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Monthly Newsletter — October 25, 2023
People bike in a bike lane separated from traffic by a parallel parking lane and other people cross the street in a marked crosswalk in NYC.
Image Source: pedbikeimages.org / New York City DOT
Announcements
Research

Announcements

White House Technical Assistance Funding Guide Includes USDOT Opportunities

To help make it easier for communities across the country to navigate, access, and deploy infrastructure, climate resilience, and clean energy funding, the White House released an Investing in America Technical Assistance Guide. The guide provides details of and links to 27 USDOT programs with information about the type of assistance they provide, eligible participants, and budget, among other details. This information is also available in a sortable spreadsheet. A second guide provides information about programs in 15 states designed to aid their communities in winning funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

Learning from Australasia to Improve Pedestrian Safety Webinar Series Continues with New Supporting Resources

A webinar series to share key findings from a Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Global Benchmarking Program project, Improving Pedestrian Safety on Urban Arterials: Learning from Australasia, will conclude with the fourth session on speed management policies and practices on November 7, 2023. Registration for the last session is still open and all previously held sessions are available for review. Two new resources related to the project are also now available:

  • A summary brief of the report gives an overview of three Australasian approaches to safety that may be applied to US policies and practices, including the Movement and Place framework, Road Safety Audits, and speed management.
  • An informational poster offers ideas on how to integrate Australian approaches into different US-specific transportation processes and related tools.

2021 Crash Statistics for People 65 and Older

In 2021, people 65 and older killed in traffic crashes in the US accounted for 17 percent of all traffic fatalities, a 14 percent increase from 2020, according to the recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Traffic Safety Factsheet, Older Population. The factsheet includes notable changes among the 65 and older age group from 2012 to 2021 including a 45 percent increase of fatalities while walking. For the same time, deaths of people 65 and older riding their bikes more than doubled for men and tripled for women. The fact sheet is based on fatal and non-fatal motor vehicle traffic crash data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the Crash Report Sampling System.

FHWA and FTA Virtual Peer Exchange on Integrating Asset Management Into Planning and Programming

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will host a virtual peer exchange focused on integrating asset management into planning and programming as part of a research study on this topic. Scheduled for November 1 – 2, 2023, the exchange will focus on multimodal highway asset management integration. State DOTs, MPOs, and transit agencies interested in strengthening the relationship between asset management and planning and programming practices, and sharing and discussing their practices and challenges with peer agencies, can register to attend here.

New Case Study Documents Quick-Build Projects to Engage Community and Improve Safety for Youth

Communities across the US are embracing low-cost, quick-build materials, approaches, and techniques to advance road safety. In 2022, the City of Atlanta received a grant from the National Center for Safe Routes to School to support the implementation of a walk/bike lane near a middle school as part of a quick-build projects pilot program created to improve road safety for youth. A new case study from the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center and Vision Zero for Youth documents the project and offers several insights that can inform other communities interested in using quick-build approaches to support community engagement and advance road safety.

Lusaka, Zambia Receives Vision Zero for Youth International Leadership Award, US Leadership Award Now Open for Applications

The National Center for Safe Routes to School announced Lusaka, Zambia as the recipient of the 2023 Vision Zero for Youth International Leadership Award. The award recognizes the efforts of the capital and largest city of Zambia in creating strategic partnerships and changing nationwide speed limits to 30 kph (approximately 20 mph) in places where youth and people of all ages walk. A press release and case study share more about the steps the city took and their commitment to children and youth. US cities interested in sharing their success stories and accomplishments in making their roads safer for children and youth can now apply for the 2024 Vision Zero for Youth US Leadership Award. Any city, county, or local tribal government advancing child and youth walking and biking safety is encouraged to apply by December 16, 2023. The Vison Zero for Youth Leadership Award is given annually by the National Center for Safe Routes to School, in partnership with the FIA Foundation and the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.

Historic Joint European Cycling Declaration: Strategies to Unlock Cycling’s Full Potential

The European Commission recently adopted a proposal for a strategic compass for existing and future policies to encourage the full potential of cycling in the European Union. The Declaration on Cycling commits to building safe and coherent cycling networks, links with public transport, secure parking spaces, charging points for e-bikes, and bike highways connecting cities with rural areas. Eight principles help support other multiple existing strategies and frameworks. The Declaration has received widespread support from European bicycling advocacy associations and the bicycle industry.

News

America’s Historic Bike Boom Is Flatlining (StreetsBlog USA)
Reports on a new study from SteetLight Data that finds that the pandemic-era bike boom hit a plateau last year, and unless communities invest more into getting people riding, those numbers may not go up again anytime soon. Offers more information about how COVID boosted bicycling and cycling trends per capita in cities and states.

