Marion, Iowa © Tasha Sams
We work in collaboration with thousands of local partners and grassroots leaders across the nation who share our commitment to advancing shared prosperity, creating resilient economies, and improving quality of life.
Emporia, Kansas © Emporia Main Street
Made up of small towns, mid-sized communities, and urban commercial districts, the thousands of organizations, individuals, volunteers, and local leaders that make up Main Street America™ represent the broad diversity that makes this country so unique.
Chicago, Illinois © Main Street America
Looking for strategies and tools to support you in your work? Delve into the Main Street Resource Center and explore a wide range of resources including our extensive Knowledge Hub, professional development opportunities, field service offerings, advocacy support, and more!
Waterloo, Iowa © Main Street Waterloo
Your one-stop-shop for all the latest stories, news, events, and opportunities – including grants and funding programs – across Main Street.
Kendall Whittier — Tulsa, Oklahoma © Kendall Whittier Main Street
Join us in our work to advance shared prosperity, create strong economies, and improve quality of life in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts.
People walking with bikes on a pedestrian/bike path in Lansing, Michigan. © Lansing 5:01
In 2022, the Governors Highway Safety Association estimated that 7,508 pedestrians were killed by motor vehicles on American roads, the highest number since 1981. In big cities and small towns, people face increasing danger when navigating communities on foot. As advocates for connected and walkable downtowns, Main Streets have a crucial role to play in increasing pedestrian safety.
To increase pedestrian safety, we first need to understand the scope of the problem. One resource is Smart Growth America’s Dangerous by Design program, which collected data on pedestrian safety and provides the findings in a variety of formats, including a full report, an interactive map, and rankings by state.
Their data found that people of color, especially those who identify as Black and Native American, were more likely to die in pedestrian collisions. Also at high risk are older adults and people walking in lower-income areas.
Where does your state or local area rank on their list? How can Main Streets help reduce pedestrian fatalities and create safer, more walkable communities?
Reducing average speed on our streets is one of the easiest and best ways to make them safer for pedestrians, as collisions at higher speeds are much more likely to be deadly. According to Change Lab Solutions, collisions with cars traveling 30 miles per hour result in pedestrian deaths 40 percent of the time, compared to 5 percent of the time for collisions with cars traveling 20 miles per hour.
Reducing municipal speed limits is one way to slow down vehicular traffic in our communities, and Main Streets can be powerful advocates to encourage that change. But there are other important tools that we can use as well. Bloomberg’s Asphalt Art Safety Study analyzed asphalt art sites across the country and found that the presence of asphalt art resulted in a 27 percent increase in the rate of drivers yielding to pedestrians and a 25 percent drop in potentially dangerous conflicts between drivers and pedestrians.
A “road diet” is another tool to calm traffic, reduce speeds, and make streets safer. This involves transforming a four-lane road into a three-lane road (one lane in each direction and a center two-way left turn lane). Road diets have been found to improve pedestrian safety by reducing the number of lanes at crossings, creating opportunities for pedestrian refuges on roads, and facilitating more consistent driving speeds.
Other traffic calming measures include medians, pinch points, chicanes, reduced setbacks, sidewalk trees, and on-street parking. Many of these changes can align with other Main Street placemaking goals, like installing parklets, adding public art, and increasing access.
Before: Preparations for streetscape improvements in downtown Denison, Texas. © Rachel Reinert
After: Diagonal parking, bioswales, and new traffic lane markings promote walkability. © Rachel Reinert
Sidewalks and crosswalks are critical design elements that can save lives, and Main Streets need to consider them in downtown design.
Poor lighting, parked cars, and roadway curvature can reduce visibility at crosswalks, resulting in unsafe conditions for pedestrians. When designing your downtown streetscape, it is important to consider how certain design elements will interact with crosswalks and sidewalks. Will that streatery block drivers from seeing pedestrians waiting on the corner? Can the decorative lighting also illuminate the road? How will a decorated crosswalk affect traffic?
Improving sidewalk networks is another important way to increase pedestrian safety. In a 2012 study by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, only two thirds of respondents said that their community had sidewalks. Does your Main Street have sidewalks throughout the district? Does your sidewalk network connect to the rest of your community? Are your sidewalks ADA compliant?
Sidewalks are where business, people, and place intersect. Main Streets can be powerful partners in building robust sidewalk networks that support local economies, enrich the downtown design, and improve pedestrian safety.
