The South Carolina Department of Transportation is going to officially add the NACTO (National Association of City Transportation Officials) Urban Street Design Guide to their design reference list. SCDOT will work towards having NACTO designs be a part of road design standards in the future. Also, SCDOT is sending a consultant to an upcoming NACTO conference to decide how to update their internal design guidance.
NACTO is a national design association whose mission is to “...build cities as places for people, with safe, sustainable, accessible and equitable transportation choices that support a strong economy and vibrant quality of life”. While this is a relatively new organization (founded in 2005), they are endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for designing innovative strategies to make streets more livable and safe.
According to NACTO, “streets make up nearly 80% of our collective, public space, yet they’ve traditionally been created to move cars, rather than people - for walking, bicycling, or getting to and from a transit stop. NACTO’s goal is to change this”.
This is great news for advocates of the SC Livable Communities Alliance! Now, we can
reference NACTO standards when recommending SCDOT to take certain steps on local projects.
As of now, the only South Carolina streets with NACTO designs are locally owned streets. Since nearly 70% of South Carolina streets are state-owned, and large portions of our small and larger urban streets are state owned, this is a great opportunity for cities wanting safer streets.
SCDOT’s decision to officially include NACTO to their plans will make getting innovative designs on state roads much easier!
If you are an advocate for complete streets that accommodate all road users, be sure to thank SCDOT for adding NACTO to their design reference list! If you would like to read the NACTO design guide, you can access it here: https://nacto.org/publication/urban-street-design-guide/
Boiler Plate: The South Carolina Livable Communities Alliance supports the planning, designing, operation, and maintenance of public highways in a manner that provides safe, convenient and comfortable travel and access for users of all ages and abilities regardless of their mode of transportation. For more information on the Alliance, go to sclivablecommunities.org
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