Indicators to Evaluate States' Support of Walking, Rolling and Active Kids (Safe Route Partnership)
Previews the 26 indicators used to evaluate each state in the 2024 edition of the Making Strides state report cards. The every-other-year, at-a-glance snapshot reports how states are doing in their support of walking, rolling, and active kids and communities. Indicator types consider Complete Streets and active transportation planning; federal and state active transportation funding; Safe Routes to School Funding and supportive practices; and active neighborhoods and schools.

Public Transit Users Can Save $13,000 Annually (American Public Transportation Association)
Covers a recent Transit Savings report that finds individuals who ride on public transportation instead of driving can save more than $13,000 a year because of significant increases in auto costs and gasoline prices, while monthly public transit fare prices have not increased since 2020.

Colorado: Takes New Approach to Setting Speed Limits (State Smart Transportation Initiative)
Reports on the Colorado DOT as one of the first agencies to shift to a new speed management theory that considers a broad range of factors, such as the purpose and design of the road and the types of modes using it. Use of this process has resulted in lower speed limits on about two-thirds of the 50 to 60 miles of evaluated state-controlled roadway to date.

San Francisco, CA: Passes Resolution to Ban Right Turns on Red (StreetsBlog SF)
Reports that the San Francisco, CA Board of Supervisors unanimously supported a resolution to ban right turns on red and calls on the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to prepare a plan for a citywide policy.

Colorado: Considers Bigger Vehicle Registration Fees to Pay for Ped and Cyclist Safety Projects (Colorado Public Radio CPR News)
Reports that a Colorado legislative committee will consider a bill that could raise up to $20 million a year for projects to make the roads safer for pedestrians and cyclists by creating a new registration fee that would scale with the weight of a vehicle. Money raised by the fee would fund infrastructure such as separated bike lanes, road narrowing, and automated speed cameras.

Houston, TX:  Amends Building Codes to Promote Walkability, Affordable Housing (Houston Public Media)
Reports that the Houston, TX City Council approved a series of changes to the city's residential building and parking codes to expand affordable housing options and improve walkability and pedestrian safety. Changes include prohibiting driveways that feed from front-facing garages into streets in some neighborhoods because they reduce sidewalk and green space as well as on-street parking.

Washington, DC: Approves E-Bike Purchase Vouchers (The Washington Post)
Covers legislation unanimously approved by the Washington, DC Council to create financial incentives for e-bike buyers, mainly for lower-income residents, with vouchers ranging from $75 for bike locks to $2,000 for a cargo e-bike.

Atlanta, GA: Holds First Open Streets Event in Four Years (Urbanize Atlanta)
Describes and provides 80 photos of the first Sunday open-streets car-free program in four years on 2.8 miles of Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, GA.

Barcelona, Spain: The Bicibús Helps Kids Cycle Safely to School (The Guardian)
Reports on the experience of one of the 15 bicibús (bike bus) routes that children take to ride their bikes to school in Barcelona, Spain. The bicibús initiative webpage offers more information including how to create a bike bus in communities.

Peterborough, Canada: City-Funded Winter Bicycling Program (B!KE)
Describes the seventh year of “Winter Wheels," a winter bicycling program funded by the City of Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. The program provides free winter tires, winter riding information, hands-on workshops, and group rides to help build riding skills and confidence on winter roads. Program participants commit to riding at least once a week over the winter and sharing their experience via social media or other means.

Hanover, Germany: Plans to Remove Nearly All Street Parking & Mandate 12mph Speed Limit (Daily Mail)
Reports that the center of Hanover, Germany will become almost car-free by removing on-street parking, traffic lights, and through traffic; restricting traffic to taxis, delivery vans, and drivers with disabilities; and reducing speeds to 20km/h (12mph) or 30km/h (19mph) where cars are allowed to travel.

Glasgow, Scotland: Supports Active Travel with Cycling Parking Hubs (SmartCitiesWorld)
Describes on-demand, secure bicycle parking hubs in Glasgow and the Cyclehoop app that allows users to find and reserve vacant spaces in one of the units.

Resources

FHWA NHI Complete Streets Course Series (Public Roads Magazine)
Describes the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) National Highway Institute (NHI) training series on how to use the Complete Streets design model to develop, plan, build, operate, and maintain highways to keep all street users safe in their community. Designed for a wide variety of practitioners, the training is offered in virtual and in-person formats.

Online Training Courses for Local Agencies and Tribal Communities (FHWA)
Offers information about training course providers including the National Highway Institute, American Association of State Highway Organizations TC-3, and Institute of Transportation Engineers, among others. Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) centers in each state also provide technical assistance and live training.

