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After the State Transportation Commission officially adopted a Complete Streets policy on July 26th, 2012, as required by PA 134 and PA 135 of 2010, the Michigan Department of Transportation wasted no time in getting the word out about the good news. Upon request from the Michigan Complete Streets Advisory Council, MDOT recently published this one-page leave behind regarding the new policy in an effort to help inform internal staff, as well as road commissions, municipalities, and other interest groups across the state.
The one-pager includes the following vision for Complete Streets in Michigan:
- A transportation network that is accessible, interconnected and multimodal and that safely and efficiently moves goods and people of all ages and abilities throughout the State of Michigan.
- A process that empowers partnerships to routinely plan, fund, design, construct, maintain and operate complete streets that respect context and community values.
- Outcomes that will improve economic prosperity, equity, accessibility, safety and environmental quality.
Download the one-pager or preview it below.
The Twin Cities Area Transportation Study, the group of communities in the Benton Harbor/St. Joseph area that work with federal, state, and local jurisdictions to plan for the transportation system in the area, recently passed their very own Complete Streets Policy! You can review the policy at http://www.swmpc.org/walkbiketwincats.asp.
The policy aims to include non-motorized facilities in the development of all transportation projects within the planning jurisdiction. The design of our communities have not always taken into consideration other users of the transportation network, this policy aims to change the culture and infrastructure of an evolving region and demographic. This policy was developed with help from local municipalities, county road commission, MDOT, Disability Network of Southwest Michigan, and local advocacy groups representing biking, transit, and walking coalitions.
The next phase of the TwinCATS Walk and Roll Committee will be to develop a Top 10 list of locations in the planning area that need non-motorized facilities.
For more information about the TwinCATS Walk and Roll Committee or the process that was used to develop the policy contact Suzann Flowers at [email protected] or (269) 925-1137 x 17.
Interested in making your neighborhood or community more conducive to walking? The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is promoting a series of “walkability” audits in seven communities around the state, designed to provide a hands-on evaluation of the walking conditions in a portion of the community, and a discussion of design improvement ideas.
The walkability audits are designed to help city engineers, planners, officials, residents and others realize the benefits of providing a safe and attractive environment for walking. The free audits will be conducted by Dan Burden of the Walkable and Livable Communities Institute, who has 40 years of experience in developing, promoting and evaluating active transportation facilities, traffic calming practices and sustainable community design.
Audits will be conducted from Aug. 12 to17. For more details, contact the community organizer.
The 2012 schedule follows:
Sunday, Aug. 12 - Paw Paw
[email protected]
Monday, Aug. 13 - Alpine Township
[email protected]
Monday, Aug. 13 - Wyoming
[email protected]
Tuesday, Aug. 14 - Meridian Township
[email protected]
Wednesday, Aug. 15 - Gaylord
[email protected]
Thursday, Aug. 16 - Trenton
[email protected]
Friday, Aug. 17 - Detroit
[email protected]