Biddeford, Maine © Notice Pictures/Main Street America
Main Street America’s transportation toolkit, Navigating Streets As Places, is a great place to start building the knowledge and skills needed to improve pedestrian safety. We encourage you to read through the additional resources provided in the Safety section for more details.
If your community is committed to improving pedestrian safety, consider applying for Department of Transportation funds through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law this year. The Safe Streets and Roads for All program provides both planning and implementation grants to prevent death and serious injury on roads and streets. This program is funded through 2026 and funding announcements for FY23 are anticipated soon. Start considering an application for next summer now!
Our Movement is centered around the idea of a Main Street as a place where economic vitality, design, and place come together to create and sustain a community. This idealized street cannot exist in a world where pedestrians continue to die in large numbers due to poor roadway design. This National Pedestrian Safety Month, take some time to critically examine the state of your street and begin planning a safer future.
Franklin Bronze Plaques, a Main Street America Allied Member, is this quarter’s Main Spotlight advertiser. For more information about the products and services they provide to Main Street organizations, click here >
REV Birmingham and Woodlawn United share how they work to reenergize spaces and places in Birmingham, Alabama, through civic infrastructure projects in the city’s historic commercial corridors.
Learn how this Louisiana town has used an accessibility-first approach to build a welcoming and inclusive community.
Downtown Ruston, Louisiana. Photo by Henry McCoy.
Learn how the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta uses this unique mural program to celebrate Valentine's Day and raise important funding for their work.
Learn how micromobility can increase access, equity, and inclusion in your Main Street with examples from local programs across the network.
This Washington Main Street is encouraging people to brave the rainy weather with their free umbrella share program.
Parking is a challenging problem for many Main Streets. We explored the arguments for and against free parking, and a method for conducting an inventory of parking in your downtown.
Miami, FL © Matt Alaniz
Learn how Bainbridge Island Downtown Association leverages their connection to the ferry to create a walkable and vibrant downtown.
Bainbridge Island, WA © Anna Carson
An innovative artistic project brings new life to the alleyways in Billings, Montana.
Billings, MT © Downtown Billings Alliance
Learn how you can participate in the Thriving Communities program as a capacity builder or how you can receive support from the program.
To celebrate National Parks and Recreation Month, we explored three innovative and interesting parks-based projects and collaborations in Main Street communities.
Waterloo, Iowa, shares advice and lessons learned from their e-scooter program.
Learn how you can harness design principles and strategies to create a cooler, more welcoming downtown.
Main Street America was awarded $5.9 million to support 20 communities in the Main Streets Community of Practice through the Department of Transportation's Thriving Communities Program over the next two years.
The City of Leeds, AL welcomed a new downtown mural over the holidays that has brought a sense of excitement and anticipation for the continuing efforts to focus on the Leeds downtown district.
Leeds, AL © Jeremy Dove
What is more Iowan than turning grain bins into public art? Learn how Main Street Coon Rapids created these beautiful murals to celebrate their downtown.
Coon Rapids, IA © Main Street Coon Rapids
Pollinator gardens are fantastic ways to increase green space, promote sustainability, and educate your community on the local environment.
Crofton, MD © Kerry Kelly
The AARP Community Challenge program gives out quick-action grants to activate public spaces. Meet some of the Main Streets awarded grants through the program this year.
Learn how these outdoor microspaces can contribute to more vibrancy in our public spaces.
Chairman Emeritus Ed McMahon explores the power of place in creating spaces people love.
Boise, ID © christiannafzger
To support Georgia Main Streets throughout the recovery process and position them for long-term sustainability, Main Street America launched the Georgia Main Street Innovation Grant Program, made possible through generous support from The Williams Family Foundation of Georgia.
Thomasville, GA © Thomasville Main Street
Intentional placemaking has had many unexpected benefits for this Alabama town.
Wetumpka, AL © Jenny Sue Stubbs
We heard from organizations across the nation about the incredible impact their markets have had on community engagement, entrepreneur and small business support, and keeping their district vibrant.
Mount Airy Downtown, Inc., celebrated the return of their Market Street Arts and Entertainment District (MSA & ED) last weekend, as part of their pandemic recovery efforts.
Mount Airy, NC © Robbie Curlee
A vacant storefront is the perfect stage to creatively promote the available space or to showcase other businesses and events in the area.
