The Transportation Planning Organizations (TPOs) for Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga have collectively won a competitive national award to form Complete Streets. TPOs are federally-designated metropolitan planning areas, which help make streets safer and ensure Tennessee is more livable and equitable.
Complete Streets are designed and operated to allow safe access for everyone, including people walking, biking, driving or using public transit.
Complete Streets make it easier for people of all ages and abilities to cross streets, walk to shops, and bicycle or drive to work.
Smart Growth America and its National Complete Streets Coalition have announced that Knoxville, Nashville, and Chattanooga have won a Complete Streets Consortium workshop series. The cities applied for and won the award collaboratively, and together, they will receive a set of three free technical assistance workshops.
“We are working hard to improve transportation options for our cities at a time when funding and resources are limited. We must make the most of opportunities both big and small,” said Melissa Taylor, Strategic Long Range Planning director for the Chattanooga-Hamilton County North Georgia TPO. “Many cities and counties within the TPO area may not have time or funding to devote to travel and training or purchasing technical applications. These workshops will provide those much needed services, and we are delighted to have been selected.”
Each city will host a workshop, which will take place over the course of the next few months. The workshops will be tailored to the region’s specific opportunities and challenges to Complete Streets implementation. Completing these workshops will also enhance relationships between Chattanooga, Nashville and Knoxville.
“This award is a testament to the hard work that’s already happening in these communities,” said John Robert Smith, senior policy advisor at Smart Growth America. “Our program was very competitive, and each of our winners should be very proud to be included. We’re excited to help them continue on to the next stage of this work.”
The series of workshops will provide participants with tools and strategies to implement Complete Streets, which advance economic and health goals as well as promote a vibrant community. Discussions will focus on how to create a safe and inviting transportation network for everyone in the community, of all ages and abilities. Each city will create a Complete Streets implementation plan as part of the workshop.
“A region can’t thrive if some people are struggling just to get to the grocery store,” said Emiko Atherton, director of the National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America. “A lot of times, overcoming that challenge takes regional cooperation. This workshop series is the first time we’ve brought together multiple entities to collaborate on Complete Streets. We’re really excited to see what they can accomplish together.”
Smart Growth America offers nine types of technical assistance workshops that help communities build stronger local economies, protect the environment, preserve sense of place and improve overall quality of life. This technical assistance is funded through a grant to Smart Growth America from the United States Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Sustainable Communities under their Building Blocks for Sustainable Communities program. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also a partner.
EPA’s Building Blocks program funds quick, targeted assistance to communities that face common development problems. Through the program, Smart Growth America has already provided free assistance to more than 70 communities across the U.S. from Hawaii to Maine.