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Menifee Complete Streets Plan
The City of Menifee is undertaking a Complete Streets Plan (CSP) to improve access, mobility, and safety for all modes of travel including walking, bicycling, public transit, and automobiles.
What is a complete street?
A complete street is safe and accessible for all modes of transportation including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and automobiles. While not every complete street will have the same ingredients, there are key elements that contribute to the design.
Key elements of a complete street -
Equitable Access
Mobility for older adults, people with disabilities, and lower-income households often face transportation barriers that limit access to higher paying jobs, healthy foods, and nature, and more. These groups are more likely to rely on walking, bicycling, and public transit. A complete street improves access to destinations for all ages and abilities. Complete streets expand access by expanding multimodal transportation options, allowing people to travel to where they want and need to go without the financial burden of a car which contributes to reduced automobile congestion for drivers.
Choice / Leisure
Many people want to use active transportation, but the existing roadway network discourages walking and biking. Feeling uncomfortable or unsafe walking and biking or using public transportation will often deter people from choosing active transportation and encourage car trips instead. Not everyone has that choice and complete streets are important for all road users.
Environmental Benefits
Complete streets allow the foundation to transition from single vehicle occupancy to non-motorized travel, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants and working to meet California’s climate goals.
Health Benefits
Active transportation is an excellent way to integrate exercise into daily activity, helping reduce obesity and related chronic illness, such as diabetes and heart disease. Pedestrian and Bicycle infrastructure such as sidewalks, protected bike lanes, and shade all contribute to a comfortable and safe environment to encourage people to get active. Walkable neighborhoods have higher rates of physical activity.
Economic Benefits
Property closer to parks and trails, and on streets with sidewalks, often has a higher market value than similar properties in less walkable areas. Community businesses benefit from increased foot traffic. Looking forward, changes in U.S. demographics are likely to require shifts in transportation planning to accommodate an aging population and an increase in one-person households.
Social Benefits
Multimodal travel options can also be a form of leisure and contribute to community health through user enjoyment, social clubs like walking groups or cycling events, and community livability. Residents are more likely to engage with their neighbors while they are out and about, traversing through their neighborhoods, creating a deeper sense of investment in their community.
Safety and Security Benefits
Designing streets for bicycle and pedestrian access reduces chances of collisions and thus reduces injuries and fatalities. Complete streets also serve as a crime deterrent as improved lighting increases nighttime visibility and comfort, and a walkable area attracts people outside at all times of the day, increasing “eyes on the street.”