Historically, road designs have privileged the needs of motorized users. KYTC and transportation agencies nationwide over the past 20 – 30 years have recognized that optimizing urban, suburban, and rural town road designs for motor vehicle throughput reduces the travel efficiency and safety of pedestrians, micromobility users (a category which includes bicycles, skateboards, e-bikes, and electric scooters), and transit riders. In response, agencies have embraced holistic philosophies of road design such as context sensitive solutions and, more recently, Complete Streets. Adopted in 2022, KYTC’s Complete Streets policy mandates the inclusion of appropriate facilities to meet the needs of all users when streets, roads, and highways that fall under state jurisdiction are built, rehabilitated, reconstructed, and maintained.

The idea behind Complete Streets is simple — design context-adapted roads that apply the Safe System Approach, support livable and economically prosperous communities, equitably balance the needs of different transportation modes, strengthen multimodal connectivity, and preserve the safety of all users.

Through their designs, Complete Streets establish an expectation that multiple user types — of all ages and abilities — across all modes will interact on a facility. Instilling appropriate expectations in every user is critical because expectations strongly influence user behavior. This is a key tenet of self-explaining roads. Road designs that align with user expectations promote safety, efficiency, and eliminate sources of confusion in the road environment. For example, if a motorist expects to interact with other user types they are more likely to modify their behavior to maintain safe interactions. A Complete Street can incorporate design elements and design language which reinforces the expectation of multimodal interactions to enhance the safety of all users.

Working under the Complete Streets paradigm requires project development teams and designers to apply project- and network-level thinking when crafting design solutions. Early in project development, KYTC stakeholders need to evaluate a facility’s safety, modal priorities, current and future land use context, available right of way, typical cross sections, road geometrics, traffic volumes, speed, the needs of all users of all abilities, environmental impacts, future maintenance costs, and access management to determine what solutions are feasible. As part of this process, KYTC must engage community partners to understand local needs and identify a balanced design solution.

Blending analysis of existing facilities with community outreach helps project development teams and designers identify strategies for addressing an individual project’s purpose and need while also bolstering network operations, connectivity, and multimodal accessibility. KYTC’s Complete Streets Policy is underpinned by national and Kentucky- specific road design guidance as well as a commitment to a flexible design process. When designers confront project challenges that require them to push beyond common practices, they must think creatively to find feasible solutions. Areas in which designs depart from national or Kentucky-specific design guidance must be documented in the Design Executive Summary.

KYTC’s Complete Streets, Roads, and Highways Manual (CSM) provides guidance on incorporating Complete Street elements into road design. If a facility meets one or more of the criteria listed in Table 1, Complete Street elements must be considered. The Cabinet’s Complete Streets policy also directs project teams to complete a benefit-cost analysis of project improvements to determine if they are justified given the social and financial expense.

The CSM presents a Kit of Parts that includes different facility types that may be incorporated into Complete Streets to service different modes. These include vehicle lanes, dedicated bike/micromobility lanes, shared streets, curbside management, shared-use paths, sidewalks, dedicated bus lanes, and shoulders. The kinds of facilities a project team and designer integrate into a Complete Street hinges on context classification and local conditions. As such, there is no universal formula for designing a Complete Street. Nor will Complete Streets operate in the same fashion or look the same in different contexts. However, they always feel safe and are safe for all users.

Design Strategies and Practices

Despite the inherent variability of their form and function, several design elements and design practices are regularly integrated into Complete Streets. Along with the CSM, the FHWA circular Complete Streets Transformations is a good source of information on these elements and practices. The publication reviews six design case studies for arterial roads. Each case study works through FHWA’s method of implementing Complete Street strategies: (1) understand community and network context; (2) identify safety, connectivity, and equity concerns; (3) implement improvements over time; and (4) measure facility performance to gauge the impact and success of Complete Street treatments. Cross sections illustrating conditions before and after a Complete Street intervention let readers visualize changes in facilities.

Another good resource designers can look at is Streetmix, a website that lets users can experiment with different cross-section designs. Users can modify the types and dimensions of vehicle and micromobility lanes; add or subtract elements such as landscaping, parklets, lighting, and transit shops; and apply different markings or paint schemes. While Streetmix presents an idealized view of a Complete Street, it can be valuable for helping designers imagine different possibilities for configuring cross sections, deciding the best way to address modal priorities with the space available, and thinking about the positives and negatives of adding, modifying, or eliminating features.

