complete streets

In an extraordinarily sad irony, the engineer in charge of Columbus, Ohio's complete streets program has been gravely injured in a car crash. His 21-year-old intern was killed.

Last year, the City of Evanston started work on a 2014 Bicycle Plan Update [PDF], envisioning further improvements in its cycling infrastructure. The previous bicycle plan, adopted in 2003, resulted in 38 miles of bicycle facilities and a marked increase in bicycle ridership. The new plan will bring a new focus on "comfortable bike corridors" along Evanston's major streets, like Howard, Emerson, Greenleaf, Lincoln, Harrison, and Central -- and along the intersecting side streets of Hinman, Chicago, Maple, Orrington and Crawford. The city estimates the construction cost of these comfortable corridors at $4 million, and hopes that funding will come from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program or other state and federal grant programs.

Just a few months ago, Denver opened its first protected bike lane on 15th Street. But was that a one-off project or will the Mile High City change the way it designs streets citywide?

Harrison Street is often used by many bicyclists as a stealth route, particularly since it has one of the rare bridges without open metal grates, sees surprisingly light car traffic, and is the only east-west route that connects the South Loop and UIC. Harrison is marked as a "crosstown bike route" from Loomis Avenue (1400 W) to Michigan Avenue (200 E) in the Streets for Cycling Plan 2020, so it's due for an upgrade.

The Chicago Department of Transportation has a rare clean-slate opportunity to design a Street of Dreams -- a street that incorporates many leading-edge safety features. That opportunity is phase three of their Wells-Wentworth Connector between Chinatown and the South Loop, a future southward extension of Wells Street that longtime South Loop resident Dennis McClendon calls "Riverside Boulevard."

A lot of state transportation departments talk the talk when it comes to designing streets that are safe for everyone. But Michigan -- forgive the pun -- is literally walking the walk.

A growing number places are adopting policies to create safe space on the streets no matter how you get around. This year 80 new complete streets policies were passed by municipalities, states, counties, and planning agencies around the United States looking to make walking and biking safer. That brings the total number of such policies in the nation to more than 600.

A snowy neckdown -- or "sneckdown" -- is that place in the roadway where the snow sticks around because no one drives over it. Sneckdowns show where there's too much asphalt that could easily be claimed for pedestrian space and traffic calming.

The Chicago Department of Transportation continues to expand its role in building livable streets with the introduction of the Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Guidelines [PDF]. These guidelines address much more than transportation – including issues like water quality and economic development – because streets are not just for moving people and goods. CDOT intends this document to guide its own staff, sister agencies, and utility companies to incorporate green and sustainable components into all projects.