Previous editions of the Best Complete Streets Policies report have spotlighted the nation’s leading policies, recognizing community achievements, and providing positive examples for other places. Outcomes from some of these former, top-ranked policies, several years after adoption, reveal compelling evidence of the impacts of Complete Streets policies.

Howard County, Maryland

In 2023, the highest scoring Complete Streets policy and first to receive a perfect score (100/100) was Howard County, Maryland. Howard County’s policy was adopted in 2019 after community organizations, county staff, and elected officials joined forces through their shared vision to make safe transportation for all people a reality. That collaborative spirit has persisted through partnerships with Maryland DOT and local jurisdictions, particularly demonstrated through their participation in Smart Growth America’s 2024 Complete Streets Leadership Academy. This initiative resulted in the installation of a quick-build demonstration project that replaced the rightmost lane on a wide four-lane highway with a multi-use path for pedestrians and bikers. The quick-build joins Howard County’s impressive list of implemented Complete Streets Infrastructure Improvement Projects that have been given life thanks to their strong policy.

El Paso, Texas

Another city with a high-scoring policy (96/100) from our 2023 report, El Paso, Texas, has made significant strides toward its Complete Streets goals through numerous partner programs. The city’s residents and officials were motivated to create the El Paso Complete Streets Coalition by rising concerns, which were in part due to street designs that limited community members’ ability to reach important destinations such as grocery stores, and medical care without a car or get regular physical activity. The city also created complementary policies, such as their 2024 Safe Routes to School Action Plan, which utilizes Complete Streets Design guidance to improve pedestrian crossings for areas around school zones through community painting days. The El Paso Complete Streets policy stood out for its emphasis on prioritizing underinvested communities by “going to the people,” an emphasis that has guided and shaped the success of the city’s implementation process.

Des Moines, Iowa

Looking a bit further back to the 2018 Best Complete Streets Policies report, Des Moines, Iowa came in second place for their policy (87/100). Similar to El Paso, Des Moines stood out for its emphasis on historically underserved communities. Since the policy was passed, local leaders focused on areas identified by the city’s metropolitan planning organization, specifically working through schools to expand Complete Streets projects. In 2024, numerous construction projects broke ground, including a bridge replacement that features bike lanes and sidewalks, riverside trail improvements, and many new sidewalk constructions. Initial project emphasis on highest need areas allowed for Des Moines to get the ball rolling on widespread Complete Streets projects. This strategy may have played a role in the city ranking as the 5th safest city for pedestrians according to Smart Growth America’s 2024 release of Dangerous by Design, a significant improvement from their ranking in the 2021 report as the 24th safest metropolitan area.

Takeaways

The examples of these three cities offer different lessons about following through and implementing Complete Streets. One important commonality is that they all continued the expansion of their road safety efforts by applying for funding. In the past two years, they all received a Safe Streets and Roads 4 All (SS4A) grant, securing federal support for the continuation of Complete Streets programming and implementation. And success can breed success. A strong Complete Streets policy that results in more action through implemented projects and programs can have more success attracting attention and funding support for future endeavours. When policy meets action, communities can build better, safer, and more complete streets.