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Last night was a big night for non-motorized transportation in Traverse City. The City Commission passed a Complete Street resolution without discussion as part of a consent agenda. Resident and local advocate Gary Howe commented on his blog that, “It may not be the bold resolution or ordinance that some of us would have written, but as long the actions to follow include the planning, consideration and implementation for all users–it’s all good.”
He went on to encourage continued participation in the regional Complete Streets Coalition that has been formed to discuss opportunities to implement Complete Streets within the Grand Vision in Northwest Michigan.
Shortly after the City Commission adopted the Complete Streets resolution, they also adopted an amendment to the City Code of Ordinances, Uniform Traffic Code Section 410.03, that requires all vehicles (including bicycles) to stop for pedestrians in marked crosswalks. State law currently only requires drivers to yield to pedestrians, not necessarily stop for them when they are attempting to enter the street from the curb. By passing this ordinance, Traverse City joins Ann Arbor in passing policy meant to help people safely cross a street. Ann Arbor has had their ordinance for about a year, but only recently began ticketing people for not following the new local law.
The Michigan Complete Streets Coalition congratulates the Traverse City Commission and local advocates for their ongoing efforts to improve safety for all roadway users.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE via
Disability Network/Lakeshore
The City of Otsego continued their vision of designing a healthy and accessible community at their regular scheduled City Council meeting Monday night.
Otsego City Council members unanimously approved a Complete Streets Resolution to include Complete Streets design considerations and practices as a routine part of infrastructure planning and implementation. The resolution comes after a presentation was made by Kathryn Gray, Public Policy Specialist for Disability Network/Lakeshore, to the Otsego Planning Commission at their June 27th meeting indicating the benefits of such a resolution.
Complete Streets are achieved when local organizations and agencies routinely plan, design, construct, re-construct, operate, and maintain the transportation network to improve travel conditions for bicyclists, pedestrians, and people with disabilities in a manner consistent with, and supportive of, the surrounding community.
City Manager of Otsego, Thad Beard, drafted a resolution of support for the council to vote on Monday night. Beard supported the resolution stating, “Complete Streets are for all modes of transportation, including all ages and abilities, and offers the potential for greater quality of life for our residents. Our City recognizes the importance of street infrastructure enabling safe, convenient, and comfortable travel for all users.”
Mayor Gilmer noted that passing this resolution, “will be great for our community!” Many benefits come from implementing Complete Streets including economic growth and community stability in providing accessible and efficient connections between home, work, school, recreation, and retails destinations.
Gray indicated that one of the many benefits of passing a resolution “is the potential for priority when applying for transportation enhancement grants through the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT).” Gray is a certified trainer of Complete Streets from the Michigan Department of Community Health’s Complete Streets Institute. “Both the Otsego Planning Commission and City Council had no objections to such a resolution and were eager to begin thinking about incorporation of Complete Streets in their planning processes.”
Over 45 Michigan communities have adopted a Complete Street ordinance or resolution. The City of Otsego joins the Cities of Holland and Allegan in Allegan County in passing such resolutions.
For more information:
Kathryn Gray, Public Policy Specialist
Disability Network/Lakeshore
(616) 396-5326
[email protected]
On July 11, 2011, Birmingham’s City Commission passed a Complete Streets resolution in support of multi-modal transportation planning to improve travel choices in the city. The resolution directs city staff to develop a set of proposed policies and procedures to implement Complete Streets practices. The City Commission voted unanimously to support the resolution and recognizes that while the city has long prioritized walkability, additional work remains to serve all user groups. This resolution comes after several discussions at the Planning Board about the benefits of Complete Streets and approaches to implementation. The city will move forward with identifying the most effective way to implement Complete Streets practices in its road planning process and hopes to work with other communities throughout Michigan to ensure that the city is employing best practices. By passing the Complete Streets resolution, Birmingham renews its commitment to promoting safe and convenient mobility options and improving the quality of life for all its residents.
Download Birmingham’s Complete Streets resolution
Birmingham Patch coverage
Reported by Paul Lamoureux, Northville Resident
With unanimous accord, the Northville City Council adopted a complete streets resolution at its regular meeting on Monday, June 20. The measure was hailed by its author and initial proponent, City Manger Patrick Sullivan, as a necessary first step toward the establishment of a comprehensive non-motorized master plan designed to link Northville residents with nearby communities of Novi and Plymouth. It turns out Mr. Sullivan has prior, job-related experience with non-motorized infrastructure and has experienced first hand the positive community and economic benefits when a community accommodates all modes of transportation.
Several interesting facts emerged during the discussion of the resolution. Novi, with its own complete streets resolution, was cited as an example of a community benefiting from its long-standing non-motorized plan whose residents have long sought better access to commercial downtown Northville. Residents of both communities also seek a method to bike and walk to nearby Maybury State Park, a presently unsupported route and primary goal for the future. Finally, some expressed support for a better, biker-friendly connection between downtown Northville and Hines Park terminating at the city’s southern border.
A pair of Northville resident League of Michigan Bicyclists (LMB) members first approached the City Manager just a few short months ago to communicate the complete streets message. The city then availed itself of the resources provided by micompletestreets.org and the Michigan Municipal League. Upon passage of the resolution, City Council expressed their interest in further support from LMB in the drafting and implementation of the non-motorized master plan and expressed their gratitude for their leadership thus far in the process.
Marquette, Ludington, Lake Isabella, Acme Twp. and Owosso join the growing list of supportive communities!
A roadway in need of complete streets in Acme Township. (photo by glhjr)
While we have been a little behind in updating this site the past few weeks, it certainly doesn’t mean there hasn’t been news worth posting about complete streets in Michigan. In fact, we are pleased to report that there have been five complete streets resolutions adopted across the state recently.
On May 9th, both the Cities of Marquette and Ludington adopted complete streets resolutions at their respective City Council meetings. The Mining Journal and the Ludington Daily News both covered the passage of these resolutions.
We also received word this month from Lake Isabella Village Manager Tim Wolff that their Village Council also adopted a complete streets resolution.
As reported on My Wheels are Turning, Acme Township became the first community in Grand Traverse County to endorse Complete Streets at their June 7th Board of Trustees meeting. They join a handful of other townships across the state who have also recently adopted complete streets resolutions. While we are extremely encouraged by the action of these communities, it still remains to be seen what sort of impact these policies will ultimately have since county road commissions actually are the ones who have jurisdiction over roads within townships. Ultimately we hope that we are seeing the beginning of a fruitful dialog between Michigan’s 1200+ townships and the 80+ county road commissions.
It also looks like we might see more complete streets policies coming out of northern Michigan in the near future. According to the Petoskey News Northeast Michigan Council of Governments and Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance are cooperating to offer complete streets training sessions in Emmet and Alpena Counties at the end of this month.
And lastly, as we reported yesterday, Owosso also recently adopted a complete streets resolution. This brings Michigan to a total of 38 known local resolutions and six ordinances in addition to our statewide law. According to Holly Madill, Complete Streets Project Coordinator for the Michigan Department of Community Health, approximately 2,659,080 people, 27% of Michigan’s population now lives in a community that has endorsed complete streets either through a resolution or ordinance.
View Resolutions:
Reposted from Argus-Press.com
OWOSSO — The city council this week passed a resolution to support a “complete streets” initiative that promotes safe and efficient movement for vehicles, bicyclists and pedestrians while planning and designing roadway construction.
The resolution states, when feasible, the city will “incorporate the complete street design considerations as a routine part of infrastructure planning and implementation.”
The inclusion of infrastructure like bike lanes and additional easier-to-use crosswalks offers health benefits for the population and makes Owosso a more livable community, the resolution states.
The resolution also requires the Michigan Department of Transportation to consult with city officials when undergoing projects on state highways within the city limits. MDOT is not currently required to seek city input when doing work on state highways such as M-21 and M-52.
Council members expressed concern with MDOT and the lack of communication they had when work was done in the past.
City Manager Don Crawford said the city received notice from MDOT that the organization is requesting engineers to design M-21 west of M-52 and M-52 north of Main Street. He expects MDOT to award the design sometime in the near future.
How much consulting and how much consideration MDOT will give to local input was questioned by some council members.
Marquette Township, Ispeming and Oakland Township adopt complete streets resolutions.
Holland, East Lansing and Lansing Township close.
First meeting scheduled for Complete Streets Advisory Council.
Complete streets continues to gain momentum around the state. Last week, two Upper Peninsula communities, Marquette Township and the City of Ishpeming both passed Complete Streets resolutions. “Marquette Charter Township has been a leader in providing for the health, safety, welfare, and ease of mobility for those preferring non-motorized modes of transit. In 2003 our Planning Commission required that all new or substantially reconstructed roads must provide an adjacent non-motorized alternative. So, moving forward with the Complete Streets process was a natural for us,” said Randy Girard, Township Manager for the Charter Township of Marquette.
We have learned that the City of Marquette is also working on a policy and should be bringing it before City Council within a month or two. When passed this would make three policies withing Marquette County. Our hats off to our partners at the Marquette County Health Department for all their great leadership in moving these policies forward.
According to the Oakland Township Patch, the Oakland County Board of Trustees voted last night to pass a resolution “supporting Michigan Complete Streets program.” We have not seen the actual language of the resolution yet, but are honored to have the official endorsement of the Board of Trustees for our work to advance complete streets across the state. We look forward to working with the Township in helping to advance their efforts to safely accommodate all roadway users.
