COMPLETE STREETS
 Support Complete Streets in Marin County. Click here to join MCBC! |
"Complete Streets" supports a fundamental part of our mission focused on bicycle safety and thorough access for pedestrians, bicyclists, and bus riders of all ages and abilities in Marin. We accomplish these ends by participating with cities, towns, the County of Marin and regional entities to ensure that all road projects are designed with "Complete Streets" principles in mind. "Complete Streets" include facilities (sidewalks, bike lanes, etc.) that allow for safe walking, biking and wheelchair access along roadways.
Our Complete Streets efforts are consistent with Caltrans Directive 64, which states that the California Department of Transportation, "fully considers the needs of non-motorized travelers (including pedestrians, bicyclists and persons with disabilities) in all programming, planning, maintenance, construction, operations and project development activities and products. This includes incorporation of the best available standards in all of the Department’s practices. The Department adopts the best practice concepts in the US DOT Policy Statement on Integrating Bicycling and Walking into Transportation Infrastructure." Please see below for recent developments in our Complete Streets Campaign:
COMPLETE STREETS YIELDS NEW BIKE LANES
MCBC thanks the County of Marin and Mill Valley
The Marin County Bicycle Coalition thanks the County of Marin for their recent decisions to include bicycle facilities as a part of roadway repair work. On May 22, 2007, the Marin County Board of Supervisors approved the Public Work Director’s recommendation to install bike lanes on Bel Marin Keys (2 miles in Novato), and Seminary Drive (1 mile in Southern Marin). This is in addition to the other complete streets projects that were approved by the Supervisors on May 1 including new bike lanes being installed on: Lucas Valley Road (portion), Las Gallinas Road, Miller Creek Road, Butterfield Road, Woodland Avenue, and Almonte Boulevard. The installation of bike lanes will happen as the County is repairing these existing roadways.
In addition, the City of Mill Valley's Public Works Department has agreed to add Sharrows on Ashford between Lomita and Meadow to better serve cyclists heading toward the Horse Hill pathway between Mill Valley and Corte Madera. We thank the City of Mill Valley for this positive improvement.
MCBC's Complete Streets Campaign encourages all jurisdictions to install bicycle and pedestrian facilities while roadways are being repaired or constructed. As part of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan update process taking place now, MCBC will be encouraging all jurisdictions to adopt a “complete streets ordinance” that further specifies the conditions under which bicycle and pedestrian facilities should be included. For more information on complete streets, see the website for the national Complete Streets Coalition, www.completestreets.org
MTC Adopts Regional "Complete Streets"
Funding Policy
MCBC helped to lead this campaign with
BABC for five years
On June 28, 2006 the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) adopted a routine accommodation/complete streets policy which states that all funds which are distributed through MTC must consider the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians. MTC is the San Francisco Bay Area's metropolitan planning organization, and handles transportation planning, financing and coordination for the nine county region. This is an important victory for non-motorized travelers as nearly all federal funds which flow to Bay Area counties come through MTC. The Marin County Bicycle Coalition began working on this campaign in 2001, and worked closely with the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition (BABC) and other pedestrian and bicycle organizations to secure adoption of the policy.
The routine accommodation recommendations were developed after MTC approved its 2001 Regional Transportation Plan and its 2005 Transportation 2030 plan with a "call to action" to develop such a policy. To further understand the problem, MTC completed a study to determine why bicycle and pedestrian facilities were or were not included in routinely in transportation projects. The adopted policy will now result in the development of a check-list. All agencies receiving funding from MTC will be required to indicate through the check-list how their project will consider the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians and disabled travelers. Congestion Management Agencies in each county must review the project check-lists, and make them available through their websites, and to their countywide Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committees (BPACs). The routine accommodation policy also details other requirements related to the availability of resources, bike/ped planning, monitoring of the process, and the composition of BPACs.
MCBC Pursuing Complete Streets in Partnership with Government Agencies
Spring 2006 Pedal Press
“Complete Streets” describes one of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition’s primary strategies for achieving its mission of promoting bicycling: Every street should serve all the transportation modes used on it, whether bicycling, walking, transit or motor vehicles. Caltrans, the state Department of Transportation, has adopted policy Deputy Directive 64, which requires that all projects consider the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians. The County of Marin Department of Public Works has taken a historic step by adopting a similar policy. In addition, MCBC is pursuing Complete Streets through the Measure A implementation process and through local development projects.
At the January 23, 2006 Board of Supervisors meeting, Public Works Director Farhad Mansourian introduced a new multi-modal policy directive. This new policy states that “at the outset of all projects, other than routine maintenance, an analysis shall be performed to ensure the inclusion of all necessary, appropriate and reasonable multi-modal facilities and improvements. The analysis shall include facilities related to transit, bike and pedestrian access, disabled access, and transit safety.” At the January 26 Transportation Authority of Marin meeting, Chairman Steve Kinsey praised Director Mansourian for this policy directive to his staff, and urged other cities throughout Marin County to adopt similar policies for their jurisdiction.
The MCBC thanks Director Mansourian for issuing this directive and for his efforts to improve conditions for bicycling and walking in Marin County. We appreciate the thought and consideration that went into the formation of this policy and believe that its implementation will result in safer county roads for all users.
The bicycle community has also been pursuing Complete Streets through the Measure A process. As a part of the 2004 tax measure, the Transportation Authority of Marin (TAM) convened a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) to advise the TAM Board on implementation of the projects approved by the voters. Bicycle representatives on the TAC have been working to ensure that all projects consider the needs of cyclists.
From time to time, MCBC is asked to comment on the transportation element of private development projects. Although MCBC does not take a position on specific developments, our staff does comment on the transportation features of the project, and encourage developers to provide accommodation for bicycling and walking, especially where an opportunity exists to implement a part of the local bike plan.
