Complete Streets

What Are Complete Streets?
Complete Streets prioritize the safety and mobility of all users instead of the speed of cars and flow of traffic. After a century of prioritizing automobile travel, the concept of complete streets offer a chance to make streets a place to be used and enjoyed rather than glimpsed through a windshield.

Safe Streets 'Champions' Announced
Smart Growth America and the National Complete Streets Coalition announced a new initiative designed to help cities achieve the potential of a new approach to street design.

Tracking Complete Streets Progress in Milwaukee
The city of Milwaukee's commitment to Complete Streets is still in early stages, as a new progress report details with an eye toward the future.

Beyond Complete Streets: Could COVID-19 Help Transform Thoroughfares Into Places for People?
Key considerations for those with a vision to make change on city streets.

Bus Lanes Arriving on Busy D.C. Street
D.C. is eliminating 74 parking spots on 14th Street NW to make space for dedicated bus lanes and a new protected bike lane.

Draft Complete Streets Design Guide Released in Montgomery County
The draft new Montgomery County Complete Streets design guide is a key tool for achieving the goals set out by the county's Vision Zero Action Plan.

Car-Free Market Street Benefits Micromobility, Transit Without Ruining Car Commutes, Studies Say
Multiple studies have quantified the early results from a project in San Francisco that blocked most private automobile traffic from Market Street in the city's downtown.

Philly Safe Streets Advocates Want What San Francisco and New York Are Having
The idea of blocking major streets to private automobiles is making advocates envious in cities that have yet to implement the idea. A petition is circulating to give the car-free treatment to Chestnut Street in Philadelphia.

A Major Makeover for Houston Street
Bagby Street in Houston will soon have wider sidewalks and a new bike lane.

Plan for Expanded Road Inconsistent With Denver's Values
The idea of road improvement catering only to cars and congestion didn't pass muster on Quebec Street in Denver. A new plan for the heavily used, but narrow, corridor will prioritize pedestrians, safety, and transit.

People Over Cars: The Future of San Francisco
The San Bruno Avenue Multimodal Improvement Project moved forward in San Francisco despite local resistance. The planning and political calculus behind the project is a sign of more to come in the City by the Bay.

Dramatic Overhaul Planned for Key North Philadelphia Intersection
An architecture critic writes about plans for a key intersection in North Philadelphia: "By all means, straighten out the street and make it safe, but keep the twists and turns that make this an authentic Philadelphia place."

Car-Free Market Street Approved in San Francisco
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors approved the Better Market Street plan on October 15, 2019.

Governor's Veto Kills Complete Streets Requirements for Caltrans
California Governor Gavin Newsom over the weekend vetoed a bill that would have required the state's department of transportation to consider public transit as well as bike and pedestrian infrastructure when planning projects on state-owned roads.

$604 Million Market Street Redesign Nears the Finish Line in San Francisco
Private automobiles could be prohibited on San Francisco's primary downtown thoroughfare, and already-wide sidewalks could be extended and smoothed over. The Better Market Street project is ready for its close up.

Complete Streets Success on Denver's Brighton Boulevard
Traffic safety advocates are hoping that a $32 million street redesign project on Brighton Boulevard can provide a model for other wide arterials in the city.

Public Opinion Differs on New Bay Area Road Diet
Some love it; some hate it: The main drag of Downtown Los Gatos, at the southern end of the South Bay Area, got a complete streets makeover.

After a Bus Kills a Scooter Rider, Two Councilmembers Call for Complete Streets
No victim blaming or scooter shaming here. Two Atlanta politicians have responded to a recent tragedy by calling for more traffic safety improvements.

A Complete Streets Building Spree in Philadelphia
Philadelphia has a busy schedule of complete streets projects in the works. The city has a goal of building 20 miles of protected bike lanes by 2020.

Bill Would Spend Five Percent of All Federal Highway Grants on Complete Streets
New federal legislation would establish a national complete streets program.
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