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FHWA Home / Safety / Pedestrian & Bicycle / Pedestrian Forum – Winter 2015

Pedestrian Forum – Winter 2016

Volume 68

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U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration

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In this issue:

FHWA Revised List of Pedestrian and Bike Focus Cities

Free Webinar Series on Pedestrian Crash Countermeasures

Clearinghouse for Older Road User Safety (ChORUS)

Case Studies in Delivering Safe, Comfortable, and Connected Pedestrian and Bicycle Networks

Noteworthy Local Policies that Support Safe and Complete Pedestrian and Bike Networks

FHWA Clarifies Bike/Ped Funding, Design, and Environmental Misconceptions

Documenting 10 Years of Progress in Safe Routes to School


FHWA Revised List of Pedestrian and Bike Focus Cities

Since 2004, FHWA's Safety Office has been working to aggressively reduce pedestrian deaths by focusing extra resources on the cities and states with the highest pedestrian fatalities and/or fatality rates. Every 3 to 5 years, FHWA revises the list based on current data and this revision occurred again in the summer of 2015. The map below shows the latest list of states and cities.

In the previous iteration, this focus area was based solely on pedestrians and one or the selection criteria required the city to be among the top 50 cities in pedestrian fatalities.

In 2015, this focus area continues to concentrate on cities, but we adjusted this focus area to include bicyclist fatalities and changed the selection criteria to include the 20 cities with the largest number of pedestrian/bicyclist fatalities and any city that had a fatality rate per population higher than average. Every State that has at least one Focus City is designated a Focus State.

Pedestrian-Bicycle Focus Cities/States 2015

Photo: Sidewalk Cafe'

As mentioned in the Summer 2011 Pedestrian Forum Newsletter, and the Fall 2010 Pedestrian Forum Newsletter, FHWA has had measurable success with the focused approach, and hopes to continue that momentum not only by continuing to provide free technical assistance and training, but also by being more aggressive in gaining a commitment to pedestrian and bicyclist safety among stakeholders and in measuring progress through the establishment of a baseline assessment.

Over the past 11 years the FHWA has been working with the focus states and cities to provide free training (almost 250 courses) on designing safe pedestrian facilities and workshops that have led to the development of pedestrian safety action plans (PSAP), and many other successes.

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"Staying active and connected with friends, family, and neighbors can pro-mote the healthy aging we all deserve. CHORUS was developed with this ultimate goal in mind"

–Federal Highway Administrator Gregory G. Nadeau

New FREE Webinar Series on Pedestrian Crash Countermeasures

FHWA is offering a free webinar series on countermeasures for improving pedestrian safety. "Countermeasure Strategies for Pedestrian Safety Webinar Series" provides participants with an in-depth exploration of some of the countermeasures and design strategies that can be implemented to improve pedestrian safety. Each of the 12 sessions feature detailed information about countermeasures and design strategies, supporting research and guidance, as well as case studies highlighting examples of implementation from around the country.

The series, which began in October 2015 and runs through January 20th 2016, covers:

To register for any of the remaining webinars, click on this link. If you have missed the live webinars, not to worry; they are being recorded. The archived webinars are located at the bottom of the registration page.

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NEW Clearinghouse for Older Road User Safety

Photo: Elderly Couple

As America's driving population ages, resources addressing the needs of those drivers become increasingly important. Just in time for Older Driver Safety Awareness Week (December 7-11)—the Roadway Safety Foundation (with support from the FHWA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) launched the Clearinghouse for Older Road User Safety (ChORUS) at www.roadsafeseniors.org.

The Clearinghouse's resources are as comprehensive as its audience is diverse. Highway engineers will find technical manuals; motor vehicle administrators will find state-by-state licensing policies; medical professionals will find the latest research; older drivers will find self-assessments and tips; and family and caregivers will find a supportive online community.

Staying active and connected with friends, family, and neighbors can promote the healthy aging everyone deserves. ChORUS was developed with this ultimate goal in mind.


