Department of Transportation


New Jersey Future In Transportation

Complete Streets

bike lane photo
Bike lanes provide safety
Complete Streets are designed with all users - bikers, walkers, transit riders and drivers - in mind. Roads are built to safely accommodate a variety of transportation modes and users of all ages and abilities. Complete Streets are planned, designed and constructed to blend with the local community while meeting transportation needs.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) has adopted a Complete Streets policy that will apply during the planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of new and reconstructed transportation facilities. The policy ensures safe access and mobility of pedestrians, bicyclists and transit users. This includes all projects funded through the NJDOT capital program. The NJDOT encourages regional and local municipalities who apply for funding through our Local Aid programs to use similar policies.

park and ride photo
NJ TRANSIT Park and Ride
PowerPoint presentations were designed to educate communities in the development and implementation of their own complete streets policies. The information outlines the NJDOT policy, explains Complete Streets and provides examples of roadways at varying levels of "completion" and the necessary improvements needed to complete. There are three versions of the presentation, 10 minutes, 20 minutes and 45 minutes. All presentations come with a complete narrative to enable anyone to follow, as well as deliver, the presentation.

Several NJFIT programs promote the Complete Streets concept and encourage both rural and main streets to provide safer, enjoyable and more livable communities.

"Residents are 65 percent more likely to walk in a neighborhood with sidewalks."
Completestreets.org

Prescriptions
Save room for pedestrians and bicyclists

Communities can improve the convenience and safety of walking and bicycling by designing roads with pedestrians and bicyclists in mind. As the number of pedestrians and bicyclists increase, the number of cars on the road decreases, reducing congestion and pollution.

Create more compact, mixed-use downtowns with connected street networks to bring destinations closer together
Shorter blocks mean that travel is more direct. This encourages people to walk or bike instead of drive. In denser, mixed-use centers that accommodate transit, pedestrians and bicyclists, automobile travel is often 20 to 50 percent lower than the automobile dependent suburban development.

Reduce the width of streets
Narrower streets are safer than wider streets for drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists of all ages. NJFIT promotes reducing the widths of travel lanes to improve safety and encourage more walking and biking.

Connect transportation modes, particularly around transit
By making it more convenient for travelers to take transit, by offering shuttle buses to the train station and areas to park and lock your bicycle, they are more likely to use transit to get to their destinations.

Case Studies and Programs:

"On a national basis, the number of school children walking or biking to school increases with the availability of safe routes to school. Where no paths were provided, about 22 percent of school children walked or biked to school. With one or two paths provided, children's use rose to 29 percent and 49 percent, respectively."
United States Department of Transportation study


Last updated date: October 10, 2019 1:49 PM