“Complete streets” means that the community’s streets and/or rural roads are set up for bikes and pedestrians too, not just cars and trucks. Most people never heard the term “open streets” or “complete streets” policy. It means the community is adopting policies that make it easier for people to walk or ride bikes and therefore exercise more. Bike racks, bike lanes, crosswalks and sidewalks are all possible parts of a complete streets policy, for instance.

“Complete streets” means different things in different places. Small West Virginia towns may not need bike lanes, for instance, but most could use bike racks at places like the grocery store. Most could use more sidewalks.

Research says complete streets steps work:

Studies show that well-placed bike racks bring extra customers to stores. Photo courtesy The OPAM.

• In 2013, the number of people riding bikes on three New Orleans streets more than tripled after bike lanes were painted on them, according to a study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
• Significantly more people started riding bikes in almost every city that adopted multiple policies to encourage biking, according to a 2010 review of fourteen studies, published in Preventative Medicine. People who already rode bikes started riding them more frequently.
• In 2010, England’s Department of Transport found that more than 50 percent of people who own a bike said they would ride it to work or errands if they felt the streets were safe for biking and if they could lock it up.
• A 2010 American Journal of Public Health study found that, in 14 countries, people who regularly rode bikes were less obese than those who did not. Walking and biking to work and errands are a highly effective ways to weave exercise into the day and bring down blood sugar and blood pressure.

A “complete streets policy” commits a community to including bikes and pedestrians in its road development. People save money, exercise, and socialize more.  People on bikes and on foot talk with each other more often than people in cars do, research says.

Many West Virginia communities have adopted various components of a complete streets policy. The 2013 legislature passed a law that requires the Department of Transportation to consider biking, pedestrians, buses and ADA in their planning. “It’s a start,” said Kasey Russell, director of West Virginia Connecting Communities. “For a long time, the policy was: roads are for motorized vehicles, period. Now we’re recognizing bikes and walking as important ways to stay healthy, save money and keep down congestion.”