FHWA Course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation

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LESSON 3: BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN PLANNING OVERVIEW (INSTRUCTOR'S NOTES)

Objectives:

Upon completion of this lesson, students will be able to:

1. Explain the impact of the current Federal surface transportation funding on bicycle and pedestrian planning.
2. State what elements are part of a local bicycle or pedestrian plan.
3. Use different types of analytical tools in bicycle and pedestrian planning processes.
4. Recognize the different types of mapping techniques used for bicycle and pedestrian planning.

Pre-Instruction:

Components	Activities
Motivation	Secure a copy of a state or local pedestrian or bicycle plan. Discuss the different elements of the plan with the class. Consider how each of the elements was developed.
Objectives	Present and explain the four lesson goals listed above (V-3-1).

Information Presentation:

Components	Activities
Information Sequence	Outline the presentation of the lecture (V-3-2).
Information	Provide a general explanation of the most recent Federal surface transportation law. Detail how this law affects planning, design, operation, and maintenance of pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Present and explain the importance of the different elements and sub-elements of a local pedestrian plan and a local bicycle plan (V-3-3 and V-3-4). Present the latent demand score (LDS) model as an example of an analytical technique that can be used for non-motorized transportation planning (V-3-5). Show the class different examples of how maps are used in the bicycle and pedestrian planning processes (V-3-6).
Example(s)	Much of the information transmission should be done by way of example. The viewgraphs reflect this.

Student Participation:

Components	Activities
Practice	After the information presentation has taken place, have the students critique the bicycle/pedestrian plans that they generated as a pre-class activity.
Feedback	Provide comment and feedback to the class as appropriate.

Follow-Up:

Components	Activities
Enrichment	Assign reading for Lesson 4. As with the prior lesson, provide each student with a map of your local area. Ask them to plan an "idealized" or "optimal" bicycle or pedestrian network for the area.
Review

Lesson Objectives:

• Explain the impact of the current Federal surface transportation funding
• Explain the elements of a local bicycle or pedestrian plan
• Use the different analytical tools for bicycle and pedestrian planning
• Recognize the different types of mapping techniques used in bicycle and pedestrian planning
  

Lesson Outline:

• Federal surface transportation law and pedestrian and bicycle facilities
• Elements of local pedestrian and bicycle plans
• Latent Demand Score (LDS) model and Bicycle Compatibility Index (BCI)
• Bicycle and pedestrian maps

Elements of a Local Pedestrian Plan:

• Strategy
• Project priorities
• Engineering
• Education
• Encouragement
• Enforcement
  

Elements of a Local Bicycle Network Plan:

• Establish performance criteria
• Inventory the existing system
• Identify travel corridors
• Evaluate/Select routes
• Select design treatments
• Evaluate the finished plan
  

Application of the LDS Model:

• Assess the current BLOS
• Estimate latent demand
• Compute analytical-based priority
• Measure public priority
• Compute final needs ranking
• Designate short- and long-term route plans

Types of Maps:

• Urban bicycle map
• Bicycling guide
• Bicycling touring guide
• City and county bicycle and pedestrian plan maps
  

Lesson Summary:

• Current Federal transportation laws support pedestrian and bicycle planning
• There are many specific steps in developing a pedestrian or bicycle plan
• There are some analytical techniques that can be used in pedestrian and bicycle planning processes
• There are several types of maps that aid in pedestrian and bicycle planning processes

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