Thunderhead’s National Complete the Streets Campaign
Thunderhead’s campaign goal is complete streets policies in all 50 states by 2008 (see below * for a list of current policies shown on the map) including 10 new state-level policies. We are targeting the year 2008 in order to leverage these state and local policies to win a federal complete streets policy through the reauthorization of our federal transportation law, SAFETEA-LU. The local and state policies shown on this map are leading to complete streets in their communities.
Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and bus riders of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along and across a complete street.
The Thunderhead Alliance and our member organizations have always set the concept of complete streets as our highest priority whether fighting for transportation policy reforms or for single projects. Any street that serves only some modes at the safety expense of others is incomplete. Our Trainings, materials, and now, this exciting campaign, help our members win complete streets in their communities and their legislatures.
We encourage leaders of Thunderhead member organization to take part in our Thunderhead Complete Streets Committee. If you are a leader of a Thunderhead member organization and would like to help shape our national campaign and gain insight for your own complete streets policy campaigns, please email Dan Grunig, Complete Streets Committee Chair.
We have recently completed the second edition of the Thunderhead Alliance Guide to Complete Streets Campaigns. It is available at all on-line booksellers; ISBN: 0-595-39318-7. A nearly-finalized draft is also available in our members’ web resources library under Laws, Campaigns. If you are not a leader of a member organization or not yet a Thunderhead supporter, please see excerpts from the Guide. These excerpts include lots of useful information on existing policies and how you can secure a complete streets policy for your communities.
The best model we have seen for true complete streets policy language was passed by the City of Chicago on October 10, 2006. This single-sentence policy effectively focuses street design for the most vulnerable users. We encourage you to start your policy development with Chicago’s language and build from there:
Another important aspect of Chicago’s new complete streets policy is that it is imbedded in a comprehensive pedestrian safety initiative. Click here to view the entire document.
Thunderhead’s Benchmarking Project will provide data analysis to support our members’ campaigns by showing the unique symptoms of need for such a policy in each state.
Please help us get the complete streets message to Congress to set the stage for a federal-level complete streets policy. Find info on setting up Congressional meetings here.
Thunderhead’s Guide, Trainings, Benchmarking Project and on-call support system are the combined mechanism we are using to meet our goal of winning complete streets policies in all 50 states by the year 2008.
If you need help with a complete streets policy campaign, please contact Dominic Liberatore, Thunderhead’s Complete Streets Campaign Coach Dominic “at” ThunderheadAlliance.org, or call:
Please also see our supporter and sponsorship opportunities at:
Supporters
Sponsors
Thunderhead is also part of a national complete streets steering committee that includes:
– AARP
– Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO)
– American Planning Association (APA)
– American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA)
– Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)
– National Parks Conservation Association (NCPA)
– Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
– Smart Growth America (SGA)
– Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP)
– the disabled community
and other large national organizations just one ring outward from our familiar bike/ped bulls-eye. Please visit the steering committee’s website.