Fostering Multimodal Connectivity Newsletter Summer Issue (FHWA)
Features four real-world examples of multimodal investments across the US, including: a multimodal transportation plan update in North Virginia; a successful bikeshare program in Pennsylvania; a trail renovation paved with recycled tires in Tennessee; and a bicycle facility inventory system launched by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Proven Safety Countermeasures: Bicycle Lanes (FHWA)
Offers updated information about bicycle lanes as one of the 28 proven safety countermeasures to help improve road safety. The update includes more specific information about separated bike lanes due to their many proven benefits to road users.

Nighttime Visibility for Safety: Visible Solutions (FHWA Innovator)
Describes the nighttime visibility for safety initiative that promotes improved lighting and other countermeasures to enhance visibility for all road users, particularly near places where pedestrians cross the roadway such as transit stops, schools, parks, and entertainment hubs.

Improving MPO and SHSO Coordination on Behavioral Traffic Safety: Guide and Toolkit (National Cooperative Highway Research Program)
Presents evidence-based information and tools to help improve coordination and collaboration between state highway safety offices (SHSOs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) on behavioral traffic safety issues.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Performance Functions (National Cooperative Highway Research Program)
Presents an update of pedestrian and bicycle safety performance functions (SPFs) using risk-based or predictive methods for state DOTs and other practitioners. The research project also includes three spreadsheet tools that incorporate the new or updated pedestrian and bicycle SPFs for different types of roadways.

Estimating Effectiveness of Safety Treatments in the Absence of Crash Data: A Guide (National Cooperative Highway Research Program)
Presents a guide for using alternative, or surrogate, measures of safety for developing crash modification factors and other quantifiable measures of safety performance, such as conflicts, speed changes, and lane deviations.

TRB Workshop: Bicycle and Pedestrian Data Fusion: Learning from Each Other (Bicycle and Pedestrian Data Subcommittee)
Announces an in-person workshop on January 7, 2024, at the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting, on sources for bicycle and pedestrian volume data, including emerging data sources and traditional count data. The workshop will examine data quality and management, explore data fusion, and discuss future needs.

Accessible Sidewalks Video Series (US Access Board)
Provides four short videos to illustrate access issues and considerations for accessible sidewalks. The videos focus on accessibility issues for pedestrians who use wheelchairs, have ambulatory impairments, have low vision, or are blind.

AARP Bike Audit Tool Kit: A Self-Service Guide to Assessing a Community’s Bikeability (AARP and League of American Bicyclists)
Announces a new guide and worksheets to assess and improve bicyclist safety and accessibility in communities. Provides a step-by-step approach to observing and documenting the safe or unsafe bikeability of a location to help share data, solutions, and strategies with local decision makers. A webinar today at 3pm ET will offer more information about the new tool kit.

San Francisco, CA: Bicycle Comfort Index (Toole Design)
Describes the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Bicycle Comfort Index that evaluates each segment of the street network based on a broad definition of comfort, including Level of Traffic Stress and other factors that influence perceptions of comfort and safety. Creates three scoring categories of context, traffic, and bicycle Infrastructure, and differentiates between factors the agencies can feasibly update to improve comfort and those they cannot.

Tracking and Sharing Vision Zero Progress (Vision Zero Network)
Describes lessons learned and ways communities are taking actionable steps to track progress, and be more transparent and accountable in their work toward Vision Zero goals.

Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities (Governing)
Interviews Veronica O. Davis, author of Inclusive Transportation: A Manifesto for Repairing Divided Communities, a new book that calls for transportation planning that prioritizes communities that are living with the negative consequences of planning and engineering decisions. America Walks will host a webinar today at 3pm ET with the author.

Invisible Disabilities: Seeing the Unseen (Transportation Research Board, TR News)
Gives a brief introduction to invisible disabilities within the context of transit accessibility and provides some key examples of programs throughout the world that are providing inclusive and accommodating experiences.

The Five Pillars of Urban Environmental Justice: A Framework for Building Equitable Cities (Philosophy of the City Journal)
Provides an equity grounded framework to help identify potential harms during planning processes. Identifies five common types of equity focused land use concerns to consider in equitable land use and design: environmental health; essential amenities access; transportation; housing opportunity and displacement; and equitable economic development.

Prioritizing Health Equity in Vision Zero Planning (Vision Zero Network)
Provides an overview of why equity matters in Vision Zero planning. Shares action steps and examples to align Vision Zero work with meaningful advancements towards safe, healthy, and equitable mobility for all.

