Aug. 1, 2024
America is on the cusp of a revolution transforming existing streets into complete streets. It's about time.
One of the more well-known proponents of complete streets is Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), who called for a "radical redesign" of Main Streets and thoroughfares at a Smart Growth America event in 2023. Complete streets, he said, aren't just "about bike lanes and sidewalks; they're also about traffic signals, medians, and transit.
"It's about helping people move around freely and safely, stopping the traffic carnage on our streets, building affordable housing, and supporting economic development."
Complete streets repurpose streets for people — and for all the things that people need to thrive in a community. This includes reducing traffic lanes and speeds, widening sidewalks, improving crosswalks, expanding mobility choices, and changing planning codes to expand mixed-use options.
The landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law expands support and funding for complete streets projects, and Smart Growth America notes that there are 1,740 complete streets policies in the U.S. today, including 35 adopted by states.
But do they deliver on their promises? In its study of 37 projects, Smart Growth America found that, in the majority of cases, collision rates decreased after the complete streets projects were built. A 2018 study of Florida's complete streets policy found that pedestrian fatality rates decreased "significantly" — by at least 0.5 percent more each quarter after the 1984 law was passed, saving 3,500 lives over three decades.
And what about other benefits? Do complete streets deliver housing affordability and economic development, as Rep. Blumenauer said they should?
We now know that the answer is "yes."
Along with Robert Hibberd, a doctoral candidate in geography and planning at the University of Arizona, I have just published research that shows that complete streets facilitate desirable economic and community development outcomes. Our research, Complete Streets as a Redevelopment Strategy, was published earlier this month in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's journal Cityscape.
Source: Arthur C. Nelson and Richard Hibberd
Complete streets attract jobs and new residents
Our research analyzed the first block along both sides of 26 complete streets in 16 counties central to their respective metropolitan areas. These corridors account for less than one percent of the urbanized land area, yet their effects on employment, economic development, and population growth were significant. Our analysis began in 2012 and ended before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Complete streets in our sample added jobs 22 percent faster than in the rest of the counties' areas overall (which was 12 percent). The growth along those corridors happened despite their location in infill and redevelopment areas, which are often more expensive and time-consuming to work with than conventional development elsewhere. That means that complete streets can be an effective economic development strategy. Follow-up analysis will be needed to establish whether and to what extent offices located along complete streets have been more resilient to pandemic shocks than offices in other locations.
The research also shows that complete streets are an effective community development strategy. While the central counties we studied all saw growth, complete streets grew in population by 17 percent compared to nine percent for central counties. Notably, they added proportionately more minorities and households with children than in the rest of the counties, adding to neighborhood diversity. In all, 35,000 new residents moved to the studied areas during the study period.
Complete streets also improved the jobs-to-housing balance and reduced the number of people commuting by car. Importantly, our regression models showed that people are willing to pay more to be closer to complete streets than other kinds of streets. Specifically, we found that renters were willing to pay a 20 percent premium to live directly on a complete street where shopping, services, and amenities are steps away. And while there was some evidence of gentrification, our research outlines ways in which to mitigate adverse outcomes.
Complete streets curb car use
A key to their success is that complete streets help meet the unmet demand for walkable communities with multiple mobility options. Although the complete streets in the sample cost about $600 million to build — much of which would have been spent anyway in the normal course of street upgrading — our research shows that they leveraged about $6 billion in total economic and community development investments. It is difficult to imagine a more cost-effective planning strategy than complete streets.
Complete streets also reduce car commuting. Although the number of people in households living along these corridors who were working increased by 23 percent, those who drove to work increased by considerably less, at 16 percent. By contrast, there was little change in car commuting in the counties studied overall. Transit use in those corridors also was higher. A quarter of the workers living on a complete street used public transportation to get to their jobs, while only 15 percent of workers living in the surrounding area did.
An even more dramatic finding is the uptick in people commuting on foot or on two wheels. The number of workers living along complete streets who walked or biked to work increased 42 percent. That figure went up by a fifth in the rest of the area studied.
Finding successes out West
Of course, one of the best ways to understand the benefits of complete streets in practice is to look at success stories. Here are two — one from Colorado and another from Nevada.
