For those wondering how Rockville got an honorable mention from the League of American Bicyclists, this may be a part of it.
The City Council on Monday unanimously adopted the Complete Streets policy, bringing together several road and pedestrian programs aimed at making Rockville's streets more inviting.
The policy provides a planning and engineering philosophy that will apply to construction and reconstruction projects. It will guide engineers to keep all users, including cyclists and pedestrians, in mind when designing streets.
City Manager Scott Ullery said the program is "pulling together under one umbrella several related policies," as well as giving future direction for road designs.
Improvements could include the addition of bike lanes, sidewalks, green medians and better pedestrian safety features.
The policy was formed after members of the Traffic and Transportation department participated in national Complete Streets training, applied for and received a grant for a consultant with Complete Streets expertise, and listened to input from the community and the Rockville Bicycle Advisory Committee.
With the council's approval, the Traffic and Transportation department will now begin ranking streets for attention in the 2011 Capitol Improvements Program budget.
DC is also working on Complete Streets legislation.
Wired magazine just published an article about complete streets last month.
The goal of the project [in St. Louis] is to increase pedestrian safety while maintaining traffic flow, enhance the appearance of the street, and provide more opportunities for economic development. Local officials were so pleased with the outcome of the 30-day trial that they decided to make the temporary changes permanent (.pdf). The city has seen the number of accidents decline with no loss in the efficiency of traffic flow.
Comments