Do Complete Streets Cost More than Incomplete Streets?

Abstract

For more than 5 years, the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, has been applying the award-winning Urban Street Design Guidelines to plan, design, and build context-based complete streets that consider the needs of all transportation modes. This study intends to answer the most common question the city receives about building complete streets: Does building a complete street cost more than building a traditional street and, if so, how much more? Staff from the Charlotte Department of Transportation (Charlotte DOT) compiled information from past projects to determine the cost range of typical complete streets projects. In addition, Charlotte DOT staff used the database of the North Carolina DOT to analyze actual line-item bid costs for complete streets project elements, such as bike lanes and sidewalks. Charlotte DOT staff also examined fluctuations in transportation project construction costs over a 5-year period. The analysis shows that incorporating complete streets elements slightly increases the cost of a project. However, Charlotte DOT staff also determined that overall market fluctuations in construction costs played a more significant role in the costs of a project than did the costs for incorporating complete streets elements. Costs for typical complete streets elements make up a very small percentage of the overall project cost. After consideration of the small percentage of project budgets required to include complete streets elements and the significant fluctuation in project construction costs, the authors make the argument for continuing to include complete street items in project scopes and budgets.