Caltrans Releases Complete Streets Action Plan

The California Department of Transportation has issued a Complete Streets Action Plan detailing the efforts the agency will undertake to promote more equitable and safe transportation. As Melanie Curry reports for Streetsblog California, “The actions are categorized into general areas such as data collection, policies, and guidance, and includes which division or district is responsible and when the task is to be completed. This action plan focuses on tasks to be done within 2022 and 2023.”

In an introduction to the plan, Caltrans director Tony Tavares writes, “As a Department, we recognize that investments in walking, biking, transit, and passenger rail can produce meaningful and transformative projects that can help to address legacy impacts on underserved communities that have been historically segmented and harmed by our state’s transportation network.”

According to Curry, actions planned for 2022 include “Developing minimum expectations for complete streets facilities,” “Developing an active transportation benefit/cost tool that can be used for project evaluations statewide,” and “Creating a database of active transportation projects on the state highway system that are ready for funding.” Because Caltrans districts across the state are at different stages in developing their Complete Streets plan, the document outlines different actions based on a district’s specific needs.

Curry notes that “some of the tasks are extremely basic first steps towards building capacity at Caltrans to make this policy switch,” pointing out that “The detailed task list also shows just how far the state needs to go before Caltrans can claim that Complete Streets are fully incorporated into its work.”