Transportation Commission approves updates to Complete Green Streets Guide

Madison’s Transportation Commission approved staff-recommended updates to the city’s Complete Green Streets Guide on a unanimous vote after a staff presentation and a short public comment.

The changes, presented by Renee Callaway, assistant director of traffic engineering and the project manager for the guide, include clarified measurement rules for travelway and parking widths, an expanded set of equity priority areas, updates to street‑type maps based on recent area plans, a revised bikeway selection approach that adds buffered lanes when space permits, and a new section that shows design options for taller mixed‑use development to meet fire code while keeping narrower neighborhood street cross sections.

The guide is the city’s reference for street design and is used by staff to decide whether a proposed design “meets the guide” and therefore can proceed without coming back to the commission. Callaway told the commission the original approving resolution required a first review after about 18 months; staff have completed five reconstruction projects since adoption and have used the guide on several development projects as a learning process. She said the subdivision ordinance was not updated until late July, which delayed some implementation steps, and that the Board of Public Works has already approved a…