Press Release wrote Meeting Announcement: Complete Streets and Routine Accommodation
November 29, 2007
3:30 PM City Council Chambers
Hosted by: Maryellen O’Shaughnessy, Chair
Public Service & Transportation Committee
Columbus City Engineer Randall J. Bowman and his staff will present to council members and staff the status of the Transportation Division’s Complete Streets Policy.
Complete Streets policies encourage transportation planners and traffic engineers to consistently design streets with all users in mind. Features of a complete street may include sidewalks and pedestrian lighting, bike lanes, improved transit stops, marked crosswalks with safety features, street trees, refuge medians, audible pedestrian signals and sidewalk bulb-outs to shorten walking distance and encourage safe non-car travel.
Complete Streets improve safety for all users. Designing streets with pedestrians and bicycles in mind reduces risk. A Federal Highway Administration safety review found that adding complete street features may reduce pedestrian risk by nearly 30%.
Complete Streets encourage biking and walking. Many health organizations, including the Columbus Health Department, believe that we can help reduce obesity and related health problems by implementing policies that allow physical activity in public spaces.
Complete Streets help ease transportation challenges. About one third of Americans don’t drive cars, and as our population ages, this number will increase. More than one quarter of all car trips are one mile or less, and complete streets provide travel choices, giving people the option to avoid traffic congestion, increasing the overall capacity of our transportation network.
Complete Streets make fiscal sense. Integrating sidewalks, bike lanes, transit amenities and safe crossings into project design from the beginning spares taxpayers expensive retrofits later.
Please join Council member Maryellen O’Shaughnessy to learn more about Complete Streets from our transportation division leaders.
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