An integrated transportation network designed to enable safe and convenient travel and access along and across streets for all users of all ages and abilities, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, movers of commercial goods, and transit riders.
Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Fair treatment means that no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences resulting from industrial, governmental and commercial operations or policies. Meaningful involvement means that:
People have an opportunity to participate in decisions about activities that may affect their environment and/or health;
The public's contribution can influence the regulatory agency's decision;
Community concerns will be considered in the decision-making process; and
Decision makers will seek out and facilitate the involvement of those potentially affected.
An approach to managing stormwater by infiltrating it in the ground where it is generated using vegetation or porous surfaces, or by capturing it for later reuse. Infiltration is when water falls to the earth as precipitation and seeps into the soil.
Includes types of green infrastructure techniques used to manage stormwater, including but not limited to:
Street tree trenches/boxes: utilize soil, gravel, and plants to infiltrate and filter stormwater runoff from impervious surfaces;
Bioswales: shallow channels that convey, slow down, and infiltrate stormwater runoff;
Vegetated curb bump outs: a vegetated curb extension that protrudes into the street either mid-block or at an intersection, creating a new curb some distance from the existing curb; and
Permeable pavement: a stormwater drainage system that allows rainwater and runoff to move through the pavement's surface to a storage layer below, with water eventually seeping into underlying soil. Types of permeable pavement include pervious concrete, porous asphalt, interlocking concrete pavers, and grid pavers.
Streets with landscaped features installed in the rights-of-way that capture and allow stormwater runoff to soak into the ground, while still preserving the primary function of a street as a conduit for pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders. Stormwater runoff is excess water generated from rain and snowmelt events that flow over impervious surfaces, such as paved streets, parking lots, and building rooftops, and does not soak into the ground.
The term "priority communities" refers to categories of underserved and adversely impacted populations. There is a wide range of definitions used to quantify and locate underserved populations developed by agencies and organizations dedicated to social equity by law or mission. The Complete and Green Streets Advisory Committee should evaluate who and where there are concentrations of underserved or marginalized populations based on available data. Below are some of the categories to consider when defining priority communities:
The combination of mainly physical measures that reduce the negative effects of motor vehicle use, alter driver behavior, and improve conditions for nonmotorized street users. Traffic calming objectives include:
Achieving slow speeds for motor vehicles;
Reducing collision frequency and severity;
Increasing the safety and the perception of safety for nonmotorized users of the street(s);
Reducing the need for police enforcement;
Enhancing the street environment (e.g., streetscaping);
Encouraging water infiltration into the ground using Green Street stormwater infrastructure practices; and
Increasing access for all modes of transportation, and reducing cut-through motor vehicle traffic.
Include seating, shelter and shade, wayfinding signage, trash and recycling cans, lighting, route information, bike infrastructure (lockers, racks, fix-it stations, depots, bikeshare, etc.).
A facility consisting of the means and equipment necessary for the movement of people or goods; any road, bridge, tunnel, overpass, ferry, airport, mass transit facility, vehicle parking facility, port facility or similar commercial facility used for the transportation of persons or goods together with any buildings, structures, parking areas, appurtenances, and other property needed to operate such facility; however, a commercial or retail use or enterprise not essential to the transportation of people or goods shall not be considered a transportation facility.
Any public and/or private land development, project, program, or practice that affects the transportation network or occurs in the public right-of-way, including any construction, reconstruction, retrofit, signalization operations, resurfacing, restriping, rehabilitation, maintenance (excluding routine maintenance that does not change the roadway geometry or operations, such as mowing, sweeping, and spot repair), operations, alteration, and repair of any public street or roadway within a jurisdiction (including alleys, bridges, frontage roads, and other elements of the transportation system).