Complete Streets Public Meeting
SAVE THE DATE: PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULED FOR
“COMPLETE STREETS” PROJECT PRIORITIZATION PLAN ON 1/31/19
Newburyport – Save the date: a public meeting will be held on Thursday, January 31st at 7:00 p.m. in the City Hall auditorium to review the draft “Complete Streets” Project Prioritization Plan. A “Complete Street” is one that is designed to provide and encourage safe options for all users and travel modes, so that pedestrians and bicyclists of all ages and abilities can move safely and comfortably on a street along with motorists (as opposed to a street corridor that is primarily for motorized vehicles). Designing streets with these principles for travel between home, school, parks, stores, work, and other destinations contributes to the livability and quality of life in our community, as well as people’s safety, health, and the community’s overall economic viability.
The Newburyport City Council adopted a Complete Streets policy on 1/29/2018 with the goal of making places safer and more livable, promoting public health, and trying to reduce traffic congestion and environmental impacts. In general, our community’s transportation network is dominated by motor vehicles, and we have just begun in recent years to focus on a more balanced approach. There are many potential Complete Streets projects for us to pursue in the coming years, a process that is constrained by available resources and competing priorities. As noted in the policy, we are trying to take a network approach that prioritizes transportation infrastructure projects that connect important destinations and address streets with known safety and/or pedestrian and bicycle connectivity problems.
In 2016, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation established a Complete Streets Funding Program that requires communities to establish Project Prioritization Plans in order to be eligible to apply for construction funding of up to $400,000. The City received a grant of $35,000 from the state to hire a consultant to develop the required plan, and contracted with the consultant TEC, Inc. The City and the consultant have gathered input regarding potential projects and priorities from neighbors, citizen groups, municipal commissions, staff, City Councilors, and others, as well as from the initial public meeting on the project held on 12/13/18, plus existing plans, data and studies. The consultant is in the process of developing a draft plan with at least 15 or more projects, as well as basic cost estimates and duration schedules.
The public meeting on 1/31/19 will provide an opportunity to review the consultant’s draft Project Prioritization Plan. Please note that the plan will not focus on an individual ranking of specific projects, but rather on several tiers of priority projects. The City will then direct the consultant to make revisions, as necessary, and will submit the plan to the state in late February. We anticipate that MassDOT will approve the plan by mid-April, which will allow the City to be in a position to highlight several Complete Streets projects (based on priority, cost, advancement of Complete Streets goals, project readiness, etc.) in an application for construction funding due 5/1/19, as well as in future funding rounds.
For more information, contact Geordie Vining, Senior Project Manager in Newburyport’s Planning Office, at (978) 465-4400 x6.
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