Complete Street, Improvement

The adoption of Complete Street has been proven to create safer streets for all road users of all abilities from various transportation modes. Complete Street have transformed cities to shift towards sustainable transportation by prioritising non-motorised modes of transport. Nonetheless, the implementation of this concept may not be universally successful. A study of 113 municipal levels of Complete Street Policies suggests that urban planners and decision makers need to pay attention to.

First, local municipalities policies including for Complete Street should have clear legal mandate for its physical implementation. Without clarity of definition and responsibility in the policy, the Complete Street concept tends to have weak foundation to transform the deeply institutionalised automobile street design practice. Next common mistake in the success of implementation of the Complete Street is generalisation of the policy direction. Different cities and different places will have different typology of usage and users of the roads; thus, it is critical to base the concept into the specific context of the streets. Lastly, local municipalities frequently neglect other essential temporary activities such as passenger drop off, delivery zones, street vendors, trash pickups, etc. the lack of consideration of these activities may create conflict and risk the convenience and safety of the main use of the street. Therefore, it requires a holistic approach to ensure the road activities does not hinder the other land use such as commercial and residential activities in the place. 

Reference

Gregg, K., & Hess, P. (2019). Complete streets at the municipal level: A review of American municipal Complete Street Policy. International journal of sustainable transportation, 13(6), 407-418.

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