Active Transportation

The Kansas Department of Transportation recently released its new 2023-2025 bicycle map, which incorporates more than simply listing bike-friendly pathways across the state.

[Above image by Kansas DOT]

“The revised map has new features such as a focus on rail-trails, Kansas Tourism resources, and information on the recently published Kansas Active Transportation Plan,” said Jenny Kramer, active transportation manager for the agency, in a statement.

“This map provides information for cyclists of all levels of experience as well as community advocates wanting to develop and improve trails and paths in their areas,” she added.

The Kansas DOT 2023-2025 map charts out daily traffic volumes, county roads, rest areas, bike shops, byways, state parks, and – of course – bicycle routes across Kansas.

The map also includes a revised Kansas Rail-Trails map and infographic; a section on trail-sharing etiquette; information on Kansas tourism cycling resources and the state’s Active Transportation Plan; U.S. Bicycle Routes 76 and 66 information; a table of state recreation areas and amenities; and a list of all applicable state bicycle laws.

State departments of transportation develop bicycle routes, which the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials then officially designates within the U.S. Bicycle Route System or USBRS.

In February 2021, AASHTO and Adventure Cycling signed a memorandum of understanding or MOU to formalize their now 17-year partnership to create a national 50,000-mile bicycle route network.

Twice each year, AASHTO’s U.S. Route Numbering Special Committee reviews and recommends to the AASHTO Board of Directors a number of revisions, additions, or deletions to the U.S. numbered routes and Interstate Highway System.

The special committee also reviews and recommends the approval of new and revised U.S. bicycle routes that are critical to the expansion of the USBRS.

In addition, AASHTO’s Committee on Planning works with Adventure Cycling to maintain and update the broader USBRS National Corridor Plan that identifies corridors for future bike routes – noting that the USBRS is a “cornerstone” of Adventure Cycling’s work as a national nonprofit dedicated to inspiring, empowering and connecting people to bicycle travel.

Meanwhile, in late June, Adventure Cycling announced major expansions to the USBRS, including three completely new routes and a connection from Alaska to the lower 48 states.

The three new routes are USBR 610 in Idaho, USBR 11 in Pennsylvania, and USBR 121 in Tennessee. In Minnesota, USBR 20 has been extended and USBR 45 and USBR 45A have been adjusted to incorporate new trails and improve safety.

Meanwhile, Alaska’s network now connects to Washington State via the Alaska Marine Highway System using ferries; the first time a ferry has been designated as part of a U.S. bicycle route.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently helped provide some $11.6 million in funding through the MassTrails Grant Program to support 68 trail improvement projects statewide.

[Above photo via MassDOT]

Those projects seek to expand and connect the state’s network of off-road, shared-use pathways and trails to use for recreation, exercise, and environmentally friendly commuting.

The MassTrails Grant Program provides matching grants, technical assistance, and resources to individuals, municipalities, non-profits, and other public entities. Funding for those grants come from two sources: The Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation capital budget and Federal Highway Administration Recreational Trails Program grants, managed at the state level by MassDOT.

Program funds go toward the design, construction, and maintenance of diverse, high-quality trails, including hiking trails, bikeways, and shared-use paths, noted MassDOT.

“Outdoor recreation is directly tied to the economic prosperity of our state,” said Governor Maura Healey (D) in a statement.

“By investing in our trails system, we can give our residents opportunities to get outside, commute for free, and showcase all the natural assets Massachusetts has to offer,” she added. “This is how we grow our economy, cut emissions, and improve health outcomes all at the same time.” 

“Bicycle and pedestrian paths are a key part of … providing safe and equitable transportation networks which support the state’s transit, economic, climate and public health goals,” said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Gina Fiandaca.

“This grant money for 68 projects will help cities and towns build out the framework for creating a state-wide trails network and we look forward to seeing the positive impacts new trail construction will have for all those who live in, come to visit, or traverse through our state for work or pleasure,” she added.

Additionally, MassDOT recently announced the new, interactive Priority Trails Network Vision Map for statewide shared-use paths.

That map provides a centralized inventory of key rail trail projects that will help support an envisioned comprehensive statewide transportation trail network.

