ld 403 - me complete streets testimony

7/30/2019 LD 403 - ME Complete Streets Testimony

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March 22, 2013

Written Testimony of Lori Parham, State Director, AARP

Senator Mazurek, Representative Theriault and members of the Transportation

Committee. Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments regarding a Complete

Streets Policy for Maine. On behalf of our more than 230,000 members in Maine, AARP

is pleased to support LD 403 Resolve, To Establish a Task Force on the Establishment

of So-called Complete Streets Design Guidelines.

As we all know, the U.S. population is agingand quite rapidly. The U.S. Census

Bureau projects that by 2025, nearly one in five Americans will be over the age of 65,

totaling 62 million Americans. Here in Maine, we see this firsthand as the oldest statein the country. States and localities must adopt policies to support successful aging

and to create livable communities.

Central to the creation of livable communities is the ability for everyone, regardless of

age or ability, to travel safely. Yet, many of our nations roads do little to meet the

needs of the growing population of older Americans. While many of these older adults

will continue to drive, a growing number will need other transportation options and will

find them lacking.

Complete Streets policies offer the opportunity to improve travel options for people ofall ages. Planning, designing, and building roads with all users in mind will provide

older adults a variety of options for getting around, whether walking, taking public

transportation, driving their own cars, or sharing rides with family and friends.

Following a Complete Streets process will balance the sometimes-competing needs of

older drivers and older pedestrians by slowing vehicles down where necessary,

creating an easily navigated multimodal network of streets, and improving visibility.

In addition, a Complete Streets process must be implemented in ways that fit within a

given rural, suburban, or urban context. This is especially true in Maine given the

diversity of our cities and towns.

Instituting a Complete Streets policy at the state level is essential in creating

transportation networks that give older adults the mobility and access to destinations

they need and want. States control many community roadways and often set the

standard for streets in counties, cities, and towns. Over half of the states have already

adopted some form of a Complete Streets policy, and a handful are working to

institutionalize the approach in their everyday work.

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I would like to take this opportunity to address a few critical questions that arise when

the topic of Complete Streets is advanced.

What is a Complete Street?

A Complete Street is a street designed for safe, comfortable, and convenient

travel for all users, whether they choose to travel by car, bicycle, public

transportation, or on foot. There is no single design prescription for Complete

Streets; each one is unique and responds to its community context. However,

AARP emphasizes the need for Complete Streets to be designed for all ages and

abilities, as older adults are our most vulnerable road users, whether in a car or

as a pedestrian.

o In cities, a Complete Street would include wide sidewalks, trees, bus

stops with shelters and benches, well-marked crosswalks, and bicycle

lanes.

o In more rural areas, Complete Streets have wide shoulders for bicyclists

or multi-use trails separated from traffic. Roundabouts at the entrance of

towns can save lives by slowing traffic that passes through Main Streets.

Why are Complete Streets Important?

Complete Streets make communities more livable for everyone. We know this

is important because in surveys conducted by AARPs Public Policy Institute, 9

out of 10 older adults said they want to stay in their homes and communities as

they age. But were not there yet:

o In a poll conducted by AARP in 2008, 40% of adults 50+ reported

inadequate sidewalks in their neighborhoods.o More sobering, nearly half reported they cannot cross the main roads

close to their home safely.

o 54% of those living in inhospitable neighborhoods said they would walk

and ride more often if conditions improved.

o The majority support adoption of Complete Streets policies, with 56%

expressing strong support.

Complete Streets provide more ways to get around a community, making it

more accessible and providing more independence to people who have outlived

their driving years, to children, to people with disabilities who cannot drive, and

to others who choose not to drive. Complete Streets make communities safer.

Complete Streets make us healthier.

Complete Streets are good for business.

Why does Maine need a statewide Complete Streets policy?A statewide Complete Streets policy will direct transportation planners and engineers

to routinely design and operate the entire right-of-way to enable safe access for all

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users, regardless of age, ability, or mode of transportation. This means that every

transportation project will make the street network better and safer for drivers, transit

users, pedestrians, and bicyclists making Maine towns better places to live and

retire.

