A “Complete Streets” training presented by the Cascade Bicycle Club will be hosted at Burien City Hall on Thursday, Jan. 27.
The event starts at City Hall at 8 a.m. with a presentation and discussion about Complete Streets by David Hiller, Cascade Bicycle Club advocacy director, and Tessa Greegor, the club’s principal planner. The pair will then lead a walking exercise through part of Burien’s downtown.

Complete Streets refer to streets that are "completed" for bicyclists and pedestrians, such as those with sidewalks and bike lanes. This training will help the city develop a policy that considers bicyclists and pedestrians in future street designs within Burien. Burien does not have a Complete Streets policy at this time, but staff has been asked to research and explore such a policy as part of the Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grant recently awarded to Burien. Staff is currently looking into how Complete Streets have worked in other cities such as Seattle and Redmond.

The City of Burien is being provided this training through the (CPPW) grant awarded in July 2010 to members of the Healthy Highline Communities Coalition, which is comprised of the cities of Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park and SeaTac, as well as the Highline School District. The coalition’s goal is to support efforts of schools, local governments and communities to increase healthy eating and physical activity through policy, systems and environment changes that will improve the health of residents and students in the greater Highline area.

Following the walking exercise on Jan. 27, the group will return to City Hall multi-purpose room, 400 S.W. 152nd St., first floor, for an information and discussion session from 10:40 a.m. to noon. City staff members also will participate in the exercise and discussion. The public is welcome to participate. Those who plan to attend the walking exercise are asked to RSVP so that the city can reserve additional reflective vests. Vans may be used for part of the route if the gathered group is larger than planned.

To RSVP for training, contact Management Analyst Dori Babcock at 206-248-5529, or email her at dorib@burienwa.gov For more information on the Cascade Bicycle Club, or its work on Complete Streets, see the club’s education foundation website, http://www.cbcef.org or blog, http://blog.cascade.org.

This training, as other CPPW grant work, is made possible by funding from the Department of Health and Human Services and Public Health – Seattle and King County.