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Columbia begins update to Complete Streets policy, schedules broad public engagement
Summary
City of Columbia staff and consultants outlined a plan to update the city’s 2004 Complete Streets policy, funded by a Safe Streets and Roads for All planning grant, and described a multi-step public engagement and technical-review timeline running through spring 2026.
City of Columbia public works officials and consultants on March 17 presented the start of a formal update to the city’s Complete Streets policy, saying the effort will pair a technical review with an extended public-engagement program and a review of national best practices.
Jackie Knight, project manager at Crawford, Murphy & Tilly (CMT), told the council the update is funded in part by a Safe Streets and Roads for All planning grant and is intended to bring Columbia’s policy, adopted in 2004, into line with current guidance and local needs. “Complete streets are designed and operated to enable safe, accessible, and comfortable travel for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode of transportation,” Knight said during the pre-council presentation.
The consultants outlined why the city is revising the policy and what the process will include. The work program includes an existing-policy review and scoring, national best-practice research (including guidance from the National Association of City Transportation Officials and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials), a draft policy and ordinance revisions, and a final policy package for city review. The team said they will incorporate Columbia’s Vision Zero safety emphasis into the update.
Knight described a “network approach” to Complete Streets, saying not every street can accommodate every facility type and that the updated policy will help prioritize which streets should carry pedestrian, bicycle, transit, or vehicular functions within constrained right-of-way. She and CMT staff emphasized equity, accessibility for people with disabilities and older adults, safety, resilience and environmental sustainability as explicit focus areas for the update.
Consultants and staff also described a multi-pronged public-engagement plan. Planned elements include an online BeHeard survey (to be launched shortly), intercept surveys and pop-up events in the community, two rounds of open houses (the first scheduled for June), walk-and-bike audits in April, a staff bus tour during field audits, targeted outreach to commissions and neighborhood groups, and a late-stage “field demonstration” using temporary materials to illustrate potential facility types. The team said they will deliver an engagement-summary memo and a two-page fact sheet summarizing the final policy for public distribution.
Councilmembers participated in an on-the-record values exercise during the session. Participants named accessibility (particularly connections and accommodations for people with disabilities), healthy neighborhoods, equity, safety and resilience among their top priorities. Knight said the consultant team had already held workshops with city departments and several commissions, including the Disabilities Commission, BikePed Commission, Transit Commission and Planning and Zoning, and will continue departmental interviews the following morning.
Timeline highlights presented to council include a project kickoff in October, a goals-and-values workshop in November, commission briefings in winter, neighborhood outreach and audits beginning in April, first public open houses in June, ongoing drafting and best-practice analysis through late 2025, and draft policy review with staff and commissions in early 2026. The team said the final policy and ordinance revisions would be delivered for adoption and accompanied by the two-page fact sheet in spring 2026.
Consultants asked council for suggestions of groups and meeting venues to include in outreach; councilmembers recommended neighborhood associations distributed across wards, the Disabilities Commission, Locals in Motion, Columbia Public Schools (for walking-school and student commuter perspectives), the Chamber’s transportation/infrastructure committee, police and fire for enforcement and operational insight, and specific park areas and neighborhood groups (Douglas Park, Worley Park, Agan Street, Noble Court) for intercept events.
No formal council action was taken on the update at the March 17 pre-council meeting; the presentation was framed as an informational briefing and an opportunity for council to advise on outreach targets and values.
The copy of the draft policy, the BeHeard survey link, and the schedule for neighborhood events will be posted as they become available on the city’s outreach page, the consultants said.