Cycling Equity Co-Learning and Action Toolkit (Jay Pitter Placemaking)
Presents key concepts, frameworks and evidence-based information to support individual and group understanding of what cycling equity and broader mobility are. Prompts personal reflection, professional development processes, and organizational transformation.

Closing the Active Transportation Gender Gap (Toole Design)
Identifies several factors that can make shared micromobility less of a viable option for women and caregivers: women have more trips to take, things to carry, people to transport, and safety considerations as they navigate a transportation system. Recommends incorporating design factors into shared micromobility fleets to better accommodate the needs of women, including sidecars, cargo bikes, shared children's mobility, bikeshare with baby or child seats, mobility hubs, and family fare structures.

5 Ways to Boost Community Engagement in Bike Advocacy (PeopleForBikes)
Describes five techniques that go beyond traditional engagement methods to reach a broader, more diverse audience.

Different Bikes for Different Cyclists (AARP)
Provides an illustrated guide to 15 types of bicycles used for different purposes in different settings.

Roundup of Bike Parking Resources (League of American Bicyclists)
Describes bike parking considerations and provides links to resources including the ABPB Bike Parking Guide and other resources for design guides, campus parking, a model parking ordinance, and best practices.

Updated APBP Policy Statement on Automated Driving Systems (Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP))
Announces an updated policy statement from APBP to share its vision, position, policy endorsements, and more on Automated Driving Systems (ADSs). The policy statement also includes recommendations for ADS developers and manufacturers, local and state agencies, and federal regulators.

How Much of Your City Is Parking Lots? (Strong Towns)
Describes the Parking Lot Map tool developed by the Parking Reform Network that provides percentage of area devoted to parking lots for over 80 major US cities.

Research

Assessing the Health Impacts of Changes in Active Transport: An Updated Systematic Review (Journal of Transport & Health)
Compiles approaches, settings, and scenarios used in transport health impact modeling and assesses the extent to which studies have quantified differential and equity impacts of transport mode shifts, particularly across population groups.

Centering the Margins: The Transportation Experience of Underserved Communities (Minnesota DOT)
Examines transportation system inequities in 10 underserved communities using interviews and smartphone-based travel behavior surveys. Finds that each community faces distinct transportation barriers, alongside shared themes in transportation inequities such as inadequate public transportation, difficulties related to car use, and the impact of transportation on significant life outcomes.

Advancing Equity in Accessibility and Travel Experiences: The Role of Gender and Identity (Center for Transportation Studies, University of Minnesota)
Examines how gender can lead to different travel patterns and how people feel about it, using information gathered through surveys. The results show the importance of capturing the complex, intersectional nature of gender and confirmed gender differences in transportation needs, experiences, and outcomes, and the need for efforts and investment to advance gender equity in transportation.

Active Transportation for Underrepresented Populations in the United States: A Systematic Review of Literature (Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board)
Reports on research to identify active transportation studies that focus on underrepresented populations, evaluate the quantification approaches used in the literature, and uncover barriers to the use of active transportation among underrepresented populations in the US.

Development and Implementation of a GIS-Based Active Route Visualization Tool to Facilitate Equitable Planning for Walking and Cycling Routes in Small Communities (Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board)
Reports on research that developed a data-driven Active Route Visualization Tool to support planning and decision making in small cities and rural towns. The tool provides a map that highlights daily volumes of active travel in a community and ranks roadway segments that have greater potential to support walking and bicycling. Describes application of the tool in a rural community.

Cycling for Health (Canadian Family Physician)
Reviews literature about cycling and health and provides an overview and discussion of the available evidence. Also models how family physicians can encourage active transportation and mitigate climate change by advocating for increased cycling levels in patients, promoting safe cycling infrastructure in communities, and collaborating with policy makers in governments.

Walkable Neighborhoods Associated with Lower Risk of Some Cancers (The Guardian)
Reports that a new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives found that living in more walkable neighborhoods can lower the rate of five types of obesity-related cancers in women. Walkable neighborhoods appeared to be especially beneficial to women in low-income areas.

Improving Pedestrian Progression at Multistage Crossings Using Pedestrian-Left Turn Overlaps (Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board)
Reports on a case study of two multistage crossing intersections using pedestrian-left turn overlaps. Finds that, compared with the current timing plan, using pedestrian-left turn overlaps could reduce pedestrian delay from about 100 to 35 seconds, with a negligible impact on vehicle delay.

Are Pedestrian Crashes Becoming More Severe? A Breakdown of Pedestrian Crashes in Urban Tennessee (Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board)
Reports on a study that collected pedestrian crash data from 2009 through 2019. Finds that pedestrian crashes are becoming more severe compared to the past, and are linked to multilane urban arterials with speeds above 35 mph at midblock locations. The study also confirms that cars are still the cause of the high fatality rate rather than sport utility vehicles or other large vehicles.

