Complete Streets by MTC

On Tuesday of this week I had the benefit of attending a seminar put on by MTC about Complete Streets.

It was great to hear about the legislation from the organization that will help communities fund these projects.  I also appreciated the more technical discussion by colleagues from the consulting world.

One takeaway I had, in contrast to some ideas presented at the recent local APWA Complete Streets seminar, was that the goal isn't necessarily to make all intersections operate at a LOS of D.  In fact, there are new LOS yardsticks for biking, pedestrians, etc... including the actual corridor.  By comparing these LOS's, you can identify where you want to make your trade-offs.  A specific related conundrum was gratefully brought to our attention by a transit service provider - most frequently, the effect of implementing a Complete Streets program, will reduce the LOS for transit.  Transit is supposed to be a benefactor of Complete Streets, but seems to often be forgotten or not considered as important as the other modes of transportation.  It's definitely worth considering this issue.