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COMPLETE STREETS POLICY
EFFECTIVE: June 2024
PURPOSE
The term complete street means designing, building, and operating streets to routinely accommodate
safe travel by all modes and all people. A complete street serves everyone who travels, be it by driving,
walking, bicycling, riding transit or other means while connecting to a larger transportation network.
People of all ages and abilities are able to safely move along and across streets, regardless of how they
are traveling. Complete streets are essential for access by people who cannot or choose not to drive.
Streets without safe access for non-motorized transportation represent a barrier for people who use
wheelchairs, and for older adults and children. A complete street may look quite different in different
locations within the same city, but all are designed to balance safety, access, and mobility for everyone
using the street.
The City of Muskegon recognizes the numerous benefits associated with the adoption of a Complete
Streets policy to enhance mobility, improve safety, expand transportation access/choice, and build a
healthy community. A Complete Streets approach to design contributes to an improved quality of life
and economic vitality for residents and businesses. Benefits include reducing vehicle miles traveled and
increasing transportation by walking, bicycling, and public transportation which help address a wide
variety of challenges including pollution, climate change, traffic congestion, social isolation, obesity, and
physical inactivity.
Complete Streets are an important component of transportation design and economic and community
development. They help create walkable and vibrant communities which attract and retain businesses
and residents. Complete Streets provide options to safely walk or bicycle to school, beaches, work,
parks, and other community destinations. All designs should be context-sensitive to meet the needs of
the community and surrounding area while emphasizing safe and accessible travel for all people.
Every city, state, and federally funded transportation improvement and project phase should be
approached as an opportunity to create safer, more accessible streets for all users. Project phases
include planning, programming, design, right-of-way acquisition, construction, construction engineering,
reconstruction, and operations as well as any change to transportation facilities within street rights-of-
way such as capital improvements, re-channelization projects, and major maintenance.
GOALS
The City of Muskegon maintains this policy with the goals of:
• Increasing safety and walkability of Muskegon's streets;
• Using design methods that promote the safe use of the right of way for all modes of
transportation;
• Enabling healthier lifestyle choices by providing an expanding variety of safer and
convenient walking and bicycling options;
• Promoting a Complete Streets culture in Muskegon through education and events;
• Encouraging private sector economic development that will benefit from, and contribute to,
a more livable and vibrant community;
• Expanding the network of safe walking and bicycling routes to schools, beaches, parks, and
other community destinations;
• Connecting with other groups in Muskegon that have goals related to Complete Streets;
• Helping to address a wide variety of challenges including pollution, climate change, traffic
congestion, social isolation, obesity, and physical inactivity.
OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES
1. COMMITMENT- the City of Muskegon views complete streets as integral to everyday transportation
options. To this end:
A. Complete Streets principles will continue to be incorporated into the City's Master Land Use Plan,
Asset Management Plan, and Capital Improvement Plan as well as the City's Street Design Standards
and other manuals, checklists, decision trees, rules, regulations, and programs as appropriate.
B. The Engineering, Public Works, Planning, and/or Public Safety Departments will review and
update current design standards, including subdivision regulations that apply to new roadway
construction, to ensure that they reflect the best available design guidelines, and effectively
implement complete streets.
C. When available, the City shall encourage staff professional development and training on non-
motorized transportation issues through attending conferences, classes, webinars, and workshops.
D. City staff shall identify all current and potential future sources of funding for street improvements
and recommend improvements to the project selection criteria to support complete streets
projects.
E. The City shall promote project coordination among its departments and other agencies with an
interest in the activities that occur within the public right-of-way in order to better use fiscal
resources. City staff will coordinate with Muskegon Area Transit System, the West Michigan
Shoreline Regional Development Commission, and other transportation supporters to identify
bicycle, pedestrian, and transit planning and design opportunities appropriate to each project.
F. An annual report will be prepared for the City Commission by the City Manager's office showing
progress made implementing this policy.
2. DESIGN - the design and development of the transportation infrastructure shall improve conditions
for transit users, motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other users through the following steps:
A. Plan projects for the long-term. Transportation improvements are long-term investments that
remain in place for many years. The design and construction of new facilities should anticipate likely
future demand for transit, bicycling, and walking facilities and not preclude the provision of future
improvements.
B. Address the need for bicyclists and pedestrians to cross corridors as well as travel along them.
Even where bicyclists and pedestrians may not commonly use a particular corridor that is being
improved or constructed, they will likely need to be able to cross that corridor safely and
conveniently. Therefore, the design of intersections and interchanges shall accommodate bicyclists
and pedestrians in a manner that is safe, accessible, and convenient.
C. Design facilities per the city's street design standards. Regularly update design standards to
comply with the best currently available standards and guidelines, such as:
• National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Urban Street Design Guide.
• SmartCode;
• AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities;
• AASHTO's A policy on Geometric Design of Highways and Streets;
• AASHTO's Guide for the Planning, Design, and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities;
• SUDAS: State Urban Design and Specifications Manual;
• Federal Highway Administration's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and
Highways;
• ITE Recommended Practice Context Sensitive Solutions in Designing Major Urban
Thoroughfares for Walkable Communities; and,
3. EXCEPTIONS- pedestrian and bicycle ways and transit considerations shall be established in new
construction and reconstruction of street and bridge projects within the City of Muskegon unless at least
one of three conditions are met:
A. Bicyclists and pedestrians are prohibited by law from using the roadway. In this instance, a
greater effort may be necessary to accommodate all users (bicyclists, motorists, transit vehicles and
users, and pedestrians of all ages and abilities) elsewhere within the right-of-way or within the same
transportation corridor.
B. The cost of establishing bikeways and walkways would be excessively disproportionate to the
need or probable use or exceed budget costs. Excessively disproportionate is defined as exceeding
twenty percent of the cost of the larger transportation project. However, the twenty percent
threshold is a guideline; in areas where high levels of bicycle and pedestrian traffic are anticipated,
the threshold for "excessively disproportionate" could be much higher. In cases where the
additional cost is considered excessively disproportionate, the project sponsor may propose an
alternate design or spend twenty percent of the project cost of the larger project to improve
accommodations for all users.
C. Where sparsity of population or other factors indicate an absence of future need such as a street
with severe topographic or natural resource restraints.
Exception requests shall be reviewed and granted or denied by the Public Works Director in
consultation with the Development Services Director. Documentation of any granted exceptions
shall be made publicly available through the Freedom of Information Act.
4. JURISDICTION - This Complete Streets Policy shall apply to all City owned streets and land within
public right-of-way. All Complete Streets improvements must be coordinated between all relevant City
of Muskegon departments such as Engineering, Public Works, Planning, Parks, and Public Safety.
All new private development projects which propose improvements within the public right-of-way shall
comply with this Complete Streets policy. Approval of necessary permits is contingent upon meeting the
Complete Streets requirements. Private development projects proposing privately owned rights-of-way
shall be reviewed for consistency with the Complete Streets policy as part of the approval process.
Owners of private streets shall also be required to adhere to this policy since those streets may become
public right-of-way in the future.
The State of Michigan controls several principal transportation corridors that traverse Muskegon. The
City shall work cooperatively with the Michigan Department of Transportation to plan and implement
Complete Streets improvements within these rights-of-way.
The Michigan Department of Transportation Complete Streets Policy shall be applied to all planning,
design, construction, and major maintenance within State controlled rights-of-way.
Utility companies operate within City and State rights-of-way. Their planning, construction, and major
maintenance can create both opportunities and barriers to Complete Streets improvements. The City
shall coordinate with the utilities to ensure that utility projects and Complete Streets improvements are
coordinated wherever possible.
5. LAND USE AND CONTEXT- land use context and flexibility shall be considered relative to potential
Complete Streets improvements. The overall goal ofthis approach is to preserve and enhance scenic,
aesthetic, historical, and environmental resources while improving or maintaining safety, mobility, and
infrastructure conditions.
It is the intent of this Policy that the City of Muskegon's Planning Director and the Planning Commission
will endeavor to incorporate Complete Streets policies into the Master Plan, zoning regulations,
subdivision regulations, and all other relevant planning and regulatory documents to help support the
community's Complete Streets vision. Additionally, the Planning Commission is encouraged to review all
private development proposals with the goal of helping facilitate the community's Compete Streets
vision.
All City projects that have land use considerations, such as civic building location decisions, property
acquisition, park planning, etc., shall consider how such actions may impact the community's Complete
Streets vision. Where feasible, biking and walking to municipally-owned facilities shall be encouraged
and facilitated.
6. PERFORMANCE MEASURES - using performance measures to evaluate the progress of the Complete
Streets Policy is a valuable and essential part of successfully implementing safer, more complete streets.
The City will publicly report on the annual increase or decrease for each performance measure
compared to the previous year{s). These measures can include:
• Rate of crashes, injuries and fatalities by mode;
• Percentage of transit stops accessible via sidewalks and accessible ramps;
• Number of approved and denied exceptions;
• Completion of Safe Routes to School projects;
• Total miles of on-street bicycle lanes;
• Total miles of off-street bicycle facilities;
• Bicycle and pedestrian counts;
• Number and type of traffic calming measures implemented;
• Congestion studies; and,
• Other relevant measures.
COMPLETE STREETS POLICY IMPLEMENTATION
The implementation of Complete Streets will require cooperation and collaboration between
stakeholders on a regular basis. As such, the City will take the following steps to facilitate the process:
• The City Manager's office will oversee the implementation of the Complete Streets policy.
• The Planning Director and Planning Commission will review and propose revisions to all
appropriate land use ordinances, policies, and regulations to support the implementation of
Complete Streets.
• The Public Works and Engineering Departments will establish necessary procedures to ensure
the application of Complete Streets principles at the earliest design stage.
• The City Manager will encourage staff professional development in the area of Complete Streets
through attendance at seminars, conferences, and workshops.
• The City Commission will support staff in actively promoting public information and education
and soliciting feedback about Complete Streets from the community using outreach strategies
that make use of natural gathering spaces and the City's social media pages and website.
AMENDMENTS:
Any amendments to this policy will be submitted to the City Commission.
Document edit notes
Action Person Date Change
New L. Mikesell 6-11-24 New policy
CERTIFICATION
2024-54(L)
Attached is a true copy of the Complete Streets Policy. This was adopted by the City
Commission at a regular meeting held on June 11, 2024. The meeting was properly held
and noticed pursuant to the Open Meetings Act of the State of Michigan, Act 267 of the
Public Acts of 1976.
Date: June 11, 2024
CITY OF MUSKEGON
933 Terrace, Muskegon, MI 49440
By~ ~~~4 be
Ann Marie Meisch, MMC
City Clerk
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