The past couple weeks have been hectic, to say the least. So please forgive me for just now getting the Safe and Complete Streets Policy and Checklist, approved by the SRTC Board in September, posted to the SRTC website.

If you’ve been wanting to check them out to see how they will change things, this is your chance.

Complete streets are roads designed and operated with all users in mind- including bicyclists, public transportation vehicles and riders, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

A Safe and Complete Streets Policy and Checklist at the Metropolitan Planning Organization (that’s what SRTC is) level will have a region-wide impact in changing the decision-making process so that all users are routinely considered during the planning, designing, building and operating of roadways.

It will also ensure that elements of the Safe and Complete Streets policy are incorporated into the 2013 MTP update, Horizon 2040, that we are working on now.

The checklist that goes along with the policy will mean that any project seeking to be included in the annual Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) will have to be evaluated to see if it meets the Policy guidelines or is exempt. The TIP is the funding program document that lists what projects will be funded for construction or implementation in the next four years.

Also, SRTC does occasional “calls for projects” when there is transportation funding available. Local jurisdictions are invited to submit projects they would like to see funded. The projects are ranked and prioritized and the ones determined to be top priorities are given money. From now on, any project submitted during a call for projects will have to be accompanied by the checklist to show that the needs of all users have been considered when designing the project.

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