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Charlotte Complete Streets-Rozzelles Ferry Road, originally uploaded by Complete Streets.

A proposed set of road projects in Richland County, South Carolina, would bring bike paths, sidewalks, cross walks and perhaps even transit stops to select highways in the county, a conceptual departure from previous construction plans. This new approach, according to South Carolina’s The State, is “based in health, the environment and a sense of community,” and county officials are excited to have joined the “complete streets” national movement:

With complete streets, all modes of travel get equal consideration.

“It’s an overall change in how you approach the projects,” said Stefanie Seskin, with the National Complete Streets Coalition in Washington, D.C. “Instead of saying, ‘Let’s move as many cars as possible through our town,’ they say, ‘What about people who want to ride their bikes here, or people who want to walk?’ It’s really just a change in the concept.”

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“It’s about quality of life,” said Caroline Whitson, president of Columbia College, who helped draft the proposal two years ago.

With complete streets, she said, “We don’t get the kind of congestion that the old way of thinking about transportation has produced.”

Providing residents with more transportation options helps build stronger, more vibrant communities and economies. Kudos to the National Complete Streets Coalition team for their ongoing work on these issues.

Road projects would relieve congestion, add amenities