Complete Streets Project

In 2018, I worked as the Fiscal Analyst for the Baltimore City Council. In this role, one of my first projects was to produce a cost benefit analysis of a bill (Bill 17-0102) that would require the city to develop a “Complete Streets” design guide.

A “complete street” is one designed to meet the multimodal transportation needs of a community. Community needs may include economic, health, equity and safety goals or concerns. To successfully accomplish complete streets priorities, a city may pass legislation, adopt a street design guide, identify external funding sources, implement low cost short-term complete street elements, budget for more expensive permanent complete street elements, track relevant data, and apply accountability procedures.

To evaluate the cost and feasibility of the bill, I consulted budget and transportation experts in peer cities, reviewed Baltimore budget data, and read numerous reports from transportation industry specialists. I also reviewed a wide range of Baltimore planning reports which identified a multimodal transportation policy as a necessary requirement for achieving the city’s long-term equity and climate goals. In under a month, I produced a 58 page report that synthesizing my research and recommended the adoption of Bill 17-0102.

The report was one of many steps in the adoption of a complete streets design manual in Baltimore. Community advocates, organizers and groups including Bikemore played the essential role of putting complete streets on the legislative agenda in the city council in 2017. The bill was passed in late 2018. Baltimore’s adopted complete streets design manual is available here.

Finally, for a quick introduction to complete streets policy, see Smart Growth America’s complete streets primer. For a more detailed dive on the topic, check out this link from the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO).