Complete Streets is an approach to planning and operating roadways to facilitate safe access for all users, including people who walk or roll, people who ride bicycles, transit riders, and motorists. Complete Streets are designed for comfortable access by all ages and abilities. In 2022, the Washington State Legislature mandated a “Complete Streets” approach for planning highway projects with a cost of $500,000 or more.
[1] As part of the Complete Streets approach, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) assesses highways with respect to the performance of biking and walking using Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) and route directness.
[2] To make a facility more comfortable to people walking, biking and rolling, Complete Streets treatments seek to decrease the roadway LTS score. These treatments can include American with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessible sidewalks or shared-use paths, enhanced bike and pedestrian facilities, visible and frequent crosswalks, speed limit changes to reduce severe and fatal crashes, and roadway improvements to discourage speeding and help reduce crashes.
WSDOT is in the early stages of implementing this legislative directive. The objective of this session is to provide an overview of the opportunities, approach, and lessons learned from the first two projects in the WSDOT Southwest Region to undergo the Complete Streets planning process:
- State Route 141, Bingen to White Salmon, Klickitat County: This two-mile segment of state highway has a wide range of conditions from small town main street to higher speed rural connector. Proposed treatments will seek to improve traveler safety and comfort within the existing right-of-way while making efficient use of state resources.
- State Route 500, NE Fourth Plain to NE 76th Street: This ¾-mile segment of state highway is a wide and busy section with suburban character. Proposed treatments will seek to improve safety for vulnerable road users while maintaining critical throughway capacity in this constrained corridor.
This session will also include an interactive workshop to apply Complete Streets principals to an example roadway. Attendees will work together to design a roadway that meets LTS 2 within the existing right-of-way. This dynamic discussion will help illustrate the opportunities, tradeoffs, and considerations with implementing innovative, yet practical, mobility solutions. The activity was met with positive feedback at the 2024 APA WA conference, which had nearly 100 session attendees.
Attendees will learn about WSDOT Southwest Region’s approach to implementing statewide legislative guidance. This will provide practicing planners with insight into WSDOT’s interpretation and operationalization of the legislative guidance as well as lessons learned from the process and revisions to WSDOT’s approach as a result of our experience. In the Oregon context, this session will share progress to facilitate collaboration across state lines to enhance transportation networks in both states. Additionally, this session will speak to the process, approach, and outcomes to identify the need for and design Complete Streets in varied community contexts. This session may assist agency staff who are responding to similar policies, as well as practitioners who are evaluating the need for and designing Complete Streets.
[1] Senate Bill 5974; WSDOT Complete Streets; RCW 47.04.035.[2] WSDOT Complete Streets Project Delivery.