What Do Pedestrians Consider When Choosing a Route? The Role of Safety, Security, and Attractiveness Perceptions and the Built Environment During Day and Night Walking (Cities)
Identifies the significance of route attributes and perceptions of attractiveness, safety, and security. Finds that the built environment and perceptions of it play crucial roles in determining pedestrian route choice behavior.

Perceived Physical Environment and Active Transport in Adolescents: A Systematic Review (Journal of Transport & Health)
Synthesizes evidence of the relationship between physical environment perceptions and active transport in adolescents. Finds possible associations between active transport and general safety, walking and cycling infrastructure, aesthetics, street connectivity, and environment. Also shares preferences in accessibility and safety by gender.

Evaluation of Bicycle Sharing Scheme Data as a Proxy for Cycling Mobility – How COVID-19 Measures Influenced Cycling in Paris (Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives)
Explores bicycle sharing system data and networks of counters in Paris, France to analyze bicycle use, weather, and COVID restrictions. Finds that bicycle sharing system data and counters both capture very similar behavior patterns, and therefore bicycle sharing system data are a reliable proxy for overall cycling behavior, providing finer spatial granularity than existing sparse counter networks.

Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Framework for Determining Public Microtransit Service Zones (Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board)
Presents a robust and flexible decision-making framework for identifying areas where microtransit would have a higher potential for success. Serves as an intermediate step between an initial planning study that identifies candidate zones and a detailed feasibility study. Evaluates the effectiveness of the framework in a local case study.

Webinars

Upcoming Webinars

Archived and Recorded Webinars

Call for Proposals, Presentations, Abstracts

Call for Letters of Interest: Safe Routes to Parks State Accelerator Program [for State Agency Staff Teams] (Safe Routes Partnership)
Extended Deadline: October 27, 2023

Call for Applications: National Recreation Trail & National Water Trail Designation (National Recreation Trail)
Deadline: November 1, 2023

Call for Applications: Bicycle Friendly Business (League of American Bicyclists)
Deadline: November 2, 2023

Call for Abstracts: Velo-city 2024 Ghent – Connecting Through Cycling, June 18 - 21, 2024, Ghent, Belgium
Deadline: November 3, 2023

Call for Nominations: 2024 Environmental Excellence Awards (EEA) (FHWA)
Deadline: November 3, 2023

Call for Applications: Outride Fund Grants
Deadline: November 11, 2023

Call for Applicants: Dangerous by Design Technical Assistance Program  (Smart Growth America)
Deadline: November 15, 2023

Call for Letters of Interest (for assistance): Thriving Communities Program (USDOT)
Deadline: November 15, 2023

Call for Nominations: Recreational Trails Achievement Awards (Coalition for Recreational Trails)
Deadline: November 17, 2023

Notice of Funding Opportunity (to serve as a Capacity Builder): Thriving Communities Program (USDOT)
Deadline: November 28, 2023

Call for Abstracts: 2024 ITE International Annual Meeting and Exhibition, July 21 - 24, 2024, Philadelphia, PA
Deadline: November 28, 2023

Call for Papers: Emerging Geospatial Data Applications in Road Safety Studies (Accident Analysis & Prevention)
Deadline: November 30, 2023

Call for Applications: Legacy Trails Grant Program (American Trails & US Forest Service)
Deadline: December 1, 2023

Call for Entrants: Vision Zero 2030 Elementary School Poster Contest for students in grades 1-6 (Mineta Transportation Institute)
Deadline: December 8, 2023

Call for Applications: Vision Zero for Youth US Leadership Award (National Center for Safe Routes to School, FIA Foundation, and UNC Highway Safety Research Center)
Deadline: December 16, 2023

Call for Papers: Evaluating Initiatives to Combat Injustice in Transportation (Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment)
Deadline: December 31, 2023

Notice of Funding Opportunity: Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund (FHWA)
Deadline: January 15, 2024

Call for Entrants: Vision Zero 2030 Essay Contest for students in grades 6 - 12 (Mineta Transportation Institute)
Deadline: January 29, 2024

Call for Papers: Cities by Night (Philosophy of the City Journal)
Deadline: January 31, 2024

Call for Papers: Transportation and Gentrification (Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment)
Deadline: March 31, 2024

Upcoming Events
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Since its inception in 1999, PBIC's mission has been to improve the quality of life in communities through the increase of safe walking and bicycling as a viable means of transportation and physical activity. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is maintained by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration.
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