PCSR INFO 05-10-2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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18 Planning May 2005 . PLANNING PRACTICE ,By Barbara McCann Complete the Streets! . . n many communities, designating a bicycle route or pouring a few new sidewalks is no longer enough. In the college town of Columbia, Mis- souri, the city adopted new street standards last June calling for wider sidewalks and narrower lanes. The governing commission of the South Carolina Deparrment ofT ransportation recently passed a resolution declaring that "bicycling and walking accommodations should be a routine part of the department's planning, design, con- struction, and operating activities." In San Diego last November, voters approved a sales tax measure that is expected to generate $14 billion over 40 years. It specifies that any roads built or improved with these funds must have room for cyclists and pedestrians. All of these jurisdictions are part of a new trend: creating complete streets. For everyone A complete street is defined as a street that works for motorists, for bus riders, for bicy- clists, and for pedestrians, including people with disabilities. A complete streets policy is aimed at producing roads that are safe and E .~:'~ o. convenient for all users. Complete streets are not limited to a few designated corridors. Many communities have launched main street initiatives, adopted bi- cycle plans, or undertaken special planning processes for nonmotorized travel in specific places. In contrast, complete streets policies strive for diversity on just about every thor- oughfare. And the process of creating com- plete streets is leading planners and engineers across the country to approach street design in fundamentally new ways. Most U.S. roadways are not "complete streets." According to a national survey conducted in 2002 by the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, about one quarter of all walking trips take place on roads without sidewalks or shoul- ders, and bike lanes are available for only about five percent of bicycle trips. Another BTS poll, the 2003 National Transportation Availability and Use Survey, found that the top complaint among both able-bodied and disabled pedes- trians and cyclists was that there were too few usable sidewalks and bikeways-essentially, too many incomplete streets.