A Complete Streets policy seeks to change the way transportation agencies and

communities approach every street project and ensure safety, convenience, and

access for all. Such policy will change planning procedures to institutionalize

Complete Streets design so that pedestrian and bicycle facilities become more than

just special projects. Complete Streets policies provide the planning and political

framework for a new paradigm of routinely using transportation investments to create

streets intended to serve all users. Complete Streets policies provide a new way of

approaching street planning and design. They provide the impetus to examine every

day practices and devote existing transportation dollars to creating a more

comprehensive transportation network.

How will adoption of Complete Streets policy affect state and local budgets?Complete Streets policy as envisioned by AARP does not seek a new pot of funding.

Rather, it aims to encourage road departments to spend existing funds differently.

Complete Streets policies provide cost effective strategies to improve mobility.

Complete Streets:

Can avoid costly retrofits,

Can be achieved within the context of existing transportation budgets,

Can save on project costs,

Can make projects more popular, and

Can add lasting value.

In Lee County, Florida, for example, as part of the Complete Streets implementation

process, County staff re-examined their list of road projects approved in the

Metropolitan Planning Organizations 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan. As a

result of this Complete Streets analysis, the staff determined that five road projects

slated for widening from two to four lanes should be reduced to a two-lane divided

roadway with median and turn lanes. The County asked for amendments to the 2035

LRTP to reflect these changes in roadway plans. The changes are estimated to reduce

the cost of these five projects by $58.5 million, a significant savings for the county and

its taxpayers that will also create streets that are better for all users.

Would adoption of a Complete Streets policy create an unfunded mandate?

In reality, a Complete Streets policy is not a mandate for immediate retrofits of roads

across the state. It is a statement of policy or vision by the legislature that

transportation departments will consider the needs of all users in all phases of

transportation planning and project development. It directs planners to look beyond

congestion relief and auto-focused issues and understand the mobility needs of the

elderly, children, persons with disabilities, and individuals who wish to travel by bicycle

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during the preparation of the long-range transportation plan or project planning and

design. It also directs agency staff to look for opportunities in maintenance and

operations budgets to improve conditions for travel.

What are the benefits of Complete Streets?

The benefits of Complete Streets are numerous:

Safety: Roads that welcome pedestrians and bicyclists signal to drivers to slow

down and that is good for safety whether you are riding a bike or behind the

wheel.

Access and Opportunity: Half of older non-drivers do not get out of the

house on a given day, in part because they lack transportation options.

Complete Streets provides older adults with safe sidewalks and crosswalks and

connects them to public transportation services so they do not have to burden

family and friends for a ride when they need and want to get out. When streets

are designed with all users in mind, including older drivers, we can implement

measures to help keep older drivers safe behind the wheel longer. Thesemeasures could be as simple as restriping the edgelines along highways to 6

instead of 4.

Complete Streets can also increase employment opportunities for persons with

disabilities and low-income workers who can now more easily get to affordable

public transportation via accessible sidewalks and bus stops. And it can save

transit providers the cost of ADA paratransit trips.

Health: Complete Streets make active living easier. Complete Streets have

been shown to increase walking and bicycling. That is why your own PhysicalActivity Plan recommends the adoption of Complete Streets policiesas does

the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control.

Complete Streets is not the entire solutionbut it is part of the solution to

chronic disease associated with low levels of physical activity.

Community: A Complete Streets policy gives planners and designers more

opportunity to look beyond simply thinking of streets as functional arteries for

moving motor vehicles at the greatest speed possible. Our streets are the

building blocks, or bones, for creating thriving communities. Businesses do

better when there is an inviting environment that encourages and invites people

to walk past store entrances. Good street design is fundamental to Main street

revitalization. Welcoming environments can facilitate spontaneous interaction

with neighborhoods. This is so essential for older adults. Social isolation leads

to poor health outcomes.

