Commission Special Meeting Will Detail New 'Complete Streets Tool' Under Development by City

Pasadena’s Transportation Advisory Commission (TAC) will meet Thursday, January 24, at a new location inside City Hall to discuss a new Complete Street Blueprint Tool that’s intended to help the City implement its Complete Streets Program, which focuses on increasing the number of safe, comfortable ways that people can travel around Pasadena.
Instead of the City Council Chamber where commission meetings are usually held, the TAC will meet Thursday inside the Fair Oaks Conference Room # S039 at the City Hall basement. City officials said that members of the public can take the Council Chambers elevator to get to the basement and the conference room.
The meeting begins at 4 p.m.
According to the City’s Department of Transportation, the City is currently developing a Complete Street Blueprint Tool to help the City identify and prioritize Complete Streets projects throughout the City, integrate the projects with road resurfacing and citizenry operation requests, and share information about Complete Streets projects with the community through a Complete Streets Dashboard.
The City began the process of developing the Complete Streets Blueprint Tool in mid-October 2018, and development of the Complete Streets Dashboard will begin in early 2019. The Transportation Department said it will be engaging with the public early this year, hoping to complete the project by summer.
Pasadena’s Complete Streets Program was developed out of a need to enable safe access to the City’s streets for all users, where pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities must be able to safely move along and across a complete street.
With an effective Complete Streets Program, City residents and visitors should be able to see increased transportation choices so they could avoid traffic congestion. The program should also increase the overall capacity of the transportation network.
The program is also expected to bring about economic revitalization since complete streets can reduce transportation costs and travel time while increasing property values and job growth in communities. The City can also expect to see improved returns on infrastructure investments: integrating sidewalks, bike lanes, transit amenities, and safe crossings into the initial design of a project spares the expense of retrofits later, the Transportation Department explained.
The other benefits expected out of the program include improving the quality of the area as both a residential and commercial attraction, and improving safety on the road as well.
In 2015, the City of Pasadena adopted an updated Mobility Element of the City’s General Plan and included new goals and objectives that address the necessity of a Complete Streets program.
To learn more about the Pasadena Complete Streets Program, visit www.cityofpasadena.net/transportation/complete-streets/#complete-streets-program.