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Complete Streets

This page provides examples of complete streets ordinances and policies adopted by local governments in Washington State, as well as information about funding available to local complete streets programs.

Overview

“Complete streets” refers to the concept that roadways should be designed with all users in mind, not just motorists. Communities around the country have long accommodated various levels of infrastructure for transportation options like biking, walking, and transit as a means of promoting health, safety, and sustainability. Along with integrated land use and transportation planning, complete streets is a key strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.

According to Smart Growth America,

Complete Streets is an approach to planning, designing, and building streets that enables safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities.

The complete streets movement emphasizes the needs of those who have experienced underinvestment or whose needs haven’t been met through a traditional transportation approach (such as, older adults, people living with disabilities, or car-free households).

Not all complete streets look the same due to local context and needs—a city center will include different solutions than a rural community. Features like sidewalks, bike lanes, special bus lanes, transit stops, crosswalks, accessible pedestrian signals, curb extensions, and narrower travel lanes may be integrated into existing or new streets as means of implementing a local complete streets program.

Complete streets provide many benefits, including reduced fatal and serious crashes for all road users, and promoting accessibility, health, and economic vitality. Complete streets are also more effective for mobility. Many more people can be moved per hour per square foot if they are walking or bicycling than if they are driving, but because these activities take up so little space, they tend to fade to the background while the foreground is visually dominated by vehicles.

When a street is complete, people have the freedom to choose the form of transportation that makes sense for the trip they are taking, and they can use it safely and with dignity.

Statutes

  • RCW 36.70A.070(6)(a) – Comprehensive plans – Mandatory elements. Requires jurisdictions to establish multimodal levels of service (LOS) standards for arterials, transit, and public facilities (in their comprehensive plans). Once a jurisdiction sets an LOS, it is used to determine whether the impacts of a proposed development can be met through existing capacity and/or to decide what level of additional facilities will be required.
  • RCW 47.04.320-.340 – Complete Streets Act. Encourages local governments to adopt complete streets ordinances.
    • RCW47.04.035– Street access – Principles of complete streets. Requires state transportation projects over $500,000 to incorporate the principles of complete streets and include safe options for walking, biking, and public transit when possible.
    • RCW 47.04.320 – Complete streets grant program. Establishes a grant program for cities, towns, and counties that adopt a jurisdiction-wide complete streets ordinance. For more information, including eligibility and prior grantees, see the Complete Streets award webpage.
  • RCW 46.61.197 – Shared Streets. Authorizes local governments to designate non-arterial roads as "shared streets."

Components of Complete Streets Programs

Most local complete streets programs typically involve similar components, including a definition and purpose statement, design guidelines and standards, performance measures, and an implementation plan.

Definition and Purpose Statement

A complete streets policy begins with a clear purpose statement and definition:

  • The purpose statement defines the "why," setting long-term goals for safety, health, and equity.
  • The definition provides the "who" and "how," establishing which users and project types the policy covers.

The development of any local complete streets policy should start by analyzing local data, reviewing existing plans, and engaging the public and relevant departments (e.g., public works, fire, planning) to help identify needs and strategies for addressing those needs.

As with any planning process, the public and staff from relevant departments (e.g., public works, planning, fire, etc.) should be engaged in the process early and often.

Examples of complete streets policy definitions and purpose statements:

Design Guidance

Implementation relies on using the best and latest state-of-the-practice design standards and guidelines to maximize design flexibility. As such, jurisdictions should develop or update their design guidance to advance their policies. Some programs include specific complete streets design criteria or standards, while others reference best practices, such as the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ (NACTO) Urban Street Design Guide.

Examples of complete streets program design guidance:

Exceptions

Designing streets for all modes of transportation may not be appropriate for all streets and roads depending on local needs and context. Right-of-way constraints and surrounding land uses will also vary from project to project, as will accommodations for freight and emergency vehicle operations. Local policies often include language to clarify these exceptions, with a particular emphasis on need, costs, and safety.

Examples of complete streets program exceptions:

  • La Conner Municipal Code Sec. 11.60.030 – Complete Streets. Identifies specific exceptions, such as when projected cost outweighs probably future need or use.
  • Pullman Ord. 20-2 (2020) – Adopts complete streets principles; references national design guidelines, performance measures, and lists exceptions.
  • Sunnyside Municipal Code Sec. 12.07.060 – Complete Streets Policy. Identifies some specific exceptions, including cost exceeding 20% of the total project and isolated projects that would not contribute to the overall transportation network.
  • White Salmon Municipal Code Sec. 12.26.030(A) – Complete streets. Includes fairly standard exceptions, such as absence of need, adverse impacts to public health and safety, significant impacts on critical areas or neighboring land uses, or site-specific exceptions approved by the public works director.

Implementation

Local jurisdictions should identify when and how to implement their complete streets policies. Some codes are silent on the issue, but others identify key steps to implementation, including revising related plans and regulations, developing new design policies and guides to reflect best practices, identifying funding sources for upcoming projects, and offering training to staff and the public.

Examples of complete streets program implementation plans:

  • Airway Heights Municipal Code Sec. 14.10.030 – Implementation of complete streets principles. Incorporates principles into the comprehensive plan, public works standards, parks and recreation master plan, traffic circulation plan, and others.
  • Bremerton Ordinance No. 5354 (2018) – Takes into account existing planning documents, including the comprehensive plan, non-motorized transportation plan, and subarea plans, and encourages cooperation with state/local agencies and organizations.
  • Connell Municipal Code Sec. 12.02.070 – Implementation of complete streets principles. Incorporates principles into the comprehensive plan, public works standards, other plans, manuals, rules, regulations and programs as feasible and appropriate.
  • East Wenatchee Municipal Code Sec. 12.24.070 – Implementation. Outlines such actions as including complete streets policy in design standards, sidewalk capital improvement and monitoring program, city bicycle master plan, and transit routes. Also see Ordinance No. 2018-16 enacting the chapter.
  • Langley Municipal Code Sec. 15.01.465 – Streets – General – Complete streets. Notes that complete streets may be achieved through single projects or incrementally through a series of smaller improvements or maintenance activities over time.
  • Mountlake Terrace Municipal Code Sec. 19.95.030(E)(2) – Street design and access standards. Identifies implementation responsibilities for engineering services, community and economic development, and public works departments.

Performance Measures

For local governments that are working to implement their complete streets programs, performance measures can help assess how much progress is being made. While transportation metrics have traditionally focused on vehicles, more agencies have begun adopting quantitative standards for transit, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

Examples of complete streets program performance measures:

Nationally Recognized Complete Streets Program Examples

Some Washington complete streets programs have received recognition from the National Complete Streets Coalition (NCSC) over the years for including what the NCSC identifies as 10 elements of a complete streets policy:

  • It establishes commitment and vision
  • It prioritizes underinvested and underserved communities
  • It applies to all projects and phases
  • It allows only clear exceptions
  • It mandates coordination
  • It adopts excellent design guidance
  • It requires proactive land-use planning
  • It measures progress
  • It sets criteria for choosing projects
  • It creates a plan for implementation

The following is a sample of local programs that have been highlighted:

Recommended Resources


Last Modified: April 30, 2026