In Denver, Tennyson Street's transformation into a complete street focused initially on improving pedestrian safety and using streetscaping to reflect its history as an eclectic hub with a mix of retailers, shops, and residences. The improvements were part of citywide effort in 2010 that rezoned Tennyson Street into a new Main Street zoning district. This required buildings to be placed close to the street and using the ground floor to promote a pedestrian-friendly public realm.
Tennyson Street is a historic, dense hub for local businesses. Images courtesy of City of Denver.
Streetscape improvements made the vibrant corridor a true pedestrian destination.
However, to maintain the city's investment over time, a local assessment district was needed. This led to extensive engagement with local property owners who insisted on a more comprehensive project. This included rebuilding the roadway to add bike lanes and bike parking, bulb-outs for pedestrian crossings, pedestrian lights, street furnishings with trees and places to sit, and a five-foot-wide, ADA-compliant walk zone made possible by easements from property owners.
Despite concerns about losing on-street parking, property owners agreed to create a local maintenance district (LMD), which uses local property tax assessments to pay for maintenance. Once the LMD was approved, Denver spent $3 million in 2011 to make the improvements, both changing the physical character of the street and accelerating private investment along it instantaneously.
The original Main Street zoning did not require commercial uses at the street level. In part because of this, from the late 2010s into the early 2020s, the area lost many commercial buildings as developers replaced them with new apartment buildings, undermining the traditional Main Street feel.
In 2021, the city adopted a new Active Centers and Corridors design overlay for Tennyson Street. Along with the underlying Main Street zoning, it includes elements such as requiring new developments to provide commercial space on the first floor along with building setbacks to make more room for pedestrians.
With hundreds of new residents and thriving businesses, Tennyson Street is a successful complete street. Sarah Showalter, AICP, Denver's director of planning services, points to three ways planners and other stakeholders made this happen — and suggests these approaches could work for others.
Think creatively and stay dedicated. For Tennyson Street, this meant working with property owners to get the necessary easements for the streetscaping and sidewalk to fit.
Build strong private sector partnerships and use compelling imagery. This helps to get people excited and supportive of the changes.
Make sure to pair physical changes to the street with land use or zoning changes. To advance the full complete streets vision and assure future development is appropriate, update regulations and policies.
On-street parking, shade, new tree plantings, and seating are all key components that have made the complete streets improvements along Water Street so successful in Henderson. Photo courtesy of City of Henderson.
Meanwhile, a short drive away from the famed Las Vegas Strip, Water Street in the historic heart of Henderson, Nevada, was searching for a new purpose. Through outreach, including a design charrette, leaders reached a consensus calling for redeveloping Water Street to reflect the city's commitment to improved connectivity, reinvestment, and community events.
Then, in 2017, the city's comprehensive plan update process — which included outreach to around 26,000 people — resulted in about a quarter of respondents identifying Water Street as a top priority area. This and a new downtown master plan gave developers more flexibility than found in other parts of the metropolitan area, encouraging them to collaborate to create attractive, innovative projects based on the city's vision for downtown Henderson.
Like many American Main Streets designed for automobiles, refashioning Water Street for people was challenging. In some areas, there was not enough room for adequate sidewalks, and a 12-foot retaining wall constrained parts of the street. It took a partnership between the city and its redevelopment agency to rebuild it, making room for sidewalks, enriching the streetscape, and meeting the overall safety goals of the project. Indeed, because of various constraints combined with the desire to improve Water Street's aesthetics, the project cost rose almost 20 percent over its original budget to $11 million.
Market responsiveness to the new Water Street has exceeded expectations. Even during the pandemic, several new businesses opened along with new residential developments. Notably, the city built Water Street Plaza, an outdoor venue for festivals, concerts, and sports viewing parties that also includes a splash pad, playground, and public art. Altogether, investments have transformed Water Street from merely being in the center of Henderson to becoming the beating heart of the city, attracting people from across the region to dine, shop, and play.
"We are thrilled with the energy currently taking place on Water Street," said former mayor Debra March in 2019, when the American Planning Association (APA) named Water Street a Great Place in America. "It is not by mistake that the momentum and excitement around Water Street is bubbling over onto the national scale. Henderson is a thriving community today because of the visioning, sound planning practices, and strategic investments that set the stage for our future."
Many other examples of successful complete streets exist around the country. And, with increasing interest and policymaking by planners, local governments, and state departments of transportation, partnered with strong federal support, we can expect more complete streets to come. Those projects, we now know, will bring many lasting safety, economic, and community benefits.
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