The first drivers in New York City found themselves in an unfriendly landscape. Cobbled streets, narrow roadbeds and a lack of traffic controls weren't suited to expeditious movement by automobile. For a time, drivers contented themselves with carving out small niches in the urban fabric, but with money, political muscle and an aura of inevitability, the automobile lobby eventually brought about a program of wholesale curb-to-curb reconstruction. Up came the trolley tacks, down came the elevated trains, gone were the broad sidewalks of a great city of walkers--all in the name of a grand design. It was this street-by-street repurposing, just as much as the construction of highways, that reshaped New York's streets around the car.

For four decades, activists for greener, safer NYC streets have scrounged at the margins of this automobilized streetscape. A few feet of traffic lanes converted to bike lanes, the occasional sidewalk extended to relieve a dangerous intersection--all important changes, but all within the context of streets that serve cars, first and foremost. But what would our streets look like if they were redesigned, building-to-building, to first accommodate walkers, bicyclists, the disabled and surface transit? The days of living at the margins are over: the Complete Streets revolution has begun.

The Complete Streets movement represents a newer, bolder approach to making streets safe, accessible and multi-modal. Advocates have shifted their tactics: Instead of improving streets one block or intersection at time, they are working towards new design standards that can be implemented on a grand scale as streets come up for reconstruction or resurfacing. In much the same way that the motor-vehicle lobby irrevocably altered streetscapes in the early 20th century, Complete Streets advocates are creating the blueprints for 21st century streets.

A Complete Street is foremost a reapportioning of road space. Other than restrictions requiring 20 feet of roadbed for fire trucks, the space between buildings is malleable. At present, we give over the lion's share to cars, usually with parking along either side and one or more lanes for travel in the center.

Change begins with the question, "What does each street user--bicyclist, pedestrian, wheelchair user, bus rider--require to move safely and comfortably in the street?" On a Complete Street, car travel lanes are narrowed, curbside parking is reduced or removed, and that space is repurposed as broader sidewalks, protected bike lanes, secure rights of way for buses and more pedestrian-oriented intersections.

The movement is international. Heavyweights like AARP, the Thunderhead Alliance and Smart Growth America have joined the National Complete Streets Coalition and are bringing their political power to bear with striking results. Just this past October, Illinois became the first state to adopt Complete Streets legislation, with others set to follow. And while the national coalition is gaining steam, Transportation Alternatives is pushing for a permanent Complete Streets design policy here in NYC before Mayor Bloomberg leaves office in 2009.

Creating Complete Streets requires directing existing money for road reconstruction to more holistic street improvements, and by adopting a new set of laws to reduce speed limits and mandate the inclusion of bicycle, pedestrian and surface transit needs in all projects. This two-pronged approach allows for Complete Streets to be developed within the overall repaving and reconstruction cycle of City streets--which means that little additional cost is required to put these improvements on the ground.

At the core of this new vision for NYC streets are three tactics: reducing car traffic, enhancing safety and nurturing street life. Instituted as a whole, this package promises a New York City streetscape that is safe for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit-users and drivers.

Creating Room To Breathe
Today's "incomplete" streets serve essentially one purpose: the expeditious movement of cars. Street space is a fixed quantity; more room for pedestrians, bikes and transit means less room for cars. The only way to reduce the thru-traffic flooding neighborhoods each morning and evening is to reduce the actual number of cars on our streets. There are two complementary traffic reducers that target thru traffic and local traffic, respectively.

The first is congestion pricing, the system of charging drivers in the most congested parts of Manhattan and funneling the revenue to mass transit. As proposed, it will take more than 100,000 cars off the road each day and switch those trips to public transportation.

The second major traffic reducer is parking reform. Free and under-priced curbside parking is a major cause of traffic congestion. Vehicles in search of a parking space often "cruise" block after block for a space, which increases pollution, worsens traffic and wastes time. By charging more for parking and varying that price to ensure necessary vacancies, this policy creates higher rates of turnover and encourages some drivers to walk, bike or take mass transit.

With fewer cars on the road, there is greater flexibility in how street space can be allocated.

Understanding car traffic as part of a streetscape, and not its sole function, is the foundation of a Complete Street.

Ensuring Safety
One of the most important benefits of building Complete Streets is the dramatic improvement to bicyclist and pedestrian safety that comes with fewer cars, slower speeds and better visibility (imagine never having to stand in the street to get a glimpse of oncoming traffic). In this redesigned landscape, there is greater communication between people on the street and the sidewalk.

To engineer these slow speeds and better visibility into the street requires building separated bike lanes, speed humps, curb extensions with bollards, and replacing parking spaces with planted areas and bike parking. These changes, currently visible on just a handful of NYC streets, have a huge impact when employed on a grand scale.

This type of design first serves the most vulnerable populations like seniors and children, and then builds the street from their needs up. Once a design has cultivated space where walkers and other non-drivers can move, it is time to create space for them to linger and interact.

Street Life for the 21st Century
New York City streets once teemed with an even more active and complex street life than we see today. Despite all the investment in parks and unprecedented commercial development, New Yorkers have yet to reclaim the vibrant street life that was once their birthright. Returning the public space currently resting under parked cars and snarled traffic to the of service pedestrians, to walk or linger, is the last piece of the puzzle to making streets whole.

After decades of "nibbling," many of New York City's sidewalks are too narrow to accommodate more than one or two people walking abreast in each direction. There's little room to sit, and the presence of parked cars along the curb makes them feel even more narrow (watch how quickly an opening car door can narrow a sidewalk from ten to six feet). Widening sidewalks as a rule, and replacing parking spaces with sidewalk extensions at intersections and mid-block are the first steps to giving walkers their fair share of street space. Sidewalks must be about more than moving pedestrians; they require space to sit, to comfortably walk side by side and to accommodate the disabled.

The DOT's current initiative to develop public plazas in each neighborhood is a promising start. But these plazas should merely be the accents to a new street vernacular.

As advocates for more livable and efficient streets, T.A. counts every small improvement as a victory. But the limitations of this approach are apparent; they do not capitalize on the shift at City Hall and the rising awareness of greener streets. With an opportunity laid out ahead, T.A. is working to give New Yorkers back the streets that were ceded to the automobile in the 20th century. The last 35 years of change will pale by comparison with the revolution to come.