Complete streets are streets that are designed for safe travel by all users, not just automobiles. This includes pedestrians, bicyclists, people with disabilities, mass transit vehicles (buses), emergency vehicles and anything else that moves along or across the street. A complete streets policy simply says that the local (or state) government endorses the idea of including a review of all proposed new or reconstructed roads to ensure that they include appropriate features to make them usable by all likely users.

Imagine how much easier it would be to cross County Road 39 on foot if it had raised crosswalks and medians like this.

Complete Streets are streets for everyone.¹ They are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along and across a complete street. Complete Streets make it easy to cross the street, walk to shops, and bicycle to work. They allow buses to run on time and make it safe for people to walk to and from bus stops. When people are given more convenient, attractive, and safe travel choices they are more likely to not rely solely on automobiles. They can replace congestion-clogged trips in their cars with bus rides or heart-healthy walks or bicycle trips.

On the other hand, incomplete streets – those designed with only cars in mind – limit transportation choices by making walking, bicycling, and taking public transportation inconvenient, unattractive, and, too often, dangerous. Unfortunately, right now most of the streets in Southampton Town are, in one way or another, incomplete. So the opportunity for improvement is great.

There is no singular design prescription for complete streets; each one is unique and responds to its community context. A complete street may include: sidewalks, bike lanes (or wide paved shoulders), special bus lanes, comfortable and accessible public transportation stops, frequent and safe crossing opportunities, median islands, accessible pedestrian signals, curb extensions, narrower travel lanes, roundabouts, and more. A complete street in a rural area will look quite different from a complete street in an urban area, but both are designed to balance safety and convenience for everyone using the road.

Implementing a complete streets policy in Southampton can be a win for the community in many ways:

It makes economic sense. A balanced transportation system that includes complete streets can bolster economic growth by providing accessible and efficient connections between residences, schools, parks, public transportation, offices, and retail destinations. Integrating sidewalks, bike lanes, transit amenities, and safe crossings into the initial design of a project spares the expense of retrofits later. Safer roads also lower police and emergency services costs.

It improves safety by reducing crashes through infrastructure improvements. One study found that designing for pedestrian travel by installing raised medians and redesigning intersections and sidewalks reduced pedestrian risk by 28%.

It encourages more walking and bicycling. Public health experts are encouraging walking and bicycling as a response to the obesity epidemic, and complete streets can help. One study found that 43% of people with safe places to walk within 10 minutes of home met recommended activity levels, while just 27% of those without safe places to walk were active enough. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently named adoption of complete streets policies as a recommended strategy to prevent obesity.

It can help ease transportation woes. Streets that provide travel choices can give people the option to avoid traffic jams by offering them other transportation options, and increase the overall capacity of the transportation network. Several smaller cities have adopted complete streets policies as one strategy to increase the overall capacity of their transportation network and reduce congestion.

It helps children. Streets that provide room for bicycling and walking help children get physical activity and gain independence. More children walk to school where there are sidewalks, and children who have and use safe walking and bicycling routes have a more positive view of their neighborhood. Safe Routes to School programs benefit from complete streets policies that help turn all routes into safe routes.

It’s good for air quality. Fewer car trips translate directly into lower carbon dioxide emissions.

Finally, complete streets foster strong communities. Complete Streets play an important role in livable communities, where all people – regardless of age, ability or mode of transportation – feel safe and welcome on the roadways. A safe walking and bicycling environment is an essential part of creating friendly, walkable communities.

Road congestion and safety are two of the biggest quality-of-life issues confronting Southampton Town. By adopting a complete streets policy, Southampton will have indeed found a way to make a great place even greater.

¹ Thanks to the National Coalition for Complete Streets for most of the information, and some of the text in this post.

Many folks said no to the NYS Department of Transportation a few years ago when they proposed a roundabout at the wharf end of Main Street.

CONPOSH (Coalition of Neighborhoods for the Preservation Of Sag Harbor) and others said no to the expansion of 127 Main Street by its former owner, Jon Gruen.

The John Jermain Future Fund said no to the idea of a new library building near Mashashimuet Park.

The Sag Harbor CAC (Citizens Advisory Committee) — of which I am co-chair — tried to say no to the new Bayburger Restaurant opening soon on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike.

More successfully, the CAC said no to the Reid brothers’ plans to expand their service station to include a full-service car wash, and large parking facility for the use of contractors working locally.

Many in the community, including columnist Tony Brandt and newspaper editor Rick Murphy, would very much like to say no the the Sag Harbor School District’s  budget.

