The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently submitted a report to Congress that outlines five opportunity areas that will help the agency move ahead with implementing the Complete Streets design model.
The report, Moving to a Complete Streets Design Model: A Report to Congress on Opportunities and Challenges, will assist the FHWA to increase the proportion of federally funded transportation projects that are planned, designed, built, and operated as Complete Streets, the agency’s new default approach.
The focus of FHWA’s Complete Streets initiative is the nearly 70 percent of roads on the National Highway System that are not access-controlled freeways.
“A Complete Street is safe, and feels safe, for everyone using the street,” Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack said. “We can’t keep people safe on our roads if we don’t have safer roads and roads that slow down drivers to safe speeds. Through our Complete Streets initiative, FHWA will play a leadership role in providing an equitable and safe transportation network for travelers of all ages and abilities, including vulnerable road users and those from underserved communities that have faced historic disinvestment.”
The Complete Streets design model focuses on countermeasures that encourage safe speeds and the design, construction, and operation of safe roads.