To help designers build their intuition about Complete Streets design strategies and practices, Table 2 lists design methods, treatments, and countermeasures often used on a Complete Street. It also indicates the context in which these elements are most likely to be used. As with any attempt at generalization, the table does not capture all of the nuances that could influence decision making when working in a particular context. As a menu of options, keep in mind that not all Complete Streets will not incorporate all of these elements and strategies. Designers need to use their engineering judgment and subject-matter expertise to determine which options are (a) most appropriate and (b) the most likely to achieve the goal of creating safe road environments for all users.

The subsections below distill the CSM’s key recommendations for designing Complete Streets into a shorter bulleted format. Since the presentation of material is not exhaustive, readers should consult the CSM before making design-related decisions on projects. Nonetheless, the information provides a useful starting point and is presented in the same order as the CSM (many of the bold headings correspond to a chapter or section title in the manual). When approaching a new project, the issue that should be foremost in a designers mind is what mix of design elements is most likely to establish safety for all while optimizing mobility across modes.

Right-Sizing Facilities and User Separation

• Separating users in space and time using physical infrastructure and/or signal phasing reduces human errors. The degree of separation between modes depends on context, safety needs for each mode, and available right of way. Dedicated accommodations (e.g., bike lanes, sidewalk, bus lanes) provide the highest level of safety, convenience, and comfort. Only adopt fully-shared lanes on facilities where right of way is very constrained, vehicle speeds and volumes are low, and no direct alternative or parallel routes are available.

Accessibility and Design Standards

• All dimensions of road planning, design, construction, and maintenance must comply with ADA standards within public rights of way.
• Designs for new construction or reconstruction projects should incorporate appropriate and feasible pedestrian access routes and micromobility facilities (shared streets, pedestrian and/or micromobility shoulders or walking lanes, bicycle facilities, pedestrian curb ramps, detectable warning surfaces, pushbuttons at crossings).

Mitigating Multimodal Conflicts

• Mitigation strategies include separating modes, placing buffers between modes, installing medians to separate opposing traffic or restrict left turns, installing barriers, or using intersection treatments and signal phasing.
• Buffers help protect vulnerable road users and can take many forms — striping, bollards, hardscape, landscape elements, or raised medians/curbs.

 Design and Control Vehicles

• Select the largest design vehicle that will routinely use the road. A larger turning radius poses safety issues for vulnerable road users due to longer crossing distances and vehicles turning at higher speeds. Mountable curb designs are a practical solution for efficiently managing different modes of traffic, enhancing overall safety. These designs provide the flexibility for large vehicles to navigate roads and intersections, contributing to a more Complete Street.

Sight Distance, Visibility, and Conflict Exposure

• Avoid restricting sight distances. Calculate sight distances at potential conflict points.
• Evaluate the visibility of all users at intersections, crossings, entrances, and other potential conflict points.
• Intersection design should prioritize establishing eye contact among street users. This approach ensures that motorists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and drivers of transit vehicles perceive intersections as shared spaces, which boosts overall safety.
• Reduce conflict exposure and eliminate or minimize the impact of visual obstructions.
• Verify that landscaping near intersections, interchanges, entrances, and elsewhere allows all users to detect one another.

Managing Speed

• Set the design speed based on factors such as the operating speed, topography, adjacent land use, and context classification. On urban and suburban roads, use the target speed as the speed limit. The target speed is the highest speed at which vehicles can operate in a specific context — given prevailing multimodal activity — while maintaining a safe and comfortable environment for all users.
• If speed differences between different modes are significant, install buffers and other physical elements to separate dedicated facilities from one another (e.g., separate vehicle lanes from micromobility lanes). Physical elements include features such as raised curbs, low-profile barriers, green infrastructure (e.g., trees, planters), and bollards. The selection and placement of physical elements should be context-appropriate. All elements, especially rigid objects, need to be set back from vehicle lanes far enough so motorists retain good visibility of objects and users throughout the roadway environment. The distance between physical elements and vehicle lanes should be sufficient to minimize the likelihood serious injuries to vehicle occupants and other roadway users if an errant vehicle departed from the roadway. Context-appropriate placement of physical elements can enhance the safety, comfort, and experiences of all roadway users. For additional information, refer to the article Enhanced Lateral Offsets in Urban Environments.
• Encourage motorists to slow down through the use of speed reduction countermeasures:
• Add curvature to facilities in urban, suburban, and small town contexts
• Vertical displacement of elements (e.g., raised crossings, intersections, speed tables)
• Intersection designs (e.g., roundabouts) that lower speeds and improve yielding
• Adopt optical lane narrowing and/or physical lane narrowing through striping, reducing pavement widths, or installing median islands, bulbouts, or curb extensions
• Modify pavement color or texture (e.g., transverse rumble strips)
• Install context-appropriate low-profile barriers, landscaping, street trees, medians, lighting, and other pedestrian, bicyclist, or transit amenities. As noted above, the placement of physical elements — especially rigid objects — should align with the context and work to enhance the safety, comfort, and experiences of all roadway users.

