Complete Streets

Complete Streets Are Safe Streets

From CalBike.org

CalBike is a co-sponsor of the Complete Streets Bill of 2024, SB 960, authored by Senator Scott Wiener. The bill requires Caltrans to set objective goals and “to prioritize the implementation of comfortable, convenient, and connected facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users on all projects in the [SHOPP funding] program, where applicable.”

Complete Streets are streets that are safe and comfortable for people biking, walking, and taking transit, as well as driving motor vehicles. Protected bikeways, a key element of many Complete Streets, have been shown to reduce fatalities and injuries for road users in all modes of transportation.

People who get around by biking, walking, or taking transit have the same right to safe passage on our streets as people driving cars. True Complete Streets provide that equitable use of our public space regardless of transit mode, economic status, or race.

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Pasadena is (almost) a 15-minute city

From PasadenaCSC.org

The idea of a 15-minute city is simple: a livable city should have most of the things that most people need accessible within 15 minutes by walking, biking, or riding public transit. In a 15-minute city, it should be easy and convenient to walk to a restaurant, ride a bike to the park, or take a bus to the grocery store. This includes safe options for kids to walk to school, and for at least some adults, places nearby where they could work.

This isn’t a hard thing to envision. We could debate about exactly what cities are or are not 15-minute cities, but you don’t have to look far to get the idea. Many East Coast cities have urban cores that could be called 15-minute cities. For example, someone living in Manhattan or Boston is very likely to walk or use public transportation for most of their daily trips. In Paris, many residents don’t own a car, and it’s easy to get around on a subway that goes everywhere and has typical wait times of just three or four minutes. A number of other American cities also score well as 15-minute cities, including San Francisco, Long Beach, and Seattle.

Pasadena is a well designed city

Though Pasadena is part of the megalopolis of Los Angeles, it is also a self-contained city. People who live here know that Pasadena is a wonderful place to live, and for lots of reasons. Many stem from the fact that much of Pasadena was developed in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries before automobiles became dominant. As a consequence, Pasadena has great bones, including an easy-to-navigate street grid with walkable sidewalks in most places, and a mix of land uses. As a mature city, Pasadena has areas that combine dense commercial uses and housing like Old Pasadena and the Playhouse District; high levels of employment at dispersed locations around the city; educational facilities that include not only local-serving K-12 schools but also institutions of higher learning; a major cluster of medical facilities; nice park space; and a well-developed public transportation system. So – in terms of a 15-minute city – Pasadena has many assets.  In fact, most of the elements of a 15-minute city are already here!

But, there’s an important thing missing. These elements need to be more effectively linked together to create a safe, inviting, and amenable public realm that promotes walkability and bikeability. If the purpose of a city is to minimize distance and maximize choice, putting these elements together are key to fully realizing the 15-minute city in Pasadena.

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Complete streets are an accessibility issue.

From PasadenaCSC.org

Pretending otherwise denies the experience of thousands of local residents.

I don’t really like Impossible Burgers. I think they taste funny.

But when restaurants include vegetarian options on their menu, it makes those businesses more inviting for vegetarians, so they can end up serving more people.

When buildings include ramps or elevators in addition to stairs, it makes the facility accessible to more people.

When signs and instructions are written in multiple languages, it makes the message available to more people.

In today’s world, most people prefer our restaurants, libraries, and schools to be accessible to a wide range of people. Vegetarian options, wheelchair ramps, and inclusive policies are all good examples of things that make a place more accessible and welcoming to a wide range of people.

In general, creating more options for access and inviting in more people is the American way when designing public spaces and when we think about our businesses and institutions.

Our transportation system, though, is a strange exception to this. For some reason, public officials often prefer LESS accessible streets, with FEWER options for who can use them and how.  Even baby steps toward making our streets more diverse leads some people to complain.

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Reseda Boulevard complete streets project takes shape

From LA.Urbanize.city

By STEVEN SHARP

In October, the City of Los Angeles broke ground on a nearly $20-million project which will transform a 2.9-mile stretch of Reseda Boulevard through the addition of new pedestrian and bicycle safety infrastructure. With nearly two years of construction in the rear-view mirror, the latest in LADOT’s periodic e-mail updates on the makeover offers a glimpse of what has been completed to date.

According to LADOT, work on the project has to date included 100,000 square feet of sidewalk repair, 12,000 square feet of gutter repair, as well as the construction of 46 new curb ramps and 11 accessible loading zones. Likewise, new bus boarding islands have been built at 11 locations along the corridor, which will allow buses to stop without pulling over, and double as a curb to separate the adjacent bicycle lane from traffic.

The project, which will stretch between Victory Boulevard in the south and Parthenia Street in the north, will eventually include:

  • high-visibility crosswalks;
  • 11 bus boarding islands at 9 intersections;
  • protected bike lanes separated from automobile traffic by vertical bollards and concrete islands;
  • new loading zones and curb ramps;
  • new left turn arrows at 8 intersections;
  • 13 bioswales;
  • new shade trees;
  • pedestrian lighting at bus stops; and
  • a crosswalk with flashing beacons at Napa Street with a median pedestrian island.

Photo by Denise Jans on Unsplash

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