnesota. A state-mandated report from the DOT, presented to the legislature in December, recommended adoption of a statewide complete streets policy. The National Complete Streets Coalition has held eight workshops across the state. Every breakout session at a recent the US DOT event in Minnesota featured at least one complete streets proponent. Communities as diverse as the Cities of Rochester, St. Paul, Albert Lea, and Bloomington, and Hennepin County have already adopted policies, with several more working to develop policies.
The bills will help these local communities achieve their complete streets ambitions by establishing a statewide pilot program for local jurisdictions to use more flexible design standards as an alternative to the current state-mandated standards. The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star-Tribune, in a supportive editorial, cites the many cases where current state standards have created inhospitable roadways in rural and urban communities, hampering economic well-being as well as community livability. Furthermore, by establishing a policy at the state-level, the DOT will be able to better assist local agencies.
The Minnesota Complete Streets Coalition represents health, family, environment, senior, and transportation advocates and has worked tirelessly to advance complete streets across the state. Organizations from AARP and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota to Transit for Livable Communities and Fresh Energy were on hand at last week’s press conference.
More than 60 percent of adult Minnesotans who are overweight or obese, which could add $3.7 billion in health care expenses by 2020. “Current road designs often create barriers and discourage people from walking and biking,” Dr. Marc Manley, Chief Prevention Officer at Blue Cross, said. “We need to make it easier for people to be active and achieve or maintain a healthy weight. This Complete Streets policy is a creative solution that not only can make our transportation dollars stretch farther, but also encourage more people to lead an active lifestyle, thereby improving health and saving health care dollars.”
The bills have bipartisan support in the legislature. In addition to the five original House authors, another ten have been added in the last week. Five Senators support the bill.
The bill will make its first and only House committee stop in the Transportation Finance Committee tomorrow, February 16.
For more information, please see the Minnesota Complete Streets Coalition’s press release (.doc) from last week. Keep up to date on their web site and Twitter feed.
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.
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