Ripon, WI © RetailWorks, Inc
Interested in creating a StoryWalk in your downtown commercial district? Read on to learn more about installing a successful story walking trail.
In remembrance and in honor of Dr. Marin Luther King Jr., over 900 streets in the United States were named after him. Many are located predominantly in African American communities.
Milwaukee, WI © Historic King Drive BID
Dubbed the Blues Alley, the Ripley Main Street program plans to install murals of local pioneering Black blues artists, cutout guitars painted by local art students, and blues lyrics painted on the walls.
Ripley, MS © Ripley Main Street
The Downtown Newton Development Association (North Carolina) partnered with the City of Newton on a temporary tactical urbanism project to demonstrate how their permanent streetscape improvements will benefit downtown.
Over 500 people braved the misty rain this past weekend to come and celebrate Painesville and its Made on Main Street community transformation project.
Wilson Artsy Alleys is an initiative of the Wilson Downtown Development Corporation which takes the arts to new locations in forgotten places.
In October 2017, Main Street Ottumwa collaborated with local partners, Main Street Iowa, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Better Block Foundation to stop planning, talking, and wishing, and start doing.
Kelly Tompkins of Main Street Enid shares more about the Maker Trail project and how it inspired creativity and helped people discover downtown.
The Metuchen Downtown Alliance created a cool, family-friendly public gathering space in “the worst looking spot in town” with the help of just $2,500 in Edward Jones Placemaking on Main Challenge matching grant funds,
A collaborative effort launched between Laramie Main Street Alliance (LMSA) and vertical farming company, Plenty, looked to blank downtown walls as a canvas for growing food, creating conversation, and activating overlooked spaces.
From walkability and transportation connectivity, to access to nature and availability of fresh food, place is inextricably linked to achieving positive health outcomes in rural America.
Beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower fountain through Main Street Paris's new Love Lock Fence.
Kasey Drummond, Glenrock Main Street Director, explains how they brought the acclaimed graffiti artist ARCY to their Main Street and explores the work he produced in three additional Wyoming communities on his summer tour.
Karen Dye, Newkirk Main Street's program manager, was inspired to “make downtown more fun and festive” with painted water meter covers after learning about the practice at a recent Main Street Now conference.
Appealing to mobility-challenged shoppers yields benefits beyond the store.
In contrast, the Main Street Program in Laramie, Wyoming, is thriving, having successfully cultivated millions of dollars to help fill these vacant, blighted spaces with permanent structures.
In this article we’ll explore the process of planning, funding, installing, operating, and enjoying music on your Main Street.
In 2016, the North Carolina Main Street & Rural Planning Center partnered with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Department of Interior Architecture (UNCG) to provide design assistance to Main Street communities.
Placemaking is a strategy that Six Corners Association has enthusiastically applied to our community development efforts because of its seamless integration with the Main Street Approach.
How one Wyoming Main Street implemented a free bike share program.
In 2015, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) partnered with the University of Wisconsin–Madison to engage Wisconsin Main Street organizations and farmers markets in the Metrics and Indicators for Impact – Farmers Markets (MIFI-FM) toolkit.
The local Main Street organization, Downtown Milford Inc., is trying to address these shifting demographics by creating a more inclusive sense of community.
This is the story of how a National Endowment for the Arts gathering in DC inspired the leaders of a small town in Appalachia to connect with those in Milwaukee to transform a neglected park.
Main Street communities across the country are no stranger to seeking creative strategies to solve their most nagging issues – vacant buildings, marketing downtown, bolstering retail to name a few.
This article is the second in a series on corridors and the important role they play in Main Street revitalization. The previous article focused on the historic origins of corridors, corridor types, and functions that they serve in our communities.
Façade appearance is a critical aspect of the overall aesthetic appeal and unique character of downtown.
While the Main Street program may not take the lead in corridor enhancements, it can be a vital partner and advocate for improvements in overall community appearance.
Street pole banners preserve the historic character of main streets while fostering community awareness and engagement.
With strong community support, the Library Foundation was able to raise over $1.2 million dollars in private donations.
A lot of signs are necessary to make a downtown work well, but not every community knows what a good sign system looks like, or how instrumental it can be to the creation of a successful downtown.
A key goal of the Atlanta Streetcar is to attract investment to and revitalize the neighborhoods along the streetcar alignment.
