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America Bikes Urges Cities, States to "Complete the Streets" |
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Written by Administrator
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Thursday, 22 January 2004 |
America Bikes would like to ask you to help launch a new campaign to “Complete the Streets for safer bicycling and walking.” In bicycling circles, this idea had become known as “routine accommodation,” as advocates, working with planners and engineers, used their terminology to urge a more inclusive approach. America Bikes wants to make what has been a behind-the-scenes discussion into an easily understandable (and widely supported!) concept: that every road and street be routinely made safe and friendly for bicycling and walking. Thus the group coined the phrase Complete the Streets, since such routine accommodation means truly completing the street network, expanding its capacity to serve everyone who travels, be it by automobile, bus, foot, or bicycle.
Complete streets provide choices to the people who live, work and travel on them. Pedestrians and bicyclists are comfortable using complete streets. A network of complete streets improves the safety, convenience, efficiency and accessibility of the transportation system for all users. Every road project should create complete streets.
Many streets where people bicycle or walk are inadequate.
Our states, cities, counties and towns have built many miles of streets and roads that are safe and comfortable only for travel in one way, in a motor vehicle. These roadways often lack sidewalks, have lanes too narrow to share with bicyclists, and feature few, poorly marked, or dangerous pedestrian crossings. A recent federal survey found that about one-quarter of walking trips take place on roads without sidewalks or shoulders, and bike lanes are available for only about 5 percent of bicycle trips1.
The Solution: Complete the Streets
The Federal government can take the lead by insuring that all projects involving new construction or reconstruction include appropriate provisions to accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians, if bicycles and pedestrians are permitted on the road. State Departments of Transportation should adopt and implement transition plans that identify the steps they are taking to complete the streets. At the state and local level, transportation agencies should update design, planning, and policy manuals to reflect an integrated approach and should train all personnel to plan and design complete streets. Project checklists and program audits should evaluate roads in terms of how well they serve all users.
For more information read the two-page fact sheet America Bikes prepared as an introduction to this concept. You might also want to read a fantastic cover story from the Washington Post Magazine which is a great argument for completing the streets. It's available free through Jan 25.
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Advocacy