Sign Our Petition

Please sign our Bike Lane Request Form and Survey to help build safe routes to school and work in Buffalo. Learn More »

The City of Buffalo is currently in the process of planning, designing, constructing, and maintaining the city’s street network.

View the Resources links below to learn more about complete streets and participate in the public process.

Send us pictures of the street conditions in your neighborhood – good or bad!

Tell us where you are and how your streetscape can be improved upon.

Make active transportation (walking, bicycling, etc.) an integral part of your commute and lifestyle! Learn more about your options at www.gobuffalo.org.

Have a signature GObike bicycle rack installed on the sidewalk in front of your business free of charge!
Apply Now

Volunteer to help ensure our streets are safe for all users by providing trees to community groups in an effort to reforest our city.

Contact your representatives to express your support for Complete Streets.

Stay informed on best practices for complete streets nationally and across New York State!

Downloadable Documents

• "Complete Streets: Best Policy and Implementation Best Practices — Chapter 5: Making the Transition"
  Barbara McCann and Suzanne Rynne, Editors American Planning Association, Planning Advisory Service, www.completestreets.org
• City of Buffalo, Compete Streets Ordinance
  This document cites the city's adoption of the Complete Streets Policy. The City will use Complete Streets, streets accessible to all forms of transportation, as a model for all future developments.
• "Complete Streets in the United States" - John LaPlante & Barbara McCann.
  Paper discussing the growth of the Complete Streets movement and how the design of our streets can provide more room for nonmotorized travelers and control traffic speeds for safety (January 2011).
• "Complete Streets State Policies 2011" - www.completestreets.org
  List of Complete Streets policies adopted state wise.
• "Complete Streets: Policy Analysis" - National Complete Streets Coalition
  This report documents and analyses the rapid growth of Complete Streets policy adoption and provides a standard. Its purpose is to provide jurisdictions looking to adopt new policies with guidance and plenty of examples.
• "Estimating the Employment Impacts of Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Road Infrastructure, Case Study: Baltimore" - Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
  A case study estimating the employment impacts transportation infrastructure projects in the city of Baltimore with a particular interest in examining the differences in employment resulting from different project types.
• "Children’s Health – A Growing Need to Incorporate Physical Activity into the Daily Lives of Youth" - Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities (HKHCBuffalo)
  This document is a comprehensive analysis of the barriers children and adults face in regards to health and physical fitness, specifically focusing on transportation and neighborhood layout issues. Youth in Buffalo are disproportionately affected by poverty and limited in their access to alternate modes of transportation that would encourage physical fitness, whether through transportation itself (like riding a bike) or granting access to facilities that encourage being healthy.
• "Do Kids Want to Play in the Queen City?" - Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities (HKHCBuffalo)
  This document discusses the effect of a built environment on youths’ health and wellness. From land use to transportation ways, a youth audit analyzes what makes neighborhoods safe and attractive for physical activity.
• "Transforming Active Living Policy into Practice" - Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities (HKHCBuffalo)
  This brief looks at how real cities are putting theories into practice. From promoting health and wellness to preventing crime, these municipalities serve as examples for successful practices of funding, campaigning, and transportation.
• "Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach, an ITE Recommended Practice" - ITE.org
  This report has been developed in response to widespread interest for improving both mobility choices and community character through a commitment to creating and enhancing walkable communities.
• "Making New York a Complete Streets State: A Report on Pedestrian Safety in Five Upstate Counties AARP"
  The report identifies the most dangerous intersections to walk or bicycle in each of five New York Upstate counties especially for older pedestrians and bicyclists, and analyses the need to fix the infrastructure that makes walking and bicycling dangerous.
• "Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, NCHRP Report 674: Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and Channelized Turn Lanes for Pedestrians with Vision Disabilities"
  This report explores information related to establishing safe crossings at roundabouts and channelized turn lanes for pedestrians with vision disabilities.
• "Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, NCHRP Report 705: Evaluation of Safety Strategies at Signalized Intersections"
  This report explores crash modification factors (CMFs) for safety strategies at signalized intersections. CMFs are a tool for quickly estimating the impact of safety improvements.
• "NY City Street Manual 2009" - nyc.gov/dot
  The manual provides policies and design guidelines to city agencies, design professionals, private developers and community groups for the improvement of streets and sidewalks. It also serves as comprehensive resource for promoting higher quality street designs and more efficient project implementation.
• "WNY Falls Prevention: Step Up to Stop Falls, Erie County Walkability Study, Summary of Results and Recommendations, AARP"
  The study examines issues such as crosswalks and curb cuts, sidewalk hazards, and the behavior of local drivers. It sought to both raise awareness of falls risks found in local communities especially in older adults, and to encourage and foster community engagement to improve walkability.

On June 1, 2008, Buffalo’s Complete Streets ordinance was unanimously passed by the City Council and signed into law by the Mayor. Defined as streets with facilities that are designed and operated to enable safe access for all users along our roadways, Complete Streets include persons with disabilities, pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders. Buffalo is embracing a vision to promote health, safety, community, environmental sustainability, and quality of life for all, in every season.

The Complete Streets Coalition currently includes both the City of Buffalo’s Office of Strategic Planning and the Department of Public Works, GO Bike Buffalo, Buffalo Green Fund, Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Buffalo Place, Greater Buffalo Niagara Regional Transportation Council, Local Initiatives Support Corporation, NYS Department of Transportation, Olmsted Parks Conservancy, Partners for a Livable WNY, and the University at Buffalo. Each organization has a vested interest or is responsible in the long term planning and implementation of our built environment and the policy, which guides its development.

The Complete Streets Coalition is a part of the Transportation Working Group of the WNY Environmental Alliance. Find out more about the working group.

In 2012, all Transportation Working Group Meetings will be hosted at the Public Works Department in Buffalo City Hall.

Sign-up for the Working Group listserv to receive notices about upcoming meetings.