Over 80 Michigan organizations

are Michigan Complete Streets

Coalition Partners:
www.MICompleteStreets.org
 Complete Streets
Complete Streets policies ensure that
transportation planners and engineers design
roadways to meet the needs of all users to insure
that everyone can use the roads safely and
conveniently, including drivers, public transit riders,
pedestrians and bicyclists as well as older citizens,
children and people with disabilities.
 Complete Streets

There is no single prescription for a complete street, but the following are
key features:
• Sidewalks • Bus “pull-outs” or special bus lanes
• Bicycle lanes • Audible pedestrian signals
• Sharrows (shared lane markings) • Sidewalk “bulb-outs”
• Wide shoulders • Street trees & planter strips
• Crosswalks • Traffic-calming techniques
• Crossing islands
• Mid-block crossings
Examples of Incomplete Streets

Flint, MI
Examples of Complete Streets
 The Benefits of Complete Streets:

• Economic Revitalization • Public Transportation

• Safety • Climate Change
• Children • Transportation Costs
• Persons with Disabilities • Livable Communities
• Older Adults • Green Streets
• Health • Ease Congestion
Economic Revitalization
 Economic Revitalization
• Washington DC’s Barrack’s
Row implemented many
aspects of Complete Streets
resulting in attracting 44 new
businesses and 200 new
jobs. Economic activity in
the ¾ mile strip has more
than tripled since the
inception of the project.
www.completestreets.org

Photos Barracks Row/Mainstreet

 Local Control
• HB 6151 & 6152 requires MDOT to create
a Complete Streets policy and develop a
model policy for municipalities.
• Requires MDOT to coordinate better with
local units of governments
• Does NOT mandate locals to develop or
implement their own policies.
 Lansing City Council
votes unanimously to
adopt Complete Streets
Ordinance and
Non-motorized Plan

• On August 17, 2009, Lansing became the first

municipality in the State of Michigan to pass a Complete
Streets ordinance.
• Jackson, Flint, Genesee County, Grand Rapids, Traverse
City, Midland and other Michigan communities have
endorsed Complete Streets.
Eight Michigan Communities
Awarded Complete Streets Funding
Pass complete streets ordinances w/in 1 yr

• Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion - City of Detroit

• Washtenaw County Health Department - City of Saline
• Ingham County Health Department - City of East Lansing
• Western U.P County Health Department - City of Houghton
• Marquette County Health Department - Marquette Township
• Genesee County Health Department - City of Flint and City of Linden
• Jackson County Health Department - City of Jackson
 USDOT Supports Complete Streets
“Today, I want to announce a sea change. People across America
who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to
transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized
transportation at the expense of non-motorized.
 
We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road
projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that
negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging
investments that go beyond the
minimum requirements and provide
facilities for bicyclists and
pedestrians of all ages and abilities.”
Ray LaHood – Secretary, United States Department of Transportation
March 15, 2010 announcement directed at state DOT’s of Policy
Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations and
Recommendations
 NOT an Unfunded Mandate
House Fiscal Agency
Legislative Analysis

“To the extent that Complete Streets planning

requirements can be incorporated into current
planning processes, the additional costs may be
marginal and potentially minimal.”

House Fiscal Analyst: William E. Hamilton

 Isn’t it expensive?
“By fully considering the needs of all non-
motorized travelers (pedestrians,
bicyclists, and persons with disabilities)
early in the life of a project, the costs
associated with including facilities for
these travelers are minimized.”
Jeff Morales, former Director CalTrans
Need For Additional Funding?
• Since the introduction of a Complete Streets
policy in 2007, Charlotte NC has transformed 16
thoroughfares and 11 intersections, added miles
of sidewalks and bike lanes, and has more than
70 additional projects pending. This is all without
a new funding source, but simply an expression
of a change in priorities put in motion when the
city's leadership adopted the Complete Streets
approach.
Broad Support for Complete Streets
• House bills passed unanimously out of
Transportation Committee
• Nonpartisan- Passed by a wide margin on
House floor (85 – 21 & 84 – 22)
• 1000+ petition signatures
• 80+ MI Complete Streets Coalition Partners
• 146 jurisdictions nationwide have adopted
policies
 Contact/Questions
John Lindenmayer
League of Michigan Bicyclists
517-334-9100
john@LMB.org
www.LMB.org
www.MichiganCompleteStreets.org