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Vol. 8, Spring '99
FHWA Guidance on Bike/Ped Provisions
FHWA Administrator Kenneth Wykle signed a Transmittal of Guidance on Bicycle and Pedestrian Provisions of the Federal-aid Program on February 24. Administrator Wykle reaffirms the FHWA's strong commitment to improving conditions for bicycling and walking, and his commitment to ensure that FHWA provide national leadership in the following areas:
- Encouraging the development and implementation of bicycle and pedestrian plans as part of the overall transportation planning process.
- Promoting the availability and use of the full range of streamlining mechanisms to increase project delivery.
- Coordinating the efforts of Federal, State, metropolitan, and other relevant agencies to improve conditions for bicycling and walking.
For more information contact John Fegan at 202-366-5007.
The Office of Motor Carriers and Highway Safety held a Safety Integration Conference in Washington, DC, March 22-26, with about 150 people in attendance. The conference, which was targeted at FHWA field safety and motor carriers personnel, covered many topics--including pedestrian safety.
Julie Anna Cirillo, Program Manager for Motor Carrier and Highway Safety-one of FHWA's new Core Business Units, has stated that the reduction of pedestrian crashes and fatalities will be one of her top priority areas. (More discussion in next issue).
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) IssuesThe Regulatory Negotiation Committee on Outdoor Developed Areas--the group working on guidelines for developing accessible outdoor recreation facilities--met in January. This meeting brought about significant changes to the committee's previous work. Both the scoping (the land area, and how many or what proportion of a feature must meet accessible standards) and technical provisions (design minimum and maximum requirements) are easier to understand and reflect a more realistic approach to building in rugged areas. Shared use paths fall under these provisions, but are on the high end of development compared to back country hiking trails, which are on the lower end. The AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities has higher accessibility standards (shared use paths). Bicycle transportation facilities and shared use paths have stricter design requirements than many recreation facilities.
The committee will meet for the last time April 27-30 in Arlington VA, before giving their final recommendations to the Access Board in July. The next step in this process will be for the Access Board to publish the recommendations in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and then to have the guidance become standards in the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG).
You may find the committee's recommendations on the American Trails web site at: www.outdoorlink.com/amtrails. Please call Christopher Douwes (202-366-5013) or Barbara McMillen (202-366-4634) if you have any questions.
STPP Releases Aggressive Driving Report
The Surface Transportation Policy Project's report, the first look at aggressive driving rates by local areas, found that the risk of dying in an aggressive driving crash may be higher in places with fewer travel choices and with greater suburban sprawl. Of note, the report found that States where more people walk, bicycle, or use the bus or train tend to have much lower aggressive driving fatality rates. For info, see www.transact.org/aggressivedriving99/report.
Building Livable Communities: A White House Initiative
On March 8, Vice President Gore announced the launch of a major new effort to help communities address traffic congestion and road safety. As part of this effort, the Vice President plans to announce a new national 3-digit number to provide travelers with current info on bad weather, constuction delays, and traffic jams; launch the commuter choice initiative; and hold the first series of regional livability summits over the next year. For more info, see www2.whitehouse.gov/WH/Work/030889.html.
Meeting of the NCUTCD-Accessible Ped Signals
The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (an organization that offers suggestions for revisions to the MUTCD) met in Arlington, VA, Jan. 7-9.
The NCUCTD's Signals Technical Committee took preliminary action to incorporate accessibility provisions for visually impaired pedestrians in the revised MUTCD. Final committee action will take place at the next NCUTCD meeting in Orlando, FL, on June 25 and 26.
These standards are based on an Access Board report-- Accessible Pedestrian Signals-available free of charge from the Access Board by calling 800-872-2253. (Ref.: ITE Journal)
Pedestrians: Traffic Safety Facts 1997 (NHTSA)
In 1997, 5,307 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in the United States. On average, a pedestrian is injured in a traffic crash every 7 minutes and killed every 99 minutes. Most pedestrian fatalities in 1997 occurred in urban areas (70 percent), at non-intersection locations (79 percent), in normal weather conditions (89 percent), and at night (62 percent).
In 1997, more than one-fourth (29 percent) of all children between the ages of 5 and 9 years who were killed in traffic crashes were pedestrians. One-fifth (20 percent) of all traffic fatalities under age 16 were pedestrians, and 7 percent of all traffic injuries under age 16 were pedestrians.
Older pedestrians (ages 70+) accounted for 17 percent of all pedestrian fatalities and 3 percent of all pedestrian injuries. The death rate for this group, both males and females, was 3.76 per 100,000 population -- higher than for any other age group.
Pedestrian fatalities accounted for 85 percent of all nonoccupant fatalities in 1997. The 813 bicyclist fatalities accounted for 13 percent, and the remaining 2 percent were skateboard riders, roller skaters, etc.
Forty percent of the 644 pedestrian fatalities under 16 years of age were killed in crashes that occurred between 4:00 PM and 8:00 PM. Nearly one-half of all pedestrian fatalities occurred on Friday (17 percent), Saturday (18 percent), or Sunday (13 percent).
WHAT'S NEW!
Bicycle and Pedestrian University Graduate CourseFHWA developed and presented a university graduate course concerning the accommodation of pedestrians and bicyclists on Thursday, March 18, at the University of Maryland. The course was designed so colleges/universities that teach transportation engineering and planning (which do not generally incorporate ped/bike accommodation into their courses, focusing instead on motorized transportation) would be able to easily address this high priority area. The hope is that all transportation engineering and planning colleges will eventually include safe options for the accommodation of bicyclists and pedestrians in their curriculum.
The university graduate course covers an extensive range of issues in nonmotorized transportation design, and includes pedestrian and bicycle crash types and counter-measures, pedestrian accommodation at intersections, traffic calming techniques, and bicycle facility design. Twenty-six professors from around the country attended. We are working on hosting another forum in early 2000 and conducting additional outreach efforts. Please feel free to inform your state college/university and provide feedback to Leverson Boodlal at (202) 366-8044.
Bicycling and Walking Study: 5 Year Status Report:
The USDOT is in the process of completing a 5 year status report of the Bicycling and Walking Study released in 1994. The study named 67 action items that will be discussed in the status report. The report will be released on Earth Day (April 22). To obtain a copy of the report, contact Andy Clarke at (202) 366-4071.
Bicycle and Pedestrian Technical Information Center
FHWA is in the process of awarding a competitive grant procurement for a new Bicycle and Pedestrian Technical Information Center. The contract will be awarded on May 1. Funding for the Center--$500,000 a year--will run for five years. The Center will provide technical information on planning, design, and operations for bicycle and pedestrian facilities. We will provide further information about the Center after May 1.
Update of the "Pedestrian Safety Roadshow" and Facilitator Training Sessions:
To date, we have completed 9 train-the-trainer sessions and trained over 143 facilitators from State and local governments, FHWA, NHTSA, Governor's Offices of Highway Safety, universities, LTAP Centers, National Safety Council, Bicycle Federation of America, health, education and enforcement agencies. Training is ongoing in 1999, and you are invited to take advantage of this opportunity to have someone trained or to host a facilitator training session. Please contact your FHWA Division Office or Leverson Boodlal at 202-366-8044 for information, or visit the homepage at: http://www.ota.fhwa.dot.gov/walk
Editors:
Tamara Broyhill, HMHS
Leverson Boodlal, HMTE
400 7th St. SW
Washington, DC 20590tamara.broyhill@fhwa.dot.gov, 202-366-4077
leverson.boodlal@fhwa.dot.gov, 202-366-8044
Our Challenge is to create an environment of change
in which all communities "buy into" the concept of
Pedestrian safety and walkability
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