Complete Streets

I was thinking about StamfordTalk’s post about aggressive Fairfield County drivers on my walk to the train yesterday. Personally I don’t think FC drivers are any more or less crazy than anywhere else I’ve been in the US. As a runner I’ve faced down enough insane drivers all over whose personalities I doubt are as fundamentally hostile when they are not strapped into their one ton metal appendix.

I don’t think it’s a question of personality that makes someone an antagonistic driver, ex. assholes = asshole drivers, nice people = nice drivers. There’s nothing in the water making our drivers personally any more insane, but there may be something in the pavement.

I’m from the school of thought that the majority of drivers take their cues from the environment they are in and act accordingly. So in a city like Stamford what are some of those cues? Roads the width of runways. Mutli-lane raceways (I counted one intersection point today terminating in 7 lanes!) Undefined pedestrian space. I don’t think you can seriously expect drivers NOT to drive uncivilized in these conditions.

Whenever speeding is mentioned many times the first reaction is why aren’t cops out giving tickets. That’s a rather short sided approach though. Set a speed trap and you may stop speeding for an afternoon, define streets physically with cues antithetical to speeding and you control the problem along with a number of positive side effects thrown in to boot.

The answer to the problem may be a concept sometimes referred to “livable streets” or “complete streets”, a viewpoint that streets in cities or neighborhoods are more than a means to move cars as quickly as possible from point A to point B, but a civic space that is at once both “a place” and a means of transit not exclusive to individual automobiles.

Complete streets aren’t a series of hard and fast rules, but more a toolbox of options that when used in different combinations can have a transformative affect. Reducing the number and width of lanes on a street can control speed. Adding dedicated bus, bike, or light rail lanes can move large numbers of people in safety, reduce the number of cars on the road to control congestion, and move existing cars on the road more efficiently by separating alternative transit use from auto lanes. Roundabouts (not rotaries, big difference) can eliminate the number of annoying stops at lights or signs that often frustrate drivers into speeding up. Raised crosswalks, mediums, and sidewalk bump outs can make it easier for pedestrians to cross traffic. On street parking discourages people from crossing in the middle of the road. Wide sidewalks, street trees, furniture lighting, & art create a more pleasant social experience that encourages walking instead of driving for short trips. I found a link through Streetblog to this post that has a interactive feature to illustrate the difference between what is unfortunately a normal American street and a “complete street”.

Some of these tools are addressed in Stamford’s recently completed city-wide traffic calming plan. There is a map on the site where you can see the various proposed treatments. Stamford would do well though to adopt a “complete/ livable street” policy like New Haven has. Many of the main arteries like Tresser, Washington, Broad, Atlantic, & East Main could all benefit from a full complete street transformation. The Urban Transitway currently under construction actually incorporates some elements of the complete street with sidewalks, bus routes, bike lanes, street trees, etc.

If that doesn’t work, by all means load up your paintball guns.

Photo is from Good Magazine.