Pocketbook: Even before the recent run up in gasoline costs, Americans spent

an average of 18 cents of every dollar on transportation, with the poorest fifth

of families spending far more than double that figure. The vast majority of that

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money, nearly 98%, is for the purchase, operation, and maintenance of cars.

This high cost is unavoidable for those who live in areas that lack sidewalks,

bike lanes, and convenient public transportation. Americans want lower cost

options.

Environment: Complete streets are essential to make it possible for

Americans to drive less and use sustainable transportation options more. The

potential to shift trips to transit, walking, and biking is undeniable. 42% of all

trips we make are 2 miles or less, yet 69% of these trips are made by car.

Whos building Complete Streets?

More than 130 communities around the country have committed to a Complete

Streets approach. They include:

New York City:

o New York City was awarded a certificate of recognition by the World

Health Organization for its efforts to make it a more livable city for its

growing aging population.

o New Yorks Safe Streets for Seniors program focuses on neighborhoods

with a high concentration of older adults. Measures include:

Retiming traffic signals to allow more time for older adults to cross

intersections,

Installing high-visibility crosswalks,

Moving the vehicle stop line further back from the crosswalk,

Repairing broken curbs and pedestrian ramps,

Installing curb build-outs and pedestrian refuge islands, and

Slowing traffic by narrowing roadways.

o Traffic fatalities in New York City have dropped to the lowest level since

records started being kept in 1910 and are down 35% since 2001.

o Pedestrians have reclaimed street space along iconic boulevards such as

Broadway near Times Square, which has been closed to traffic, and in its

place sidewalk cafes have sprouted.

Boulder, Colorado is working to create a Complete Streets network, with over

350 miles of dedicated bike facilities, sidewalks, paved shoulders, and a

comprehensive transit network. Between 1990 and 2009:

o Transit trips have tripled,

o Bicycle trips have increased by 7 percent,

o Single occupant vehicle trips (those driving alone) have decreased by the

same amount (7 percent), and

o A reduction in car trips have cut annual CO2 emissions by half a million

pounds.

How Do You Complete a Street? You put it on a diet.

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Edgewater Drive (Orlando, Florida)

o 4-lane roads have been converted to 3-lanes with bike lanes and parallel

parking.

o They have seen a 34% crash reduction.

o Overall, pedestrian and bicycle travel have increased 23% and 30%,

respectively.

Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte is installing more sidewalks, bike lanes, and planting strips to buffer

pedestrians from the street and to make its streets more appealing. City

engineers say that the costs in widening the rights-of-way for sidewalks and

bike lanes will pay off in future mobility. All of these measures will help to

support the citys recent investments in light rail transit.

o Data gathered on four projects to date shows that the total number of

crashes have dropped or remained steady along the converted street

segments.

In 2007, the NC Dept. of Transportation completed a project in

Charlotte along East Boulevard.

o East Boulevard runs through historic Dilworth, a mixed-use

neighborhood with heavy pedestrian traffic;

o The street was converted from a 4-lane undivided highway to two

travel lanes with a center turn lane, bicycle lanes, and pedestrian

refuge islands;

o Average speed decreased but corridor travel times remained the

same;

o Pedestrians can safely cross the street;

o The street is comfortable to bicycle along; and

o The restaurants and businesses along the boulevard have benefited

from the improved access.

A Rural Complete Streets Example

A Route 50 Traffic Calming Project through a rural section of Fauquier

and Loudoun Counties has been completed by the Virginia Dept. of

Transportation.

o The incorporation of Complete Streets measures include:

Roundabouts,

Landscaped medians and other landscaping,

Raised crosswalks, and

textured pavement that provide audible indicators to encourage

motorists to decelerate.

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These are just a few examples of the strides being made across the country to make

our streets safer for all users. We hope you will support LD 403 and pave the way for

Maine to become a safer and more enticing place to live & retire. I want to thank you

again for giving AARP the opportunity to engage in this important dialogue on the

issue of Complete Streets.

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