Oakland Township becomes the second Oakland County township, after Milford Township, to adopt a Complete Streets resolution. As with Milford Township, Oakland Township does not have jurisdiction over roads. It is the Road Commission for Oakland County who owns, builds, and maintains them within the county. The Complete Streets state law passed last August, however, does state that a “county road agency shall consult with the municipality and agree on how to address the respective complete streets policies.” Other townships that have adopted complete streets include Marquette Township, Union Township and Atlas Township. We will be keeping a close eye on these communities to see how the road commissions and townships work together to implement complete streets.
Oakland Township wasn’t the only municipality busy last night advancing complete streets. We learned via our Facebook Page, that the City of Holland Planning Commission passed a complete streets draft resolution which will be sent to the City Council for approval within the next few months. “The Michigan Association of Railroad Passengers (MARP) feels that a complete streets policy will assist in the City of Holland becoming the friendliest city in America,” said John D. Langdon, Governmental / Public Affairs Coordinator for MARP.
Additionally, a steering committee composed of community leaders and local residents in Lansing Township are guiding a process of developing a complete streets ordinance and non-motorized transportation plan. They are hosting townhall meetings tonight and tomorrow evenings (April 13 & 14) to discuss the proposed ordinance. They have also launched a public survey for community members to provide input.
Just down the road, the City of East Lansing is planning to bring their draft ordinance up for a vote within the next couple of months. Hearing news of the progress in Lansing Township and East Lansing to adopt complete streets, Meridian Township Trustee Veenstra expressed interest in following suit. Also in Mid-Michigan, the City of Mason is showing signs of support by featuring complete streets on the front cover of their latest newsletter.
In statewide news, we are pleased to report that the first meeting of the Complete Streets Advisory Council has been scheduled for April 27, 2011, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the VanWagoner Transportation Building, 425 W. Ottawa Street, Lansing. The meeting will be held in the Lakeshore Learning Center Conference Room, located near the first floor lobby.
Union Township officials confirmed their commitment to building a vital community by passing a Complete Streets Resolution at their regular meeting on Wednesday, March 23.
The resolution affirms the township is moving towards making the township more walkeable and bikeable and will incorporate Complete Streets concepts in its transportation planning and improvements.
Union Township became the 34th Michigan Community (see comment) to pass a Complete Streets ordinance or resolution in coordination with state legislation that was passed in 2010.
The township has been working with the City of Mount Pleasant, Isabella County, Central Michigan University, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe. Local schools and other institutions and community organizations on a micropolitan area non-motorized transportation plan along with the Greenway Collaborative of Ann Arbor.
Union Township Complete Streets Resolution
▲ Here is a copy of Union Township’s Complete Streets Resolution
It appears that Milford is the first township in Oakland County to have passed a Complete Streets resolution.
According to the Spinal Column:
Milford Township Planning Commission members are reviewing design features as part of the township’s “complete streets” policy to make streets more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists.
This comes after the commission passed a complete streets policy resolution in January, which was then adopted by the Milford Township Board of Trustees in February.
The policy allows the Planning Commission to review all street plans to ensure all public and private street projects, including reconstruction, are built to follow the guidelines of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials to accommodate all users of the rights-of-way or private road easements.
“This allows the township to be more involved in street improvements with help from the county and state planning process,” said Milford Township Building Official Timothy Brandt.
View Milford Township’s Resolution Here.
Originally posted by Todd Scott. Read the rest of the story and the resolution on m-bike.org
Grand Rapids (March 22, 2011) – Grand Rapids City Commissioners today adopted a Complete Streets Resolution. The Resolution assures that future transportation projects consider all user groups, including pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders, people in wheelchairs and motor vehicles.
“This is a win for us today and also for the citizens of Grand Rapids,” Kevin McCurren, Chair of the Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition, said. “We worked hard to gain a Bicycle Friendly Community designation for Grand Rapids in October 2009 and we continue to advocate for safe and accessible cycling for everyone.”
The Complete Streets Resolution was written by City Planning Director Suzanne Schultz. Its passage is the first step toward Grand Rapids ultimately adopting a more comprehensive Complete Streets Policy Ordinance.
Complete Streets have bicycle lanes, sidewalks, pedestrian crosswalks and attractive landscaping, which lead to a more active lifestyle. They offer the potential for improved public health, a cleaner environment and economic development. Communities that employ the design are more vibrant and inviting while also reducing long-term transportation costs.
Governor Granholm signed Complete Streets into law last year for the State of Michigan. Pubic Acts 134 and 135 require the Michigan Department of Transportation and local governments apply the Complete Streets model in planning and construction of transportation-related projects.
The Greater Grand Rapids Bicycle Coalition advocates for change to public policy where it affects cyclists. It is committed to transforming Grand Rapids into a safer cycling community.
To further advance cycling in Grand Rapids, the group will be hosting its second Grand Rapids Bicycle Summit, May 6 at GVSU’s Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids. The daylong conference will offer keynote speakers and workshops for bicyclists, government officials, planners, health officials and the general public. To learn more and to register, visit BikeGrandRapids.org.
View the Resolution Here
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