Plan and Analyze Complete Streets
Transportation professionals in States, MPOs, and localities conduct analyses and produce plans to make short-term improvements and set long-term goals for the surface transportation network. These plans are inter-disciplinary and may explore the transportation, safety, land use, environmental, economic, housing, employment, health, and other factors of a roadway’s structure and the function it serves for a community. Under a Complete Streets design model, safety for all users will be incorporated into all these transportation planning and analysis processes.
Analyzing the community context and the role that a particular street needs to serve in the multimodal network allows transportation professionals to determine the infrastructure elements necessary to meet community needs. To identify the safety, connectivity, and equity concerns related to the transportation network, transportation professionals may:
- Engage with community members, particularly individuals in underserved communities.
- Analyze crash risk using data driven safety analysis.
- Assess the need for new safety infrastructure elements.
- Evaluate impacts by monitoring and measuring success.
Data plus State and local processes to measure performance are critical to guiding and evaluating the success of Complete Streets initiatives. Collection and analysis of new data, such as pedestrian and bicycle volumes or public health data on neighborhood characteristics, can help jurisdictions focus their investments and analysis. This allows jurisdictions to evaluate success in meeting safety, connectivity, equity, and climate goals and for communicating with their constituents.
This page provides resources, including training, tools, and examples (including those prepared by outside entities and posted on external websites) for transportation professionals, the public, and other stakeholders for (1) prioritizing safety for all users while planning and analyzing projects at a corridor and network level, and (2) measuring performance of the roadway system for all road users. These resources also help capture other benefits of Complete Streets. Although the following resources do not always use the term Complete Streets, they help to advance the primacy of safety for everyone in the planning process. Check back frequently for new resources.
- Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making: The purpose of this document is to promote promising practices for transportation professionals to incorporate meaningful public involvement into each stage of the transportation decisionmaking process and project lifecycle, including operations and service provision. This guide is intended to support practitioners in all modes of transportation in various roles, including those working in policy, planning, engineering, operations, civil rights, environmental justice, and public involvement.
- Environmental Justice Analysis in Transportation Planning and Programming: State of the Practice – A report documenting the state of the practice among State DOTs and MPOs regarding how these agencies are considering and addressing environmental justice concerns in their transportation planning and programming process.
- Pedestrian & Bicycle Information Center – Allows you to watch free past recordings and register for upcoming webinars on a variety of topics related to Complete Streets provided by the Pedestrian and Bicyclist Information Center.
- Pedestrian & Bicycle Program Planning Process – Multiple publications that provide MPOs and State DOTs with practical information and examples on including pedestrian and bicycle transportation in their regional and State planning activities.
- Performance Based Planning and Programming – Defines the characteristics of performance-based planning and programming and present the information that FHWA, FTA and their partners have developed to date. This information should help to assess the effectiveness of plans and programs in meeting state and regional performance goals.
- National Resources and Technical Assistance for Transit-Oriented Development – Access on-the-ground and online technical assistance to support transit-oriented development, improve access to public transportation, and build new economic opportunities and pathways to employment for local communities.
- Basics of Public Involvement in Transportation Decision Making (free web-based course) – Provides transportation practitioners with the knowledge and tools needed to better engage the public in transportation decisions as well as meet Federal requirements for public involvement. This course is available through the National Highway Institute.
- Integrating Transportation and Land Use (web-based training) – Helps practitioners plan multimodal transportation systems that support community development goals and shape land use patterns that support transportation system performance goals.
- A Primer to Complete Streets (in-person course) – Introduces the concept of complete streets and highlights examples for various contexts in a three-hour virtual delivery. Contact your local FHWA Division Office to submit a request for training from the FHWA Resource Center.
- Planning & Design of Complete Streets (in-person workshop) – Provides participants with information and tools for developing a Complete Streets Policy, selecting appropriate performance measures, and implementing strategies. Contact your local FHWA Division Office to submit a request for training from the FHWA Resource Center
- Road Safety Audits – Provides resources to learn about and conduct Road Safety Audits (RSA). An RSA is a formal safety performance examination of an existing or future road or intersection by an independent, multidisciplinary team.
- Crash Modification Factors – A Clearinghouse of CMFs, as well as additional information and resources. A CMF is an estimate of the change in crashes expected after implementation of a countermeasure.
- Roadway Safety Data – Provides advanced data collection and analysis tools to help State and local practitioners with systemic safety analysis and selection of safety countermeasures.
- Data Driven Safety Analysis (DDSA) – Allows practitioners to look beyond traditional crash analysis by providing tools to conduct predictive and systemic crash analysis. DDSA uses crash and roadway data to predict the safety impacts of highway projects and allows agencies to target investments with more confidence and reduce severe crashes on roadways.
- Pedestrian and Bicyclist Crash Analysis Tool (PBCAT tool) – A crash typing software product intended to assist state and local pedestrian/bicycle coordinators, planners and engineers with improving walking and bicycling safety.
- Primer on Safe System Approach for Pedestrians and Bicyclists – Provides transportation agencies a baseline understanding of the Safe System approach and how it relates to bicycle and pedestrian safety.
- Integrating the Safe System Approach with SHSPs – Helps States use a Safe System framework to guide their State Highway Safety Plan.
- Safety Performance Management – Includes resources for measuring and assessing safety performance.
- Health in Transportation Corridor Planning Framework – Provides a framework to help transportation agencies develop partnerships, enhance community engagement to help identify when and how to consider public health as part of the existing corridor planning process.
- Guidebook for Measuring Multimodal Network Connectivity – Focuses on pedestrian and bicycle network connectivity and provides information on incorporating connectivity measures into state, metropolitan, and local transportation planning processes.
- FHWA Small Towns and Rural Multimodal Networks (report) – This idea book helps small towns and rural communities support safe, accessible, comfortable, and active travel for people of all ages and abilities.
- FHWA ADA Guidance and Technical Assistance – Provides guidance, resources, useful links and memos on ADA requirements for State and Local agencies.
- Accessible Shared Streets: Notable Practices and Considerations for Accommodating Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities – Reviews notable practices and considerations for accommodating pedestrians with vision disabilities on shared streets. It focuses on streets where pedestrians, bicyclists, and motor vehicles are intended to mix in the same space.
- Pursuing Equity in Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning (guide) – Defines transportation equity; synthesizes recent research findings; and shares strategies, practices and resources to address bicycle and pedestrian planning inequities.
The contents of this website do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. This website is intended only to provide information to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. The U.S. Government does not endorse outside entities, products, or manufacturers. Links to content created by outside entities are provided for informational purposes only and are not intended to reflect a preference, approval, or endorsement of any one entity or product. External sites are not subject to Federal information quality, privacy, security, or accessibility guidelines.
Last updated: Friday, February 3, 2023