The Vital Streets Plan revolutionized the approach of the City of Grand Rapids, MI to designing, maintaining, and using its streets. Adopted by the City Commission in December 2016, the Vital Streets Plan goes beyond a traditional complete streets policy, integrating green infrastructure into street design in order to protect the quality of the region’s waterways while contributing to the vitality of Michigan’s second largest city. The plan establishes a street typology that unites street design with local land use contexts; defines an integrated, multimodal network; provides guidance in street design; presents a methodology for facility selection amid competing demands; and provides a way to measure performance and evaluate outcomes.
To implement the Plan vision, Nelson\Nygaard developed street design guidelines with detailed graphics, context, and use requirements, to help city staff, developers, and community stakeholders understand the tradeoffs and design considerations in building balanced streets.