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The Complete Streets Advisory Council met yesterday and announced the release of an annual report detailing progress made since Complete Streets legislation went into effect in Michigan on Aug. 1, 2010. The report is available online at: www.michigan.gov/completestreets or can be viewed in the PDF viewer below.
The Complete Streets law was enacted to encourage counties, cities, villages and townships to work cooperatively to incorporate policies that ensure that roads and streets take into account the mobility needs of all legal users, including bicyclists, pedestrians and those traveling by assistive devices such as wheelchairs. Public Acts 134 and 135 of 2010 also requires the State Transportation Commission to enact a Complete Streets policy for MDOT by August 2012.
The 18-member council worked together over the last year to develop a vision statement and sample policy language for the State Transportation Commission. The report released yesterday notes that 63 Michigan communities have enacted Complete Streets policies and/or resolutions as of November 2011, putting Michigan ahead of all other states.
Members of the Complete Streets Advisory Council represent road and transit agencies, state agencies, walking, biking and environmental organizations, senior citizen and disabled persons groups. The council’s role, according to law, is to provide education and advice to the State Transportation Commission, county road commissions and municipalities. More information is available online at: www.michigan.gov/completestreets.
The Complete Streets Advisory Council will meet at 2 p.m., Wednesday, January 25, at the Capitol Commons Center, 400 S. Pine St., in Lansing. The meeting is open to the public.
The 18-member council was appointed in accordance with Public Act 135 of 2010. The group’s role, according to law, is to advise the State Transportation Commission, county road commissions and municipalities on Complete Streets policies. The law also requires the State Transportation Commission to enact a Complete Streets policy by August 2012. A “complete street” refers to a roadway that provides appropriate access to all legal users, including motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians and those traveling by assistive devices, such as wheelchairs.
If you need special assistance to attend the meeting, contact Dorothy Thompson at 517-241-4890. The public also can submit comments prior to the meeting via e-mail to [email protected] or in writing to:
Michelle Myers,
Departmental Specialist
Intermodal Policy Division
Michigan Department of Transportation
P.O. Box 30050, 425 W. Ottawa
Lansing, Michigan 48909
Complete Streets Advisory Council members represent road and transit agencies, state agencies, walking and biking organizations, and environmental, senior citizens and disabled persons groups. More information is available online at: www.michigan.gov/completestreets
The Michigan Association of Planning, in partnership with the Michigan Safe Routes to School (SR2S) Program, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), and the Michigan Municipal League (MML), is launching its 3rd annual Transportation Bonanza! This event was designed to bring together professionals from the fields of planning, education, transportation, health, engineering, natural resource and environmental protection, architecture, landscape architecture, and others to align around the topic of community building for health and accessibility.
We think that this year’s focus on the crossroads of schools and communities might appeal to your membership, constituents, partners, and/or staff. Transportation Bonanza 3 will deliver national and state experts to explore school facilities planning, how to implement Safe Routes to School successfully, collaborations between school districts and communities, public policies that impact the education system, and more.
Through valuable partnerships, the Transportation Bonanza series has continued to evolve from general transportation topics in its inaugural year to this year’s conference focusing on understanding the relationships between schools, community, and transportation; Safe Route to School; and Complete Streets. The benefits of attending are many and
include:
- Learning about the intricacies and interconnectedness of communities, public health, schools, and transportation
- Being better equipped to work with colleagues across multiple disciplines
- The registration price is a good value for the information provided
- Networking with colleagues across multiple disciplines
Just as the road networks we use to transport ourselves and our goods across multiple jurisdictions and cut through a variety of landscapes, so too do transportation planners, engineers, and advocates work with and through a variety of disciplines to enhance and improve our road systems. While each session is designed to relate to transportation in a unique way, from the relationship to schools to local government funding, there is an entire track dedicated to Context Sensitive Solutions and Complete Streets.
Date: February 16, 2012
Location: Lansing Center, Lansing
8:00 AM to 5:15 PM
Program: A full day of national experts and local perspectives, includes lunch, instruction, and refreshments.
Registration: $49 and online at http://planningmi.org/tb.asp
