Complete Streets vs. SmartRoads: What Can These Urban Design Philosophies Learn From Each Other?
"Explore how American Complete Streets and Australian SmartRoads are reshaping urban landscapes, and how they can improve by adopting each other's strengths."
For decades, road management in both Australia and America has been primarily focused on easing vehicle flow and reducing traffic jams. However, there's been a shift towards recognizing the important role roads play in our communities. Considerations like road safety, fair access, community integration, and catering to various road users (including public transit, pedestrians, and cyclists) are becoming more important.
Two relatively new methods for designing and managing roads—Complete Streets in the United States and SmartRoads network operations planning in Australia—show this shift. Complete Streets aims to create roads that work for everyone, while SmartRoads focuses on efficient, multi-modal network performance. This article will discuss the Complete Streets movement in America and introduce the SmartRoads management framework, which was created in Victoria, Australia.
We'll compare the scope, focus, and strategies of both frameworks. Although they were developed around the same time, they differ in significant ways. By learning from each other, both approaches can significantly improve how roads are managed and designed in both Australia and the United States.
What Are the Shared Philosophies Behind Complete Streets and SmartRoads?
Recently, both Australia and the United States have significantly changed their approaches to road planning and traffic management. Previously, road design and traffic management prioritized the efficient movement of motorized vehicles, mainly cars and trucks. However, this focus often came at the expense of public transportation, walking, and cycling infrastructure.
- Complete Streets: Aims for safe roadways for all users, addressing decades of underinvestment in infrastructure for active modes and focusing on safety and equity.
- SmartRoads: Focuses on improving network efficiency for all road users, balancing general traffic, freight, transit, cycling, and walking through multimodal perspectives.
How Can Complete Streets and SmartRoads Improve Road Management?
Both the SmartRoads and Complete Streets frameworks have the potential to make great improvements in road design. By implementing key pieces such as road safety, consideration of all road users, and network-wide operations. With that said, practitioners in America, Australia, and around the world are dealing with similar challenges to transitioning from a vehicle-focused road to roads for everyone. By combining these approaches we can continue working towards safety, equity, and sustainability in our road systems.