Pedestrian and Micromobility Facilities

• Build ADA-compliant sidewalks to accommodate pedestrians. To the maximum extent feasible, adhere to the Pedestrian Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) when designing pedestrian facilities.
• Install visible pavement markings at all crosswalks.
• Crashworthy low-profile barriers may be installed to separate travel lanes from pedestrian facilities. Another option is using planting strips or landscaping to detach pedestrian facilities from travel lanes.
• As vehicle operating speeds increase, increase lateral offsets from the edge of travel lanes to sidewalks.
• Whenever possible, install pedestrian facilities on or adjacent to bridges
• Connect pedestrian throughways to accessible transit stops. Sidewalks may need to be widened at high-volume transit stops
• Where dedicated sidewalks are not feasible, other options are available:
• Shared streets have a zone where pedestrians, micromobility users, vehicles can safely interact. They are a good choice for low-volume, low-speed commercial and residential streets or frontage roads (e.g., speed limits £ 35 mph). On steep vertical grades that produce high speed differentials, installing dedicated lanes can improve user safety and comfort. Visual and tactile cues should be used to mark transitions between zones (curbside, travel lanes, medians). Always adhere to MUTC marking requirements.
• Shoulders can be used in rural and residential areas. If shoulders are built on high-volume, high-speed roads that accommodate many pedestrians, installing buffers, vertical delineators, or roadside barriers improve user safety and comfort.
• Shared-use paths are a judicious alternative on corridors with high pedestrian volumes, high-speed vehicle traffic, and/or high volumes of vehicle traffic. Physically separating cyclists and other micromobility users from vehicles can improve safety.

Bicycle and Micromobility Facility Design

• Separate micromobility vehicles from motor vehicle traffic.
• Install drainage grates, gutter seams, and utility covers flush with the surface of micromobility lanes.
• Establish parking areas for micromobility vehicles to avoid impeding pedestrian traffic.
• Green pavement markings can be used to denote micromobility facilities. Consider their use at T-intersections and similar intersection designs that allow continuous bike operations without conflicts with motor vehicles.
• Options for bike/micromobility lanes include striped bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, and separated bike lanes. A buffered bike lane is required if the speed limit is ³ 45 mph. In rural-to-suburban or suburban-to-urban transition zones, transitioning to buffered bicycle lanes is a good option.
  • Separated bike lanes have three components — the bike lane, a buffer area, and a vertical feature (e.g., raised curbs or medians, pavement-mounted flexible tabular marker or delineator). They are good choices on roads that lack parking in areas or where the pavement is wide enough (at least 8 ft.) to accommodate parking-protected lanes.
  • Shared-use paths allow for two-way micromobility user operations and pedestrian access where right of way is restricted and along high-volume, high-speed motor vehicle corridors. Use pedestrian-scale signing to denote shared-use paths. Pavement markings are option, and can be used to separate pedestrians from faster-moving micromobility users
  • The CSM contains additional details on facility geometrics and dimensions.

Transit Facilities

• Transit stops should be placed where (a) boarding/alighting areas are accessible to sidewalks and micromobility lanes and (b) in locations with adequate sight distance that meet universal access requirements.
• The preferred location for transit stops is at the near or far side of an intersection (far-side stops have better sight distance conditions). Situating transit stops near intersections opens up access to users on both sides of a street as well as cross streets. Place mid-block crosswalks behind bus stops to prevents passengers from crossing in front of buses, where passing traffic cannot detect them.
• Bus bulbs (curb extensions that serve as a bus stop) and bus turnouts (a recessed curb area adjacent to the traffic lane) can be used to reduce multimodal conflicts, increase the conspicuity of pedestrians, and provide space for bus passenger queueing.

Motor Vehicle Facilities

• The CSM recommends using FHWA proven safety countermeasures to address speed management and road departure crashes.
• Creating narrower vehicle travel lanes and reducing the number of vehicle travel lanes can help reduce speed, shrink crossing distances, and open up space for other modes.
• On freight corridors consider using wider vehicle lanes and shoulders, increased turning radii, separated bike facilities, and truck aprons or other mountable speed control.

