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From Tech Transfer Newsletter, Fall 2009 » printer-friendly

Resources from the Transportation Library: Complete Streets

By Kendra Levine, Reference and Outreach Librarian, Institute of Transportation Studies Library

About Complete Streets

By Alyssa Sherman, Technology Transfer Program

"Complete Streets" are roads that are designed to safely accommodate all users, including drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and people with disabilities.

The appropriate design and construction solution for a given road will vary based on the project's context and location. Common Complete Street features include narrower travel lanes or fewer travel lanes to slow traffic, "road diets" that reallocate space on the road, bike lanes in which bicyclists may travel, sidewalks for pedestrians, and raised medians, crosswalks and pedestrian-activated crosswalk signals to make street crossing safer.

In California, statewide Complete Streets legislation (AB 1358) was signed into law in September 2008 requiring that, when updating general plans, cities and counties include policies to ensure that roads meet the needs of all users. The law will take effect in January of 2011.

The resources on these pages provide detailed information about Complete Streets and how to implement California's new requirements.

Websites

  • National Complete Streets Coalition
    The National Complete Streets Coalition is comprised of planning organizations, advocacy groups, consultants, and local governments interested in the implementation of the Complete Streets concept nationwide. They provide information and news about Complete Streets initiatives, as well as resources to help people host their own community workshops about Complete Streets. The website also tracks pertinent federal policies including American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) projects and funds.
  • Complete Streets in California
    California Department of Transportation - Division of Transportation Planning
    The main portal for information about Caltrans' Complete Streets projects and guidelines, including implementation of Deputy Directive 64.
  • Complete Streets: Talking Points
    Planning for Healthy Spaces - Public Health Law and Policy
    A brief introduction to the Complete Streets model and how different aspects of the plan can improve the health and safety of different user groups, such as pedestrians or bicyclists.

Reports, Articles and Conference Proceedings

  • Complete Streets: We Can Get There from Here
    John LaPlante and Barbara McCann, ITE Journal, v.78, n.5, May 2008, pp. 24-28
    Provides an introduction and overview of the Complete Streets movement, as well as some points to consider before implementing changes in your location.
  • Retrofitting Urban Arterials into Complete Streets [PDF, 0.3 M]
    John LaPlante, 3rd Urban Street Symposium: Uptown, Downtown, or Small Town: Designing Urban Streets That Work, 2007
    Examines different issues related to retrofitting existing arterials into Complete Streets, addressing the tension inherent between the need for traffic capacity and speed and making streets safe for bicyclists and pedestrians as well.
  • Brave New Nonmotorized World
    Jay Walljasper, Planning, v. 74, n.11, December 2008, pp. 20-23
    Provides an analysis of how bicycling and pedestrian retrofits and improvements in European cities provide case studies and examples for similar projects in American cities.
  • Planning Complete Streets for an Aging America [PDF, 33.2 M]
    Jana Lynot et al., AARP Public Policy Institute, 2009
    Discusses how the Complete Streets agenda impacts and benefits mobility for the aging population. Interdisciplinary research examines how the Complete Streets program will affect older drivers and pedestrians, examining design recommendations to improve safety for travelers of any age.

Organizations

Here are other organizations that are interested in and working toward implementing Complete Streets nationwide.

About the Institute of Transportation Studies Library

Employees of California public sector transportation agencies at the local, state, and regional levels, including federal agencies located in California, are eligible to request anything in the transportation library's catalog for free. The library will even provide up to 50 pages of photocopies of articles from journals, trade magazines, or conference reports, or scan and e-mail the requested material.

We encourage public agency employees to contact the Library for reference services and loans. Specialized services are provided free to public agency employees with funding from the California Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP). See library.its.berkeley.edu for details, or contact:

Kendra Levine
Reference and Outreach Librarian
Transportation Library
Institute of Transportation Studies
University of California, Berkeley
412 McLaughlin Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-1720
PHONE 510.642.3604
FAX 510.642.9180
EMAIL itslib@berkeley.edu

All requests must include your name, job title, agency name, mailing address, and, if requesting material, the title and call number.

New in the Multimedia Training Library

California public agencies are eligible for free access to multimedia resources through Local Technical Assistance Program funding. Browse our newest selection of material below, as of February 2010, and request a resource at techtransfer.berkeley.edu/ videos.

Urban Forest Maintenance

Paving and Work Zone Safety

Planning and Finance

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