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FHWA Home / Safety / Pedestrian & Bicycle / Pedestrian Forum – Fall 2016

Pedestrian Forum – Fall 2016

Volume 71

USDOT treskelion logo.
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration

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In this issue:

2016 Summit for Safer People, Safer Streets and Awards

FHWA Unveils Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Transportation

Achieving Multimodal Networks: Applying Design Flexibility and Reducing Conflicts

Pedestrian and Bicycle Funding Opportunities

FHWA Provides Interim Approval for Intersection Bicycle Box

FHWA and other Agencies Join the Road to Zero Coalition

FHWA Awards Cooperative Agreement for Ped/Bike Information Center


2016 Summit for Safer People , Safer Streets and Awards

As detailed previously in this newsletter, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced an initiative to reduce the growing number of pedestrian and bicyclist injuries and fatalities through a comprehensive approach that addresses infrastructure safety, education, vehicle safety and data collection in the Fall of 2014.

As part of that initiative, the Secretary also urged participants at a U.S. Conference of Mayors meeting in January 2015 to spend a year working to make their cities safer for bikers and walkers. That initial year was later expanded to 18 months and concluded in September 2016.

During the Mayor's Challenge, 245 communities across the U.S. signed on to improve safety for pedestrians and bicyclists and worked on up to seven challenge activities. The Mayor's Challenge officially concluded on September 16 with a summit and award ceremony at U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) Headquarters. Secretary Foxx presented the following awards to the cities noted:

Secretary's Awards for Overall Success: New York, NY; Washington, DC; and South Bend, IN

Awards Recepients

Ladders of Opportunity: Austin, TX, and Brownsville, TX

Engagement: Myrtle Beach, SC

The following cities were recognized for their successes in one of the seven challenge activities undertaken as part of the Mayor's Challenge:

Take a Complete Streets Approach: Miami-Dade County, FL and South Bend, IN

Fix barriers to make streets safe and convenient for everyone: Myrtle Beach, SC

Gather and track biking and walking data: Los Angeles, CA and Bellevue, WA

Design right for safety: New York, NY and Henderson, NV

Create and complete pedestrian and bicycle networks: Lexington, KY and Norwalk, CT

Improve safety laws and regulations: Washington, DC

Educate and enforce proper road behavior by all: Louisville, KY and Oro Valley, AZ

As Secretary Foxx stated after the event "U.S. DOT will continue to lead on pedestrian and bicycle safety. We are making permanent the crossmodal team that has been working on the Safer People, Safer Streets initiative."

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#RoadDiets Rule!
Become a Road Diet champion today! We are officially launching our #RoadDiets Selfie cam-paign. Post a photo showing love for Road Diets near you.

Here's how it works:

Print out the hashtag (#RoadDiets) at the bottom of the Road Diets newsletter.

Snap a selfie with the sign at your favorite Road Diet. (Points for creativity!)

Post the photo on Facebook or Twitter. Include "#RoadDiets" in your text along with your state

FHWA Unveils Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Announced the completion of its Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation at the Pro-Bike/Pro Walk/Pro-Place Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia in September. This Strategic Agenda is a framework to guide the FHWA's pedestrian and bicycle initiatives and investments during the five-year period from Federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2016-17 to FY 2020-21.

The body of the Agenda document contains detailed examinations of issues; full lists of action steps; and links to white papers, technical memoranda, and resources. The Agenda establishes a strategic, collaborative approach for making walking and bicycling viable transportation options for people of all ages and abilities in communities throughout the U.S.

The Agenda was developed with input from a broad range of technical experts, transportation agency staff, and stakeholders from across the nation. It articulates goals and supporting actions to promote safe, accessible, and connected bicycle and pedestrian networks; ensure the safety of non-motorized travelers; and advance Ladders of Opportunity and Community Connections.

The Agenda sets out two aspirational goals:

In conjunction with the Safer People, Safer Streets initiative mentioned on page 1 of this newsletter, the Agenda will also inform the work of U.S. DOT's other modal administrations, which will continue to work together toward these important goals.

The Agenda is organized around four goals: networks, safety, equity, and trips. Each goal includes activities related to capacity building, policy, data, and research. The Agenda demonstrates FHWA's ongoing leadership on multimodal transportation, and represents FHWA's commitment to institutionalize and mainstream these issues.

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Multimodal Networks: Applying Design Flexibility and Reducing Conflicts

Photo: Biker riding along Bicycle Marked lane FHWA published a new planning and design resource on Achieving Multimodal Networks: Applying Design Flexibility and Reducing Conflicts. This publication is a resource for practitioners seeking to build multimodal transportation networks.

This resource is intended to:

This document highlights ways that planners and designers can apply the design flexibility found in current national design guidance to address common roadway design challenges and barriers. It focuses on reducing multimodal conflicts and achieving connected networks. #RoadDiets Rule! Become a Road Diet champion today! We are officially launching our #RoadDiets Selfie campaign. Post a photo showing love for Road Diets near you. Here's how it works: Print out the hashtag (#RoadDiets) at the bottom of the Road Diets newsletter. Snap a selfie with the sign at your favorite Road Diet. (Points for creativity!) Post the photo on Facebook or Twitter. Include "#RoadDiets" in your text along with your state or locality.

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Pedestrian and Bicycle Funding Opportunities

Photo: Pedestrian crossing marked crosswalk

FHWA updated the resource on Pedestrian and Bicycle Funding Opportunities / U.S. Department of Transportation Transit, Highway, and Safety Funds to account for the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and provide more project examples. The table indicates potential eligibility for pedestrian and bicycle projects, notes basic program requirements, and links to program guidance.

