FREE COMPLETE STREETS WORKSHOP ON OCTOBER 27

Complete Streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users

NEW CITY, NY – – Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert, along with the Rockland County Departments of Planning & Public Transportation and the Rockland Municipal Planning Federation, announce that a Complete Streets Workshop will be held on Thursday, October 27, 2016 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM at the Rockland County Fire Training Center, located at 35 Firemen’s Memorial Drive in Pomona. The Workshop is free and open to the public.

Members of town and village boards, planning, zoning and highway officials, land use professionals, and other interested residents are encouraged to attend. Attendance will provide three hours of training for each municipal Planning or Zoning Board of Appeals member towards their annual four-hour State training requirement. Advanced registration is required; contact Arlene Miller at the Rockland County Planning Department at [email protected] or (845) 364-3448.

This unique training opportunity will provide information about the nationwide Complete Streets movement that aims to improve access to safe modes of transportation and improve quality of life through street-level improvements. It will also discuss New York State’s Complete Streets Act of 2011, which requires state, county, and local agencies to consider the convenience and mobility of all users when developing transportation projects that receive state and federal funding. The Workshop will provide guidance and “tools” for how municipalities can initiate and implement Complete Streets projects at the local level.

“When we plan for walkers, cyclists and transit passengers of all ages and abilities, as well as cars, trucks and buses, safety is enhanced, traffic efficiency is increased, and our communities are more accessible. This ultimately results in healthier neighborhoods, both physically and economically. Our Complete Streets initiative can further the county-wide goal of promoting safer streets and better mobility options, while also increasing tourism and economic development,” said County Executive Day.
Rockland County’s Complete Streets Interdepartmental Workgroup has been working to develop a Complete Streets Program for Rockland County. The group is comprised of staff from the Departments of Public Transportation and Planning, Health, Environmental Resources, Youth Bureau, Tourism, Highway, Offices for the Aging, Fire and Emergency Services and County Executive, and other stakeholders. Through the Creating Healthy Schools and Communities grant and the Local IMPACT grant, we can assist local municipalities in developing and implementing Complete Streets programs in their communities.
With support from state funds, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit advocacy organization which works towards a more balanced, transit-friendly, and equitable transportation network throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, developed a Rockland County Complete Streets Toolkit to assist communities in Rockland achieve a safer, healthier, and more sustainable street network. “I encourage municipal leaders and community advocates to review the toolkit and other available guidance materials available on the County’s website at http://bit.ly/2ebY1tw,” said Dr. Ruppert.
For more information regarding Complete Streets, visit http://bit.ly/2blhwdg.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login