The Best Complete Streets Policies 2025

Overall, new policies continue to score higher than policies adopted in previous years. The average Complete Streets policy score for the 2025 Report is 52 out of 100 points, which shows an improvement from the previous reports. The 2023 report had an average of 45 Points, which was an increase from 39 points in 2018. While an upward trajectory is encouraging, an individual policy with an overall score of 52 points is less likely to make a significant impact on how a community plans, designs, and builds its streets, based on our policy framework. Some policies reviewed for this report scored in the 70s, 80s, and 90s, but our review also included many policies that scored in the 40s, 30s, 20s, and even the teens.

The consequences that stem from policies that lack critical components could mean that tangible, long-term community changes are not implemented or not implemented in a manner that meets all users’ safety needs. For example, many policies with lower scores did not include how the processes, responsibilities, and funding would be changed to make sure transportation systems work to safely move all people.

The average score for the top 10 policies in this report is 79 points out of 100—a decrease from 89 points in 2023, but still higher than the 72-point average in 2018. Diving deeper into this trend, a pattern seems to have emerged. Policies receive inconsistent marks on elements specifically related to prioritizing underinvested communities and implementation (Elements #2, #9, and #10 in the Complete Streets Policy Framework). SGA revised its policy framework in 2018 to include these elements and without these commitments, it is much less likely that a policy will result in positive changes. This leads to frustration and disenchantment around Complete Streets in some places because, although jurisdictions are indicating an interest in Complete Streets, they are not making the requisite commitments to change things.