About Complete Streets

We Angelenos tend to associate our streets with cars. In recent decades, however, L.A.’s policymakers and citizens alike have started reimagining new possibilities for using streets beyond just vehicular travel. This is where the concept of Complete Streets comes into play.

Complete Streets is a simple idea: The routes we use to get from point A to point B should safely accommodate all ways of getting around—from walking to bicycling to public transportation to cars. The design of a Complete Street accounts for safe access of streets for all users, regardless of ability or mode of travel. Complete Street designs also address the needs of the community: Are pedestrians dodging cars to cross the street? Does the street create an environment that is convenient and safe for both bicyclists and large city buses?

Elements of Complete Streets include greenways that create a pleasant pedestrian experience, protected bike lanes where bicyclists can confidently travel, storefronts that contribute to the local economy and help walkability, and smartly designed intersections that ease traffic congestion. Improvements made via the Complete Streets lens refer to these time-tested as well as more inventive forms of design that focus on needs specific to any given street and community.

The City of Los Angeles has embarked on myriad citywide policies aimed to create Complete Streets throughout Los Angeles. Vision Zero‘s goal is to end traffic deaths by 2025. The Mobility Plan 2035 lays out policy that cultivates a transportation system that addresses the needs of all Angelenos and visitors. The Sustainable City pLAn presents a holistic vision for Los Angeles that considers the environment, the economy, and opportunities for its citizens over the next 20 years.

And Great Streets, for which South Robertson recently won a grant, allows a rethink of our oft-used roads to be more safe, comfortable, and inviting for all walks of life and all modes of getting around.

Together, these strategic policies aim to make more Complete Streets throughout Los Angeles, which will ultimate result in a safer, healthier, and more prosperous city for all.