Planners can use the following tools to assist with Complete Streets efforts such community engagement and building community support for Complete Streets projects. They can also be used in planning and implementing a community’s active transportation plan. 

Champions Corner

New to Complete Streets? This resource is designed to cover all the bases for individuals and groups interested in advocating for equitable transportation in their communities. 

Walkability Audit

This is a great tool to help community members determine the accessibility of their neighborhoods and identify where improvements can be made. 

• Transportation Access Issues Survey
• We Move App 

Incorporating On-Road Bicycle Networks into Resurfacing Projects

This workbook provides recommendations for how roadway agencies can integrate bicycle facilities into their resurfacing program. 

Smart Growth America

Committed to “making neighborhoods great together,” Smart Growth America has many research reports that illuminate the need for Complete Streets policies and case studies of communities that have benefited from adopting them.

The Rural Perspective Fact Sheet is a resource designed for rural communities who want to introduce Complete Streets to their towns. It shares experiences and input from Complete Streets advocates who live in rural communities and have seen success introducing Complete Streets in their towns. It includes case studies, tips for building community support, places to look for funding opportunities and other information to help get started.

The Complete Streets, Complete Networks, Rural Context Guide is intended to help planners, engineers, and decision-makers in rural communities understand the Complete Streets roadway design process, and how it can be applied in smaller communities.

The Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks is a resource for transportation planning in small towns and rural communities. It applies existing national design guidelines in a rural setting and highlights small town and rural case studies. 

The National Association of City Transportation Officials offers online planning and design resources for larger communities to help them become more vibrant and safer for people of all ages and abilities. The ten different guides for urban communities include:

• Urban Street Design Guide
• Global Street Design Guide
• Urban Bikeway Design Guide
• Transit Street Design Guide
• Urban Street Stormwater
• NACTO Bike Share Station Sitting Guide
• Blueprint for Autonomous Urbanism
• Designing Streets for Kids
• Designing for All Ages & Abilities
• Don’t Give Up at the Intersection

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Livable Communities:

AARP Livable Communities supports the efforts of neighborhoods, towns, cities and rural areas to be great places for people of all ages. AARP believes that communities should provide safe, walkable streets; age-friendly housing and transportation options; access to needed services; and opportunities for residents of all ages to participate in community life.

Livable Lesson – Placemaking 

Making Places Pop!

USDOT Federal Highway Administration (FWHA):

Road Diet FAQ

Provides an FAQ of a Road Diet, which repositions pavement markings to better meet the needs of all road users. 

Ready to introduce a local Complete Streets policy? Interested in learning more about Complete Streets? Then download the Missouri Livable Streets Advocacy Manual! It’s full of tips on how to build support for Complete Streets in all communities. (Hint: Livable Streets is another term for Complete Streets!)

At the end of each chapter, additional resources and examples are provided. Use these examples to develop talking points and other materials to advocate for Complete Streets. Feel free to download only the ones that are the most useful!

Download the Advocacy Manual

Resources (listed in manual)

• Livable Streets Talking Points
• Livable Streets Policy Case Study
• Roadway Planning and Design Process
• Stakeholder Communication Materials
• Sample Communication Materials for Media
• Livable Streets Design Case Study

BikeWalkKC’s Ordinance Template is a template communities can use to develop policy that fits their community. This model policy received a perfect score from the National Complete Streets Coalition. You can see how the scoring is broken down here.

It is encouraged for communities to adopt ordinances instead of resolutions, as resolutions typically do not go far enough in ensuring the principles of Complete Streets are included with implementation. Rather, ordinances are encouraged because they have legal requirements and provide direction for implementation.

If you would like to know more about the Complete Streets Policy Model and how your community can use it, please contact Michael Kelley, Policy Manager, at michael.kelley@bikewalkkc.org 

There are a variety of ways to fund Complete Streets projects. Federal, local and private sources can be used for anything from higher cost infrastructure projects like sidewalks to less expensive improvements such as paint for shared-lane markings. Crowdfunding on sites like GoFundMe have also been used to raise funds. 

Current funding opportunities related to Complete Streets can be found below.

• Regional Planning Commissions (RPCs)and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO)
• Missouri Foundation for Health’s Missouri Capture (MoCAP) Program

Federal Funding Opportunities

• Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program (CMAQ)
• Surface Transportation Block Grant Program
• Surface Transportation Block Grant Set-Aside- Transportation Alternatives (TA)
• Environmental Protection Agency
• Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
• Resources to Help with implementing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL)

Federal Funding Opportunities Administered By State Agencies

• Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP)
• State and Community Highway Safety Grant Program (Section 402)
• Recreational Trails Program (RTP)
• Land and Water Conservation Fund

Local Funding Sources

• Community Foundation of the Ozarks (CFO) 

Crowdfunding

Using platforms like CauseMomentum.org, a partner of Community Foundation of the Ozarks, or GoFundMe to raise funds.

