Abstract
The Complete Streets movement has become popular throughout North America as street renewal projects have begun to re-prioritize road users within the public right-of-way (ROW). Although the concepts and overall objectives of a Complete Street are becoming increasingly recognized in the transportation-planning field, a level of ambiguity exists when defining such projects through the existing built infrastructure. This major research paper has collected and presented data gathered from local transportation planning experts through the means of telephone interviews and a focus group, to understand how a Complete Street can be defined at the project level, and what factors might influence this definition. The findings of this paper show that the definition of a Complete Street can be largely dependent on surrounding context, as well as various considerations taken during the Complete Street's planning process.
Highlights
The purposes, designs, and uses within our city streets and public right-‐of-‐ways (ROWs) have evolved over time in response to the demand of the predominant users (Karndacharuk, Wilson, Dunn, 2014)
The findings of this paper show that the definition of a Complete Street can be largely dependent on surrounding context, as well as the various considerations taken during the Complete Street’s planning process
While much of the literature seems to agree that a Complete Street should safely accommodate for all users regardless of travel mode, age, or ability, (8-‐80 Cities, n.d.) a gap remains in the consistency of qualitatively identifying what physical components should be included
Summary
The purposes, designs, and uses within our city streets and public right-‐of-‐ways (ROWs) have evolved over time in response to the demand of the predominant users (Karndacharuk, Wilson, Dunn, 2014). The term mobility came to be understood as the movement of motor vehicles and the priorities of ROWs were focused on increasing capacity and safety of this mobility type (Homburger, 2002) As these priorities reflected the social expectation and demands at the time, all political decisions on transportation policies and infrastructure investments were made to enhance roadways to fundamentally serve the private automobile (Ministry of Transport, 1963). There has been observed movement towards re-‐prioritizing roadway users to better accommodate for the pedestrian and cyclist as well as improved advancements in creating safe and accessible environments for users of all ages and abilities We have seen this movement through current transportation planning, designing, and engineering that has been led by many local policies in jurisdictions across the continent (Sears, 2014). The results will be presented as a two-‐part series as the findings from part one (phone interviews with local experts) heavily informed and structured a focus group discussion with other transportation professionals (Part II)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
