Walking Audits — 

Broward County, Florida 

VISION ZERO SUCCESS STORY — PARTNERSHIPS AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

JULY 2020 | FHWA-SA-20-030

Background 

In 2012, the Broward Metropolitan Planning 

Organization (MPO) partnered with the Broward 

Regional Health Planning Council, Smart 

Growth Partnerships, the Health Foundation 

of South Florida, and municipal public works 

and traffic engineering departments to develop 

the Broward Complete Streets Guidelines. 

In 2018, the Broward MPO adopted a goal of zero 

traffic fatalities and developed a Complete Streets 

Master Plan. This Plan, which reflected the zero 

goal and stemmed from the previous guidelines, 

helps to guide future investment in Complete 

Streets improvements by developing a prioritized 

list of projects based on technical, data-driven 

analysis, applied criteria, partner input, and 

access to transit. The MPO identified projects 

based on Complete Streets principles that create 

safer streets.

The Master Plan identified corridors based on 

higher demand for walking, biking, and a higher 

concentration of vulnerable populations based 

on nationally-recognized, equity indicators 

selected to represent Broward’s context. The 

MPO conducted walking audits on high-ranking 

corridors to increase public involvement in the 

planning process. 

The walking audits engaged stakeholders, 

residents, technical staff, elected officials, and 

representatives of non-traditional transportation 

partners (i.e., YMCA, AARP). Walking audits 

provided a real-time practical opportunity and 

experience of current conditions, assessed 

challenges and opportunities, and proposed 

Key Successes

The combined efforts of Broward MPO and 

its transportation partners to implement a 

Complete Streets Master Plan to move toward 

the County goal of zero fatalities resulted in 

actions such as walking audits that achieved 

these partnership successes:

Established a partnership with AARP to provide 

a unique perspective that is important in 

planning, designing, and operating streets 

for people of all ages and abilities.

Formed a partnership with FDOT to address 

more immediate needs (maintenance 

and operational) identified in the walking 

audits. 

Engaged more technical staff, stakeholders, 

elected officials, and residents in walking 

audits serving as an educational tool to 

inform the community and partner agencies 

on Complete Streets principles, elements, 

and benefits. 

Continued the walking audits program 

due to the acceptance and support from 

partnering agencies and elected officials.
recommendations that help determine the 

improvements that will be implemented. Walking 

audits also identified safety and maintenance 

issues that needed to be addressed immediately. 

The process included working with jurisdictional 

owners to address and correct the issues 

identified. 

Implementation

The walking audits allowed stakeholders and 

community members the opportunity to identify 

potential improvements for the critical highranking corridors listed in the 2018 Complete 

Streets Master Plan. Broward MPO conducted 

six audits between 2018 and 2019 in the cities of 

Lauderhill, Deerfield Beach, Lauderdale Lakes, 

Pembroke Pines, Hallandale Beach, and North 

Lauderdale/Margate. The walking audits began 

at different locations (e.g., such as schools, 

parks, community centers, local businesses) 

depending on the urban context of the study 

area.

The walking audit program has four objectives: 

1. Experience the surrounding area as a 

pedestrian.

2. Evaluate the safety and quality of the 

pedestrian and bicyclist experience 

including access, connectivity, comfort, 

and convenience.

3. Identify barriers to a multimodal-friendly 

environment and potential solutions including 

engineering treatments, policy changes, 

education, and/or enforcement.

4. Propose recommendations for improvements.

Each walking audit consisted of a presentation 

about the Complete Streets Initiative, a project 

specific overview of the audit location, an outline 

and purpose of the audits, and safety tips. It also 

included a workshop immediately after the walk 

to discuss and identify issues experienced during 

the walk. Broward MPO gathered feedback to 

inform the proposed project scope. Broward MPO 

also reviewed the information to identify feasible 

recommendations that do not have adverse 

impacts on safety. At the conclusion of each 

audit, Broward MPO develops and publishes a 

Walking Audit Report1 summarizing findings along 

with specific recommendations. Results are also 

shared with the participants and jurisdictional 

owners.

1 Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization. (2019). 

Walking Audits. Broward Metropolitan Planning 

Organization. http://www.browardmpo.org/index.php/ 

walking-audits. Last accessed on February 12, 2020.

Figure 1. Graphic. Participants conducting a walking audit in Hallandale Beach.1

© 2020 Broward MPO
Outcomes 

Over 270 people participated in the audits. 

Participants recommended raised crosswalks, 

sidewalk installation or widening, ADA violation 

corrections, pedestrian lighting, buffered bike 

lanes, and maintenance for landscaping/

greenery. 

The auditing process was beneficial to the 

overall execution of the Complete Streets 

Master Plan and project development; more 

local governments are interested in following 

suit by initiating walking audits for their own 

local projects. They have reached out to 

Broward MPO staff for guidance and requested 

additional audits in collaboration with the MPO. 

The MPO also plans to bring more walking 

audits to the area after subsequent project 

prioritizations.

Broward MPO is working on the next round of the 

walking audit program 2020/2021 and is also 

working with FDOT to incorporate the walking 

audit recommendations into existing project 

scopes and contracts through the departments 

of Design, Maintenance, and Traffic Operations 

on State roads.

Funding

To date, Broward MPO’s Transportation 

Improvement Program has programmed funding 

for four out of six projects that included a walking 

audit. Programmed funds for the design and 

construction of these projects include MPO 

attributable Federal funds as well as State and 

local funding.

Figure 2. Graphic. Participants noted findings during the workshop after conducting the walking audit.1

Figure 3. Graphic. Participants conducting the walking audit at North Lauderdale and Margate.1

Figure 4. Graphic. Participants evaluating conditions of the bus shelters.1

© 2020 Broward MPO
POINT OF CONTACT

STEPHANIE GARCIA

COMPLETE STREETS MANAGER

BROWARD MPO

954.876.0065 | GARCIAS@BROWARDMPO.ORG

© 2020 Broward MPO

Figure 5. Graphic. Map of walking audits and TIP-programmed projects in Broward County.1