Healthy HotSpot Success Story
Bringing Complete Streets
to Life for Suburban Cook County, IL Residents
Summary
Solution
Pop-up Complete Streets events that showcase temporary street
treatments provide community members with an immediate, tangible
visualization of Complete Streets designs. With support of the
Healthy HotSpot Initiative, Active Trans worked with six
municipalities that had adopted Complete Streets policies to plan
events. In each community, Complete Streets Steering Committees met
to select a project site based on traffic volumes, pedestrian or
bicycle safety concerns, and road jurisdiction. A variety of
streets were selected including a low-volume arterial, a street in
front of a high school, and a street near a proposed site for a new
village hall. Active Trans worked with Village staff to coordinate
logistics, event promotion, and day-of execution.
Complete Streets improvements can take years to design, fund,
and build. Pop-up Complete Streets events showcase temporary street
treatments and provide community members with an immediate,
tangible visualization of Complete Streets designs. In summer and
fall 2016, Active Transportation Alliance (Active Trans) held six
pop-up events in suburban Cook County municipalities that were made
possible with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). Temporary facilities such as bicycle lanes,
crosswalks, and roundabouts were created with materials like duct
tape, tar paper, and paint. Residents of all ages came out for the
events. Three municipalities are planning to construct permanent
facilities.
This just solves all my problems. School crossing guard
explaining how Complete Streets facilities at a pop-up event at
Skokies Niles North High School helped address traffic safety
issues in front of the school.
Challenge
According to the CDC, physical activity improves health by
lowering risk for heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes,
depression and some cancers. Yet, 1 in 4 adults in suburban Cook
County are physically inactive (Illinois BRFSS, 2012). Research
shows that people who live in communities with facilities for
walking or bicycling, or those that take public transit, are more
likely to be physically active. Sidewalks, crosswalks, bicycle
lanes, mid-block crossings, and other types of Complete Streets
facilities, however, can take years to design, fund, and build. For
communities that have adopted Complete Streets policies and
understand the urgent need for safe streets for all users, the lag
between the policy process and seeing changes on the ground can be
frustrating for both municipality staff and community members.
Dont even think about it,
complete the street!
Nicholas Armbruster, resident at pop-up event in South Chicago
Heights, IL
Results
Over summer and fall 2016, six municipalities held pop-up events
with Active Trans support.
While the development of Complete Streets policies can be a very
dry, inside-baseball discussion of project delivery processes,
pop-up events engage a broader audience in Complete Streets
designs. Residents of all ages came out to the events.
Participation varied with as little as 81 and as many as 260
residents in attendance. Many noticed that the temporary facilities
slowed traffic and made it safer to cross the street, and wanted to
see similar facilities on other roads in their community.
Temporary facilities such as crosswalks and roundabouts in this
picture from Richton Park were created with materials such as duct
tape, tar paper, plants, cones and house paint.
In addition to the event providing residents with an opportunity
to see the benefits of Complete Streets in their own community, the
demonstration allowed Village staff to hear feedback on the
facilities. For example, in the Village of Willow Springs, the
Village Administrator witnessed young children enjoying the
protected bicycle lane so much that they circled back to the start
of the lane and rode through it again and again. This resulted in
him asking Active Trans to leave the duct-tape bicycle lane in
place for residents to continue to take advantage of it after the
event.
Sustainable Success
Three of the six municipalities are now planning to construct
more permanent facilities based on input they received at the
pop-up event. Active Trans continues to work with eight suburban
Cook County municipalities to help make Complete Streets a reality,
and has also started working with two more to advance a Complete
Streets policy. As word has spread about the success of the pop-up
events, staff has heard from municipalities and community groups
who are interested in hosting similar events. While its too early
to tell how the model will be replicated, the events this year have
demonstrated that temporary demonstrations can be a powerful
catalyst to build support for Complete Streets in suburban
communities.
Learn more
Discover the benefits of Complete Streets in communities.
http://www.cookcountypublichealth.org/healthy-hotspot/places-where-we-live/complete-streets
Connect to resources on short-term Complete Streets solutions -
Quick Builds for Better Streets and Slow Your Street: A How-To
Guide for Pop-Up Traffic Calming
Use the Healthy HotSpot map to find municipalities that have
Complete Streets policies.
10/20/2016 Active Transportation Alliance, Healthy HotSpot
Success Story: Bringing Complete Streets to Life, page 2