Private Funding

• People for Bikes Grant Program
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Grants and Grant Programs

Complete Streets features and designs can look quite different in each community. A key characteristic of Complete Streets is that transportation routes are designed to meet the specific needs of the community and its citizens. Although communities and their needs may be similar, no two communities are exactly alike. The photos featured below demonstrate many different examples of Complete Streets design. Additional examples along with descriptions and justifications for each can be found in the Small Town and Rural Design Guide. A glossary of street design terms and examples can also be found at Trailnet.

Parking Protected Cycle Track

On-street protected lanes  offer a physical barrier between car and bike lanes. In this example, a parking lane and landscaping are used to prevent cars from driving or parking in the bike lane. Protected lanes can vary in design, but are best used on roads with 6,000 cars per day or more and a minimum speed limit of 25 mph.

Neighborhood Greenway

Greenways are off-road biking trails surrounded by stretches of nature or landscaping. They often include a shared use path or separate bike paths and sidewalks. Most greenways are paved, but can also be surfaced with gravel. Greenways are popular for both recreation and commuting.

Raised Cycle Track

Raised cycle tracks are separated from the street by a curb either at or slightly below the sidewalk level. They are wider than sidewalks and clearly marked to keep people on bikes and people on foot in separate areas. Raised cycle tracks offer physical separation and protection from car traffic, which encourages people of all ages and experience levels to use them.

Shared Use Path

A shared-use path is an off-road paved trail for various types of active transportation, including biking, walking and other non-motorized transport. Shared use paths are typically two-way. Some communities repurpose old railroad lines as Shared use paths.

Buffered Bike Lane & Bike Box

Buffered lanes add an extra 1.5-foot to 3-foot space between a bike lane and a car travel lane or parking lane. They are marked with angled striping. Bike boxes are painted areas placed at traffic lights that make it easier and safer for bikes to safely move to the front of a line of traffic.

Road Diet & Mid Block Crossing

A road diet is the process of removing lanes of car traffic from roads or narrowing lanes. Most commonly, four lanes of two-way car traffic are replaced with two lanes of car traffic and a middle turn lane. Roads with fewer and narrower lanes influence drivers to decrease speed, which makes the road safer for everyone. Mid-Block Crosswalks are street crossings for people on foot somewhere along a block, not at an intersection. These crossings give pedestrians a safe, designated place to cross the street and cut down on jay-walking.

Municipal Policies

Municipal Complete Streets policies are not legally binding but tend to have a high amount of support from key community and political stakeholders, which pushes implementation.

Ordinance

An ordinance is a local law that is passed by municipal governing authorities, such as a city council or county board of commissioners. Ordinances legally require communities to take action. Ordinances can include provisions that require transportation projects and city codes address the needs of all users. Often needing stronger support from the community and elected officials, ordinances are worth pursuing as they are enforceable by law and provide more direction for implementation than resolutions.

Policy

Complete Streets policies establish governmental guidelines and priorities related to transportation decisions. Complete Streets policies typically take one of the following forms: ordinance, resolution or policy.

Resolution

A Complete Streets resolution is a non-binding, official statement of support for community transportation projects and plans that take a Complete Streets approach, addressing the needs of all users. Though it is often a helpful first step toward adopting a Complete Streets ordinance, resolutions often do not require action and are therefore, unenforceable. It is a legislative move which expresses support or opposition for something. Resolutions occasionally give broad direction related to the topic it addresses.

“(Implementing) this (active transportation) plan has increased overall safety. With the three crosswalks and partial sidewalks now in place, we saw them being utilized as soon as they were installed. As more are implemented the overall connectivity and safety will be a huge asset for our community.” – City of Versailles resident

“Realtors have stated our trail improvements have greatly improved their efforts to sell real estate.  We have documented that the school administration has been able to attract coaches and administrative personnel because of the improvements.” – City of Warsaw resident

“It (Complete Streets) only benefits your community. It increases safety, outdoor enjoyment, and property values. If you want your businesses to flourish and bring in young families to your community to reside, I highly recommend you give people a reason to live there. This is one very good asset to a community.” – City of Versailles resident