 Landscaping

• Green infrastructure and vegetation (e.g., trees, gardens, green stormwater infrastructure, bioswales, planter boxes) help frame corridors, improve the comfort of pedestrian and micromobility users, and reduce urban heat island effects. Irrespective of context, landscaping must not obstruct visibility at intersections or in pedestrian circulation zones. Landscaping should set back from the street’s curb to allow unobstructed vehicle operations (e.g., street parking, mirror overhand on trucks and buses).

Designing for Safety at Intersections and Crossings

• Intersection and crossing designs must clearly indicate which users have the right of way (through the use of speed management measures, pavement markings, signs, or other features), have enough sight distance for all users to see and react to each other, and if possible physically separate users or use signalization to create separation in time.

Crossing Design

• Minimize crossing distances for vulnerable users at intersections.
• Apply speed management principles and safety countermeasures to slow vehicles approaching crosswalks.
  • On rural, high-speed facilities use optical speed bars, transverse rumble strips, and/or speed feedback signs.
  • On low-speed rural residential streets as well as suburban and urban streets, protected intersections (an intersection that physically separates vehicles and bicyclists), raised crossings, speed tables, and/or raised intersections can slow approaching vehicles.
  • Refuge islands and limiting the use of turn lanes can be valuable strategies in rural areas.

Accessibility

• On projects that begin or end at an intersection, upgrade all approaches with similar multimodal features so all users can safely cross intersections.
• Pedestrian curb ramps must be placed in all quadrants of an intersection that are connected by a sidewalk and/or shared-use path. They should align to ensure vision-impaired pedestrians can move directly from one side of the street to the other. Sidewalk-adjacent ramps should provide clear directional cues, have detectable warning surfaces, and be free of signs and temporary/permanent obstructions
• Install detectable warning surfaces on all sidewalk pedestrian curb ramps and shared-use path ramps.
• Refuge islands and medians should provide enough space to stage pedestrians and micromobility users.
• Use asphalt or concrete for walking and riding surfaces. Bricks, pavers, and cobblestones — all of which limit the mobility of wheelchairs — should not be installed at crosswalks.

Signs, Striping, and Pavement Markings

• Markings can designate preferential use lanes and identify mixing zones, although texturing pavements is good for helping pedestrians with visual impairments differentiate lanes and zones.
• Use green pavement markings for bicycle facilities and red pavement markings for transit facilities. Consider the use of continuous green pavement markings at T-intersections and crossings where micromobility vehicles are present throughout the day.
• Bicycle facilities can incorporate queueing/staging areas to help users navigate turns more easily at intersections without merging into motor vehicle traffic.
• For dedicated bike facilities, install receiving facilities on the far sides of intersections, interchanges, or other crossings. If receiving facilities are not feasible, transition bicyclists to a shared motor vehicle lane or a shared-use path upstream of the intersection

Pedestrian Signals

• If a crosswalk handles a lot of pedestrians who are seniors or have disabilities, adjust signal timings to give them ample time to cross.
• Install pedestrian pushbuttons, marked crosswalks, and pedestrian signals at all signalized locations with existing or planned sidewalks. Leading pedestrian intervals give pedestrians and micromobility users additional time to enter intersections and improve their visibility. On corridors with high-pedestrian options, consider including an all-pedestrian signal phase.

Bicycle Signals

• Bicycle priority signals can be used in areas with high volumes of turning motor vehicles, high bike volumes, and complex facilities (e.g., separated bike lanes, two-way cycle tracks).

Grade-Separated Intersections and Interchanges

• Pavement markings for pedestrians and micromobility users are the same as those used at intersections.
• Refuge islands are options on facilities with multiple travel or turn lanes. Consider installing additional speed and safety countermeasures as well.
• On motor vehicle ramps, establish a continuous bike lane and/or transition micromobility users to a shared-use path.
• Where bike lanes transition to shared-use paths, one option to consider is active or passive speed management for micromobility users and visual/tactile navigational cues for pedestrians with vision disabilities.
• On new construction projects or the reconstruction of grade-separated intersections that connect pedestrians and/or micromobility users, consider a design that does not have free-flow turn lanes.