Project sponsors should fully integrate non-motorized accommodation into surface transportation projects. Section 1404 of the FAST Act modified 23 U.S.C. 109 to require Federally-funded projects on the National Highway System to consider access for other modes of transportation, and provides greater design flexibility to do so. For more information contact: christopher.douwes@dot.gov.

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FHWA Provides Interim Approval for Intersection Bicycle Box

Diagram of Intersection Bicyle Box FHWA issued an Interim Approval for Optional Use of an Intersection Bicycle Box (IA-18) under the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices on October 12. The intersection bicycle box is a designated area on the approach to a signalized intersection, between an advance stop line and the inter-section stop line, intended to provide bicyclists a space to wait in front of stopped motor vehicles during the red signal phase so that they are more visible to motorists at the start of the green signal phase.

Positioning bicyclists in the center of the appropriate lane allows them to turn from a location where they are more visible to sirrounding traffic, can increase the visibility of stopped bicycle traffic at an intersection, can reduce conflicts between bicycles and motor vehicles, can help mitigate intersection right-turn ("right-hook") conflicts, and can help group bicycles together to clear intersections more quickly. The design of the bicycle box is not proprietary and can be used by any jurisdiction that requests and obtains Interim Approval from the FHWA to use bicycle boxes in accordance with Paragraphs 14 through 22 of Section 1A.10 of the MUTCD. A State may request Interim Approval for all jurisdictions in that State.

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FHWA and other Agencies Join the Road to Zero Coalition

Image: Road to Zero

FHWA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration–all agencies within the U.S. DOT–joined forces with the National Safety Council (NSC) to launch the Road to Zero coalition with the goal of ending fatalities on the nation's roads within the next 30 years. The U.S. DOT has committed $3 million to provide grants to organizations working on lifesaving programs.

"Our vision is simple – zero fatalities on our roads," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "We know that setting the bar for safety to the highest possible standard requires commitment from everyone to think differently about safety– from drivers to industry, safety organizations and government at all levels."

The year 2015 marked the largest increase in traffic deaths since 1966 and preliminary estimates for the first half of 2016 show an alarming uptick in fatalities–an increase of about 10.4 percent as compared to the number of fatalities in the first half of 2015.

The Road to Zero Coalition will initially focus on promoting proven lifesaving strategies, such as improving seat belt use, installing rumble strips, truck safety, behavior change campaigns and data-driven enforcement. Additionally, the coalition will then lead the development of a new vision on how to achieve zero traffic deaths based on evidence-based strategies and a systematic approach to eliminating risks.

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Text: FHWA

Tamara Redmon, Pedestrian Safety Program Manager
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Room E71-303
Washington, DC 20590

Phone: 202-366-4077
Fax: 202-366-3222
E-mail: tamara.redmon@dot.gov

This Pedestrian and Bike Forum is available on the Web at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/pedforum/
To receive information on future newsletters, please use the e-subscription service provided on this site: http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/esubscribe.cfm. Scroll down to "Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety" and select "subscribe" next to "Pedestrian Forum."

Helping Communities to provide safe and convenient transportation choices to all citizens, whether it's by walking, bicycling, transit, or driving is a high priority of the U.S. Department of Transportation. Each year, unfortunately, pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities comprise about 16 percent of all traffic fatalities and there are approximately 5,500 pedestrian and bicyclist deaths. Another 115,000 pedestrians and bicyclists are injured in roadway crashes annually. Pedestrian and bike safety improvements depend on an integrated approach that involves the four E's: Engineering, Enforcement, Education, and Emergency Services. The Pedestrian and Bike Forum highlights recent pedestrian and bike safety activities related to the four E's that will help save lives.

FHWA logo.

New Cooperative Agreement for Ped/Bike Information Center

FHWA and NHTSA selected the University of North Carolina High-way Safety Research Center (HSRC) to administer the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC), the national resource that supports the U.S. DOT's initiatives to promote integrated, convenient, and safe transportation systems for all road users, including pedestrians and bicyclists. HSRC has managed the PBIC since it was first established in 1999. The five year cooperative agreement will end in 2021.

The PBIC team will continue to deliver training and technical assistance on pedestrian and bicycle related issues. The HSRC team is joined by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, Governors Highway Safety Association, People for Bikes, Toole Design Group, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, and others. Each of these organizations will bring different perspectives to build upon the foundation of success that the clearinghouse has established and help accelerate PBIC activities moving forward.

Image: People outside of Bicylce Infomation Center

The PBIC has developed many initiatives important to non-motorized transportation over the years. Among them:

Technology was another focus area of the forum. According to one panelist, most pedestrian crashes could be mitigated or prevented through pedestrian detection technology in vehicles. This technology assists vehicles in detecting the pedestrian ahead and providing automatic braking. Vehicle headlights and better road lighting can also make a difference. By improving overall visibility, drivers are able to better detect pedestrians at night, when most fatal crashes occur. Other mitigation countermeasures, such as soft bumpers and hoods, and pedestrian airbags, can save lives by ameliorating the severity of injuries once the crash occurs.

The NTSB forum brought welcome attention to an urgent safety problem that deserves a continued focus. The U.S. DOT continues to work with States and cities that are committed to reducing pedestrian deaths in or-red to makes roads safer for all users.

Logo: Pedestrain and Bicycle Information Center

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Page last modified on August 28, 2020
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