The Water Mill CAC, and the Village of Southampton are attempting to say no to LIPA’s effort to run new power lines on immense 60′ metal poles through the Village and parts of Water Mill and Bridgehampton.

Neighbors tried to say no to Wolffer Vineyard’s effort to erect new workforce housing on Narrow Lane in Bridgehampton, adjacent to the vineyard.

Almost everyone on Long Island, except the mayor of Greenport, wants to say a loud no to Broadwater’s floating Liquid Natural Gas terminal proposed for Long Island Sound.

Many, many people, including County Executive Steve Levy as well as the Southampton Town Board, and East Hampton Village’s powers-that-be are vociferously saying no to any kind of hiring hall or worklink center for day laborers wherever they gather looking for work.

Some folks in Sag Harbor want to say no to the new condominiums proposed for the area at the foot of the North Haven Bridge where the Sag Harbor Professional Building now stands.

Back to Narrow Lane where (the same?) residents said no to a bike lane along their street.

Sag Harbor citizenry said a most definite no to the purchase of two properties adjacent to the High School by the school district.

Barnes and Noble in Bridgehampton? No.

Affordable housing Remsenberg/Speonk? No.

Anti-war protesters in Southampton’s Independence Day Parade? No. (Well maybe, now that the courts have spoken.)

How about expanding Sunrise Highway all the way to the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike so that then-Governor Hugh Carey could get to his summer home on Shelter Island more easily? No. (Alright, that was a really dumb idea.)

A nuclear reactor in Shoreham? No way. (Yeah, that one was pretty dumb too.)

I could go on. I seem to have an almost photographic memory for ideas and projects that were shot down by community activists and/or local government. Frankly, I was one of the community activists expressing my disapproval in many (but not all) of the aforementioned instances. While I don’t regret my involvement in those issues, the cumulative weight of all those “nos” has got me thinking that I’m really tired of saying no. I’ve reached the point where I just want to say YES to something. Yes, Yes and Yes. And I’m going to start right now.

I say yes to Mike and Pat Trunzo’s proposal to create a mixed-use affordable housing/office development on their property on the Turnpike.

Yes to Five Towns Rural Transits’ efforts to create a light-rail and bus network here on the East End.

Yes to a new and/or expanded Library, wherever it may be located.

Yes to the Sag Harbor Village zoning code overhaul, and the Mayor’s and Trustees’ efforts to create more opportunities for affordable housing in the village…and yes to accessory apartments.

Yes to cops and cones on County Road 39, whatever the hell it costs.

Yes to more bike lanes, sidewalks and safer routes for kids walking and biking to school.

And finally, yes to acknowledging our common humanity and kinship to each other; to treating all people with dignity and respect; and so, yes to providing safe places where people who want to do needed work can find the work they need to do to support themselves and their families.
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Currently listening to: Long-Forgotten Fairytale by The Magnetic Fields

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The extremely well conceived section on “Site Access and Traffic Calming” directly refers to Ken’s efforts to move this program forward, in addition to putting forward a few ideas of its own. Today I found a comment in that section by Sag Harborite Jonas Hagen who has apparently put in some time reading the report. In a nutshell, he praised the traffic calming ideas put forth by the committee, and suggests that those ideas get implemented immediately. Reading his comment, I had one of those moments where you just marvel at how clearly the path is marked once someone shows it to you. Jonas, I agree, and I know Ken Dorph would too. Rather than reiterate all the points the CLC makes, I’m giving you a link to the orignal. Just click here. Jonas’ comment is down at the bottom of the page.

These are really sound ideas, in line with similar ideas previously put forth by CONPOSH, (Coalition of Neighborhoods for the Preservation of Sag Harbor), The EETC (East End Transportation Council),
the NYS Department of Transportation, and the Safe Routes to School Program, mentioned above. There’s absolutely no need to wait for work to commence on the library (old or new) before making it safer to walk, drive and bike in our community.

Why isn’t there a sidewalk along the Main Street side of Mashashimuet Park? Why do the Village and Park Board still allow that dangerous head-in parking next to the children’s playground? Why aren’t there more crosswalks, and “yield to pedestrian” signs in the historic triangle area? That area also cries out for such traffic calming devices as bump-outs, designated parking spots, and better road striping. Why not a bike lane down Main Street that goes right into and through Mashashimuet Park connecting the old library and the new one? There’s absolutely no reason why work can’t begin on some or all of these projects right now.

By the way, Jonas, you’re wrong about the library. Let’s talk.