Complete Streets Coalition
Beckett & Raeder, Inc. is pleased to announce that we have become a Partner in the National Complete Streets Coalition. "We are thrilled to be a partner! Beckett & Reader, Inc. has worked with clients across the Midwest assisting them in changing the culture of our streets from auto oriented, mono-functional streets into streets that are enjoyable and safe for all users: persons with disability, cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists. The National Complete Streets Coalition brings regional attention to an important issue with the potential to pave the way for creating better places " said Deborah Cooper, a Principal and Landscape Architect with the firm.

The National Complete Streets Coalition has achieved remarkable success since 2005 in influencing adoption of complete streets policies across the country. Coalition members are working together on a three-year plan to get more complete streets policies adopted at the local, state, and federal level. Complete Streets are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users. Instead of fighting for better streets block by block, the National Complete Streets Coalition seeks to fundamentally transform the look, feel, and function of the roads and streets in communities by changing the way most roads are planned, designed, and constructed. Complete street policies direct transportation planners and engineers to consistently design with all users in mind, in line with the 'Elements of Complete Streets Policies" available on the www.completestreets.org website. The Michigan Legislators are making efforts to adopt a statewide Complete Streets policy. Section 399 was passed within the transportation funding bill, meaning it will not actually be incorporated into any existing stature and would be valid for the duration of one year - the period the funding bill covers. The City of Lansing recently passed the first Complete Streets policy in Michigan. Beckett & Rader, Inc. has been designing 'complete streets' for communities throughout Michigan and the Midwest for over forty years. "We are dedicated to the planning principles paramount to 'complete streets' and look forward to advancing the efforts being made by the Coalition," said Ms. Cooper.