Complete Streets Course Series

The U.S. House and Senate Committee on Appropriations addressed their concerns about increases in cyclist and pedestrian fatalities and encouraged the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to review its policies, procedures, and rules. The committee directed FHWA to distribute best practices for the Complete Streets design model to State and local highway partners. FHWA shares the same concerns as the committee about the increase in roadway fatalities and established a Complete Streets initiative to work with State, Tribal, and local transportation agencies throughout the Nation to implement a Complete Streets design model. This model will assist with making roadways safer for all users, including bicyclists, motorists, pedestrians, and transit riders.

Complete Streets is a strategy to plan, design, build, operate, and maintain street networks that prioritize safety, comfort, and connectivity to destinations for every individual that uses the street system. This model will help to reduce fatalities and injuries on our Nation’s highways.

FHWA’s National Highway Institute (NHI) has developed a training series on how to use the Complete Streets design model to develop, plan, build, operate and maintain the Nation’s highways to keep all street users safe in their community.
 

Achieving Successful Complete Streets with NHI

The Complete Streets (FHWA-NHI-380131A-F) course is a training that provides the participant with the opportunity to learn how Complete Streets is incorporated into the planning and designing process in the Safe System Approach. The learner has the option to take any of these courses as a Web-conference Training (WCT), which is taken virtually, or as an Instructor-led Training (ILT), which is held in-person.

Planning for Complete Streets (FHWA-NHI-380131A and FHWA-NHI-380131E)

Learners are introduced to the planning process for Complete Streets elements in a Safe System including the features, policies, and strategies that guide project development and result in measurable improvements

Designing for Complete Streets (FHWA-NHI-380131B and FHWA-NHI-380131F)

Participants will be introduced to the process of designing and implementing Complete Streets and explore fundamental design principles that support Complete Streets elements, including design strategies that emphasize measurement improvements, connectivity, and quality of service.

Planning and Designing for Complete Streets (FHWA-NHI-380131C and FHWA-NHI-380131D)

The course emphasizes the importance of safe street access, including the safe journey for individuals that use multiple modes of transportation, including walking, cycling, driving, and public transportation.

For this series of training, all participants must complete the self-paced Web-based Training and homework portion of the course before taking the ILT or WCT version of the course.

This training series is designed for transportation professionals, traffic engineers, roadway designers, public health officials, public work officials, and project managers who want to learn more about the planning and designing process of the Complete Streets model to keep all streets users safe in our communities.

How to Attend or Host a Course

NHI invites all transportation professionals interested in a course to visit https://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/ to learn more about registering or hosting a course. The course catalog lists over 350 courses in 18 program areas.

NHI is an approved Accredited Provider by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). As an IACET Accredited Provider, NHI offers continuing education units for its programs that qualify under the American National Standards Institute/IACET Standard.

Brooke Struve is a senior safety and geometric design engineer for FHWA.

Sabrina Sylvester is a senior marketing analyst contractor for NHI.

For more information about the Safe System Approach, see the Winter 2022 special issue of Public Roads. https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/winter-2022

For more information about Complete Streets, see the Winter 2023 issue of Public Roads. https://highways.dot.gov/public-roads/winter-2023