Roundabouts and Yield-Controlled Intersections

• Design splitter islands to accommodate expected pedestrian and micromobility user volumes. Place crossings at least one car length upstream of the yield line at a roundabout entrance so motorists have a clear view of pedestrians and micromobility users.
• If possible, implement single-lane roundabout approaches and exits because they reduce vehicle speeds and have shorter crossing distances. Multilane entries and exits also pose hurdles for pedestrians who have vision impairments. If multilane entries are used, PROWAG requires either pedestrian signals, raised crosswalks.
• Transition dedicated lanes (e.g., micromobility lanes) to a shared-use path through roundabouts. Use shared crossings for pedestrians and other users.

Mid-Block and Other Uncontrolled Crossings

• Provide enough space between mid-block / other uncontrolled crossings and intersections to afford pedestrians and micromobility users access to adjacent development and transit.
• Mid-block crossings should intersect roads at an angle as near to perpendicular as possible. This reduces crossing distances and exposure to conflicts. Place mid-block crossings far enough away from intersections to minimize conflicts with turning vehicles
• Other treatments are available to improve the safety and visibility of vulnerable road users, including medians, islands, pavement markings, lighting, raised crosswalks/intersections, signs, road reconfigurations, pedestrian-activated flashing beacons, and signals. Table 3 provides FHWA guidance for selecting countermeasures based on road configuration, speed limit, and ADT.

Table 3 Countermeasures for Mid-Block and Uncontrolled Crossings

Source: CSM and FHWA (2005)

Railroad Crossings

• Crossing width needs to match the width of dedicated bike lanes, pedestrian facilities, or shared-use paths. Keep the crossing perpendicular to the tracks if possible. If a skewed crossing is unavoidable, the path may be widened so users can cross at an angle as close to 90 degrees as possible.

Multimodal Bridges and Tunnels

• Bridges and tunnels should be wide enough to accommodate expected user types and volumes.
• Install high-quality lighting to preserve user comfort and visibility.
• Use variations in pavement color, surface type, or texture, markings or striping, or signs to separate modes and mitigate multimodal conflicts.

Access Management

• Evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of establishing access points for all users of a Complete Street corridor.
• Strategies to mitigate conflicts between turning motor vehicle traffic and other users include reducing the widths and number of access points, providing access only to specific turning movements, denoting conflict zones with pavement markings, and using vertical displacements (e.g., raised crossings).

Implementing Complete Streets on Existing Roads, Streets, and Highways

• Replace existing catch basin grates with grates that have a perpendicular orientation and are bike-friendly.
• If a project begins or ends at an intersection, every intersection approach must be upgraded with multimodal features that let pedestrians and micromobility users to safely traverse the intersection.
• Install pedestrian and micromobility facilities, including pedestrian curb ramps, where they are missing or do not meet ADA requirements
• Some projects can trigger ADA compliance requirements for existing pedestrian facilities. Several project types do not trigger these requirements, including spot pavement repair, liquid-asphalt sealing, chip sealing, crack sealing, and lane re-striping that does not modify the shoulder’s usability.

Road Diets/Reconfigurations

• A road reconfiguration eliminates some motor vehicle travel lanes on an existing facility and reallocates that space for other uses. They require low-cost improvements, such as new pavement markings, striping, and signs, and confer many benefits, including traffic calming, reduced crossing and turning conflicts for motor vehicles, and opening up dedicated space for pedestrians, micromobility users, and transit. Corridors with ADT < 20,000 are typically best suited for road diets.

Tactical Urbanism

• A design strategy that involves completing small permanent or semi-permanent projects that can be executed quickly to improve multimodal safety, most often in urban areas and rural towns. Examples include:
  • Curb extensions
  • Chicanes and other forms of horizontal displacement
  • Lane or channelized turn-lane closures
  • Pedestrian and micromobility facilities
  • Micromobility parking
  • Replacing parking spaces with parklets
  • Public art spaces or pavement art

Additional Resources

KYTC Complete Streets, Roads, and Highways Manual

• Provides design criteria and recommendations for all contexts. It is the best source for information on how KYTC is implementing the Complete Street design approach.

KYTC Complete Streets Website

• Includes a brief explainer on Complete Streets and links to all Complete Streets policies adopted to date in Kentucky.

Other Resources and Publications

• States, MPOs, cities, other jurisdictions, and non-governmental organizations nationwide have published Complete Streets design guides. While the CSM stands as KYTC’s approved guidance document, designers can benefit from exploring other publications and policies to develop new ideas. For example:
  • 2020 Louisville Complete Streets Design Guide
  • Smart Growth America: Best Complete Streets Policies 2023
  • Active Transportation Alliance Design Guides

FHWA Complete Streets Transformations

• Offers a scenario-based approach to explore implementation of Complete Streets design strategies.