Beyond Complete Streets

September 19, 2019

The term Complete Streets has been used to indicate roadways that are designed to provide safe and accessible options for all users – pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. At BETA, we know that an accessible roadway network goes beyond the street surface. Our integrated services allow us to take a comprehensive analysis of above ground assets, such as pavement condition, ADA accessibility, and landscape, and combine that with an understanding of underground utilities, such as water and wastewater infrastructure, to provide a thorough recommendation for a municipal roadway program.

BETA’s asset management team has assisted numerous communities throughout New England with data collection and ultimately the prioritization of their roadways. In some communities, this enables eligibility for grant funding to perform needed improvements.* With data housed in a web-based application, municipal leaders have access to real-time information about the status of their roads – a critical component for capital improvement planning.

Our traffic/transportation engineers and landscape architects work together to evaluate and score streets on jointly developed criteria for walkability, accessibility, and civic connectivity including multi-use trail and bicycle accommodation, as well as access to recreational areas, commercial areas schools, and healthcare facilities. Streets are then ranked by a composite score, which affords municipalities a basis to develop a list of “Complete Street Projects” and focus priorities.

Civil, structural, and environmental engineers then weigh in on the underground utilities, structural considerations, lighting, and permitting requirements. The ability to provide these services as part of a comprehensive team creates cost and time efficiencies for our clients. We can anticipate necessary adjustments to proposed improvements because we are looking not only at surface-level improvements, but also the impact that those improvements will have above and underground.

Our multitude of in-house services provides a true full-service approach for our clients. This broad range of planning, engineering, and landscape architectural services means that our team works together to provide smart solutions to our clients’ needs, improving the communities where we live and work.

*Unsure of the status of your community’s participation in the Massachusetts funding program? Click here to see MassDOT’s map of participating communities and their program documents.

To see more of our Complete Streets experience, visit the following project profiles:
Lenox, MA – Main Street
Hartford, CT – Bushnell Park North
Clinton, MA – Historic Downtown