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Case Studies in Delivering Safe, Comfortable, and Connected Pedestrian and Bicycle Networks

Photo: Pedestrian and Bicycle Safe Intersection

The FHWA is committed to documenting and promoting connected pedestrian and bicycle networks in communities throughout the United States. Accordingly FHWA developed Case Studies in Delivering Safe, Comfortable, and Connected Pedestrian and Bicycle Networks, which provides an overview of pedestrian and bicycle network principles and highlights examples from communities across the country. Networks are interconnected pedestrian and/or bicycle transportation facilities that allow people of all ages and abilities to safely and conveniently get where they want to go.

The Appendix provides a complete listing of projects highlighted in the report and additional projects that were identified in the study process. FHWA Division Offices identified a total of 86 pedestrian and bicycle network examples throughout the United States which were included.

Of the project examples identified, 21 of them are regional in scope and 6 are statewide projects. The remaining local examples represent a range of community sizes, from those with populations under 600 people (Ray, North Dakota) to cities with nearly 2.7 million residents (Chicago, Illinois).

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Noteworthy Local Policies that Support Safe and Complete Ped/Bike Networks

Photo: Pedestrian and Bicyclist safe roadway

The FHWA Safety Office recently awarded a contract to develop a guidebook that provides examples, highlights best practices, and discusses advantages, effectiveness, and any shortcomings of provisions supporting vibrant walking and biking environments in zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, and design guidelines. A renaissance of interest in safe, walkable places has occurred in many parts of the United States in the past decade. While a number of leading communities have brought new tools online to address changes in community design, many more are considering similar options. This work would provide a timely response to growing interest and offer a needed resource for integrated transportation and land use development that supports safe pedestrian activity. The project will be complete and the Guide available in late 2016.

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FHWA Clarifies Bike/Ped Funding, Design, and Environmental Misconceptions

"The Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) is not the only Federal funding source for pedestrian and bicycle projects"

–Federal Highway Administrator Gregory G. Nadeau

The FHWA published a new document, "Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding, Design, and Environmental Review: Addressing Common Misconceptions," to clear up frequent misunderstandings regarding Federal funding, street design, and the environmental review process. Some items discussed include: how Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) funding can be used, whether Federal funds may be used for road diets or separated bike lanes, and which design guides and standards must be followed. This list of misconceptions was collected through discussions that have taken place via the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Safer People, Safer Streets Initiative, which was launched in 2014. USDOT summarized the report on the Fast Lane blog earlier this month.

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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 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#ped. 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 and the Obama Administration. 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 130,000 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.

Documenting 10 Years of Progress in Safe Routes to School

Photo: Pedestrian Crossing Marked Intersection

A new report, Creating Healthier Generations: A Look at 10 Years of the Federal Safe Routes to School Program, released by the National Center for Safe Routes to School examines the accomplishments of the Federal Safe Routes to School Program (SRTS) over the past decade.

Since the SRTS Program was established by Congress in 2005, nearly 18,000 schools teaching kindergarten through eighth grades in all fifty states and the District of Columbia have been a part of SRTS. The program has reached more than 6.8 million students nationwide, with underserved schools well represented, and has demonstrated safe transportation and health benefits of active travel for these students.

This report highlights the program's rich data and features stories of SRTS funded projects that show the accomplishments and change the program has had on communities nationwide. Data show the program improved safety and increased the number of students walking and biking to school. For example, in Miami-Dade County, SRTS is part of a comprehensive program that measured a 63 percent reduction in child pedestrian injuries, while a program at Heatherwood Elementary in Boulder, Colorado, reported a dramatic increase in walking and bicycling to school and introduced children with autism to riding tandem bikes.

Not only has SRTS improved safety and active transportation, the program has also found broader benefits such as increased connectivity within communities, reduced transportation costs, enhanced community life, and more.

This report also examines how communities continue to find ways to include safe walking and bicycling infrastructure into transportation planning. The success of this program is due in large part to the work of the State Coordinators. Their presence has been a major strength in the implementation of SRTS and enabled the program to have the detail of data contained in this report.

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