Background
Over the last ten years, communities around the country have begun to implement comprehensive reforms designed to ensure that roadway users of all ages and abilities can safely utilize the transportation system. This complete streets policy framework has emerged as an important tool for communities to improve opportunities for active living with over 500 policies adopted nationwide. Complete streets policy diffusion has been rapid, but uneven, and the extent to which policy adoption is making a difference in the implementation of projects at the local and regional level is unclear (Lenhing 2011, Handy and McCann 2011). This research seeks to address this need through a national survey of the 385 metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) around the country. MPOs represent a vital regional organization for the distribution of federal transportation funds. Despite this potential importance, the role of MPOs in transportation planning innovation remains relatively understudied (Handy and McCann 2011).This research evaluates the extent to which complete streets policies are being adopted and implemented at MPO level, what opportunities and barriers to complete streets exist, and implications for future policy diffusion and innovation efforts.

Objectives
The study objectives were: 1) describe the extent to which complete streets policies are being adopted and implemented at MPO level, 2) analyze the impact of local governmental and local advocacy support in relation to key complete streets policy indicators, and 3) describe the key opportunities and barriers to complete streets adoption and implementation at MPO level.

Methods
To answer these questions, the study team crafted a targeted survey directed at all 385 MPOs across the nation. Questions were designed to ascertain basic descriptive characteristics of the extent of policy adoption at the MPO level and, at a deeper level, the extent and potential reasons for full or limited implementation of key complete streets policy metrics (LaPlante and McCann 2011, Handy et al 2009, and Handy and McCann 2010). Postcards announcing the survey were sent out to all U.S. MPOs and a survey website was created as a platform for response. The survey was open from April to June 2014. Survey results were compiled and then analyzed using SPSS.

Results
In all, 132 of the 385 MPOs substantially completed the survey (response rate 34%). Three key themes emerged from the survey analysis. First, while MPO respondents were very familiar with complete streets concepts (79.6%), this familiarity was not translating into broad adoption of complete streets policies. Only 18% of responding MPOs reported that they had formally adopted a complete streets policy. The most common barrier reported by MPOs to policy adoption was cost (cited by 80.3% of respondents). The next most common response was lack of political will (cited by 48% of respondents). Second, we found that agencies that had formally adopted complete streets policies were not systematically implementing the policies. We tracked nine key characteristics of successful complete streets policies drawn from the literature cited above. We found limited diffusion of these key characteristics. Bicycle plan adoption was the only characteristic to be broadly implemented by adopting agencies (cited by 57% of agencies that implemented a complete streets policy). Finally, we sought to understand how political support from key groups might help to create a supportive environment for policy adoption and implementation. We created both a local governmental support index based on levels of support indicated for key local transportation organizations and an advocacy support index based on levels of support indicated for key complete streets advocacy coalitions. We ran separate Analysis of Variance models using the local governmental support index and the advocacy support index as predictors for the key complete streets policy implementation characteristics discussed above. We found that the relationship was significant in both cases, but the explanation of variance was limited for key complete streets characteristics.

Conclusions
While MPOs provide an important organizational platform to improve physical activity through improved activity transportation access, most MPOs across the United States have not adopted complete streets policies. Those MPOs that have formally adopted policies have not broadly implemented key characteristic of strong complete streets policies, but opportunities exist to help build more supportive coalitions to enhance complete streets implementation.

Implications
While complete streets policy adoption is an important policy issues, implementation appears to be lacking in MPOs across the U.S. More concerted focus on broadly diffusing the full suite of key complete streets policy actions appears to be a key area of future research and advocacy attention.

References

1. LaPlante, J. N., & McCann, B. (2012). Complete streets in the United States. In 91st Annual Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting. Washington, DC. Lehning, A. J. (2012). City Governments and Aging in Place: Community Design, Transportation and Housing Innovation Adoption. The Gerontologist, 52(3), 345-356.
2. Handy, S., & McCann, B. (2011). The regional response to federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Journal of the American Planning Association, 77(1), 23-38.
3. Handy, S., & McCann, B. (2010). The regional response to federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects: an exploratory study. Journal of the American Planning Association, 77(1), 23-38.

Support / Funding Source
This research was made possible through a grant from the federal University Transportation Center program through the Southwest Region University Transportation Center.