Explainer: Complete Streets

What are Complete Streets?

In 2023, the Urban County Council adopted a Complete Streets Policy. This policy aims to create new design standards and regulations for Lexington’s streets to ensure that they are safe for all residents moving in Lexington.

• Complete Streets is a term used to describe a street that is safe for all people traveling on it, whether they are traveling on foot, by bike, by the bus, or by car.

As part of the policy, a Complete Street Action Plan was developed to set target dates for certain actionable tasks to be completed by. Tasks in the action plan vary widely from hiring new staff positions to focus on Complete Streets projects, developing marketing and communications strategies, and updating the City’s street design manuals to create new standards and regulations to prioritize safety for all users.

Nationwide, cities are reevaluating urban transportation. Since the 1950s, transportation networks have primarily been planned in order to move cars quickly. Other modes of transportation, including walking, bicycling, and public transportation, were deprioritized.

As planning car transportation has been prioritized, car-related deaths have grown steadily — and since 2020, they have grown rapidly. Car infrastructure is also expensive to maintain; In the Mayor’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026, $14 million alone is allocated for repaving roadways.

Increased traffic deaths, expensive infrastructure costs, environmental concerns, and more factors have led to US cities exploring ways to design for other modes of transportation besides cars, and Lexington is no exception.

Why do Complete Streets Matter?

2023 was a peak year for bicycle and pedestrian deaths in Lexington: there were 180 collisions where a car hit a bicyclist or a pedestrian, with 22 of those resulting in deaths. 37 of those were hit and runs.

The Lexington Metropolitan Planning Area (made up of Fayette and Jessamine Counties) had 43 pedestrian or bicyclist fatalities or serious injury collisions, a 17% increase from 2022’s 26 pedestrian or bicyclist collisions. You can find an interactive map of Lexington's pedestrian and bicycle collisions here.

While 2023 was a particularly dangerous year for bicyclists and pedestrians on Lexington roadways, this is not a new problem. In 2014, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that Lexington had 143 pedestrians hit by drivers, and had 16 pedestrians killed by drivers from 2011 to 2014.

Nationwide, pedestrian deaths peaked in 2022 with 7,508 pedestrians being killed — the highest number since 1981. In 2007, there were 700 bicyclists killed by drivers; in 2021, that number rose to 966. Generally, bicyclists represent 2% of all annual traffic deaths.

There are several possible explanations for why deaths have risen so sharply, but many attribute street design for fast vehicle transportation as the root cause.

• Road designed to move cars fast can include higher speed limits, straight roads, and wider/more lanes.
• While this can make car-based transportation faster, it can also make roads more dangerous for road users. Studies show that the chance of a fatality in a car accident can double for each 10 mph increase in vehicle speed.
  • But, it can be especially deadly for vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcycle users.

In our On the Table community survey data, the most discussed issue was Bikeability, Walkability, and Accessibility. Of the over 15,000 individual responses, 1,789 people mentioned this topic.

How can you get involved in Complete Streets?

If you want to get engaged in issues around Complete Streets, there several city Boards and Commissions working on the issue whose meetings you can attend, or that you could join!

• AccessLex Commission
• Bicycle-Pedestrian Advisory Committee
• Transportation Policy Committee
• Transportation Technical Coordinating Committee
• STREEET Safety Task Force

You can also get engaged with nonprofit organizations working in and around Complete Streets!

• Bluegrass Cycling Club
• Broke Spoke Community Bike Shop
• Frontrunners of the Bluegrass
• Living Streets Lexington

What else do I need to know about Complete Streets?

Complete Streets Policy and Action Plan

In 2023, the Urban County Council adopted a Complete Streets Policy. This policy aims to create new design standards and regulations for Lexington’s streets to ensure that they are safe for road users, including cyclists, pedestrians, transit riders, and drivers.

As part of the policy, a Complete Street Action Plan was developed to set target dates for certain actionable tasks to be completed by. Tasks in the action plan vary widely from hiring new staff positions to focus on Complete Streets projects, developing marketing and communications strategies, and updating the City’s street design manuals to create new standards and regulations to prioritize safety for all users.

Some action items scheduled to be completed by 2025 include:

• Adopt a Vision Zero Policy to establish a goal of having zero roadway deaths or serious injuries by 2050 (Completed)
  • “Vision Zero” is a phrase used for cities setting a goal to reach zero roadway deaths.
• Create two staff positions, a Complete Streets Manager and Vision Zero Coordinator (Completed)
• Establish a safety committee or work group to develop and implement Complete Streets safety projects
• Create public webpages to show efforts and work being done, including the status of Action Plan Tasks and data from Complete Streets and Vision Zero performance.

A Complete Streets Design Manual will also be completed in 2025. This Design Manual will set regulations for how Lexington's streets will be built to accommodate all users.

• Developers constructing new streets as part of a project will have to follow this manual.
• When LFUCG repaves or does construction on a road, they will redesign and rebuild the road in accordance with the manual.

Major Complete Streets Projects in Lexington

The City of Lexington has completed and is pursuing many Complete Streets projects to redesign Lexington's roadways. Here are some notable projects that have been completed or are in-progress: