With support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Active People, Healthy Nation initiative, Smart Growth America (SGA) partnered with the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) on a statewide Complete Streets Leadership Academy in 2026. The Complete Streets Leadership Academy is designed to train state departments of transportation and local agencies to collaborate and commit to making changes that address safety concerns on state-owned roads.

Alongside ALDOT and the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPCGB), SGA selected participating communities that would benefit from design changes to improve health, safety, and connectivity for all road users. This summer, Moody and Springville successfully completed the leadership academy with support from RPCGB and the St. Clair Economic Development Council.

Background

Moody and Springville each face their own set of safety challenges with state-owned roads that move through major corridors, requiring communications and partnership with the state DOT to make any changes. While navigating these challenges, both communities have invested in new amenities for their communities. Moody built a civic center and a state-of-the-art high school to anchor a new school campus. Springville is making the most of its historic main street, supporting local businesses by hosting regular community events and exploring new development projects to expand the district.

Moody’s primary objective in completing the Complete Streets Leadership Academy was to address the lack of pedestrian infrastructure to protect people walking at and near the intersection of Park Avenue and Moody Parkway. Currently, the area has no protected crosswalks or sidewalks to help people navigate the wide and busy road. For a recent walk audit, participants had a police escort to ensure their safety. Mayor Nick Rutledge and other community leaders recognized that if they want people to be able to make the most of the new improvements throughout the city, they would need to make it possible for people to safely reach them.

In Springville, officials wanted to explore options to improve safety and access at the intersections along its historic main street. While the street has a good network of connected sidewalks and thriving businesses, there was room to improve the existing crosswalks and increase the frequency of protected crossings. These changes would also help reduce the fast speeds of cars on the road, making the area more inviting for pedestrians.

Alabama’s Complete Streets Leadership Academy

Participants from both communities, regional partners, and the Alabama Department of Transportation attended a series of virtual trainings. These sessions covered Complete Streets and their ability to support active transportation, quick-build demonstration projects, and determining sites for potential community-led projects. Toward the end of the program, partners participated in an in-person workshop to finalize draft designs for demonstration projects. The workshop also provided an important opportunity for participants who would not otherwise meet in person to come together, building and strengthening relationships across sectors and jurisdictions.

Lessons from this year’s Complete Streets Leadership Academy

The Complete Streets Leadership Academy has proven itself as a successful program for bringing states and local jurisdictions together to work on a shared vision for safe, active transportation. This year’s Complete Streets Leadership Academy in Alabama emphasized the importance of bringing people together in-person and the potential benefits of addressing transportation as a community issue. Coming together in-person in Moody brought new energy and engagement to the teams and renewed commitment during the working sessions. As a result, Moody and Springville each left with a stronger vision for walking and biking in their community, a plan for a potential street redesign project, and a better connection with staff in the Alabama Department of Transportation. Several participants noted how unique it was to spend such dedicated time in-person with staff in the state agency.

One unexpected focus of Alabama’s Complete Streets Leadership Academy was the intersection of transportation and economic development. Although not planned in the original curriculum, the participation of the St. Clair Economic Development Council sparked spontaneous discussions for both Moody and Springville participants on how transportation and land use changes made together could boost economic development and revitalization, generating new, creative ideas related to project site selection, potential partners, and types of community engagement activities to accompany their quick-build demonstration projects.

What’s next

Moody and Springville will continue to work on their plans for a quick-build demonstration with their regional partners as they navigate getting Alabama Department of Transportation’s approval and guidance on permitting, materials, and implementation. Moving forward, it will be important that ALDOT works closely with project teams to develop context-sensitive improvements that adequately address community concerns. These quick-build demonstrations will hopefully be just some of the first that are done by the agency and can provide a roadmap for future use of demonstration projects across the state.