[Links updated 4/6/2013 to new City web site]
City of Concord Comprehensive Transportation Policy - aka "Complete Streets"
( text of complete streets policy below === line or download [DEAD LINK] from city site)
Contrary to what you may read on the Concord Main Street Project web page, Complete Streets, as adopted by Concord, has nothing to do with parking. Nonetheless the merchants, Advisory Committee, and Mayor Bouley have primarily focused attention on parking for this project.
Ask yourself if the plan meets the goals of the Complete Streets Policy and the TIGER grant.
- Does the design safely accommodate all users and modes of transportation?
- Would you consider alternatives to the automobile?
- Are you encouraged to take transit or ride a bicycle on Main Street?
Do we expect and require all who want to participate fully in the culture and economy of Concord to own and operate an automobile? If so then Concord will continue to develop it's suburban atmosphere which encourages us to drive whenever and wherever we go.
Could we instead build a future which really encourages multiple modes of travel?
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CITY OF CONCORD
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In the year of our Lord two thousand and nine
COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION POLICY
PREAMBLE: The overall goal of this comprehensive transportation policy is to plan and promote the development, operation, and maintenance of a complete, multi-modal transportation system serving the community, inclusive of its residents, businesses, employees, and visitors.
The transportation network serves to accommodate the needs of the community while improving connectivity of Concord's neighborhoods. This is in the context of the overarching goals of economic vitality, enhanced livability, quality of life, and environmental and fiscal sustainability.
In the effort to promote a transportation infrastructure that primarily focuses on quality of life and mobility for Concord residents, proactively assesses traffic operations and safety, and improves the experience of visitors, it shall be the policy of the City of Concord:
1. To design, build and operate its roads and streets to safely accommodate all users and modes of transportation – the so called “complete streets” initiative by:
a. Fully integrating pedestrians into the transportation system with walkable neighborhoods, and to promote improvements to sidewalks and trail systems throughout the community that provide safety and convenience.
b. Fully integrating bicyclists into the City’s transportation system, via improvements as incidental parts of street building and resurfacing projects as well as separate projects for that specific purpose.
c. To develop, implement, and maintain a comprehensive Neighborhood Traffic Management Program that focuses on enhancing livability in residential neighborhoods by lessening the adverse impacts associated with increased traffic volume, cut-through traffic and speeds.
2. To develop, implement, and maintain appropriate measures that encourage through-travel along the collector and arterial street network rather than along residential streets.
3. To promote a comprehensive public transportation system that responds to and serves the needs of the community.
4. To cooperate with state and regional transportation organizations (such as the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and the Central New Hampshire Planning Commission) in projects of state and regional significance that benefit or impact Concord residents.
5. To partner with community programs, the Concord School District, and the Merrimack Valley School District, to improve safety and encourage more children to safely walk and bicycle to school by supporting the initiatives of the National Safe Routes to School Program.