It specifically identifies approximately 320 miles of trails that have been constructed and are in use, another 24 trails that are currently under construction, plus an additional 60 miles of proposed paths that have been funded but not yet constructed.

The map also lists priority shared-use path project locations that either have been proposed for consideration or will be pursued for funding and development to help address key gaps in the network.   

The Adventure Cycling Association recently announced major expansions to the U.S. Bicycle Route System or USBRS, including three completely new routes and a connection from Alaska to the lower 48 states.

[Above photo by AASHTO]

The U.S. Bicycle Route System is a developing national network of officially designated, numbered, and signed routes that use existing roads, trails, and other facilities appropriate for bike travel, the association noted – eventually encompassing 50,000 miles of routes nationwide.

The three new routes are USBR 610 in Idaho, USBR 11 in Pennsylvania, and USBR 121 in Tennessee. In Minnesota, USBR 20 has been extended and USBR 45 and USBR 45A have been adjusted to incorporate new trails and improve safety.

Meanwhile, Alaska’s network now connects to Washington State via the Alaska Marine Highway System using ferries; the first time a ferry has been designated as part of a U.S. bicycle route.

“It’s exciting to see how the U.S. Bicycle Route System mirrors our European counterpart bicycle travel network, EuroVelo in a new way” by connecting to ferries, noted Jennifer O’Dell, executive director of Adventure Cycling, in a statement.

“By incorporating the Alaska Marine Highway System into the USBRS, cyclists’ horizons are widened beyond the Lower 48,” she added.

Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, noted that state departments of transportation play a significant role in the expansion of the USBRS by designating new routes twice every year.

“Those bike routes are critical to enhancing and expanding the active transportation opportunities within the nation’s multimodal mobility network,” he said. “State DOTs play a key role in helping foster more and safer bicycle travel options for all Americans and goes to the heart of AASHTO’s longstanding partnership with the Adventure Cycling Association.”

[Editor’s note: AASHTO and Adventure Cycling formalized their nearly two-decade partnership by signing a memorandum of understanding in February 2021.]

Digital maps for all designated U.S. Bicycle Routes are available to the public for free on the Adventure Cycling Association website.

With the new designation and realignments, the USBRS now boasts nearly 20,000 miles of routes in 34 states and Washington, D.C. At least 38 states are currently developing additional bike routes, Adventure Cycling noted.

Many cities are turning to speed limiters for electric scooters to address concerns about rider safety and conflicts with pedestrians, according to new study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Yet mandating low travel speeds may push more-scoot use onto sidewalks, the group’s research suggested.

[Above photo via IIHS]

“Our results show that restricting scooters to low speeds offers a trade-off,” said Jessica Cicchino, IIHS vice president of research and the study’s lead author, in a statement.

“At slow speeds, riders are more likely to choose the sidewalk over the road,” she added. “That puts them in less danger from cars but could mean more conflicts with people on foot.”

IIHS noted that e-scooter use has blossomed in the United States since the first shared e-scoot program officially launched in 2017. But as ridership has increased, so have injuries and citizen complaints. In response, many towns and cities have required speed limiters for shared e-scooters, with a 15 mph maximum speed the common limit.

To help understand the effect of different maximum speeds, IIHS researchers compared rider behavior in Austin, TX, and Washington, D.C. Austin caps shared e-scooter speeds at 20 mph, while Washington, D.C., makes the maximum speed 10 mph — one of the lowest in the United States. Neither city has an effective way to require speed limiters on privately owned scooters, IIHS noted in its study.

In both cities, e-scooter riders overwhelmingly rode in bike lanes where they were available. Where there were no bike lanes, however, riders in Washington, D.C., were 44 percent more likely than Austin riders to choose to ride on the sidewalk – and were more likely to favor the sidewalk despite lower vehicle traffic volumes when compared to the 16 Austin observation sites.

Overall, however, riders tended to choose the sidewalk when motor vehicle traffic was heavier, as well as on arterials and two-way roads. In contrast, the researchers recorded an increase in e-scooter riders in vehicle travel lanes on weekends, possibly because of lighter traffic.

E-scooter riders are doubtless safer from fatal injuries when they’re not sharing the road with motor vehicles. However, the net impact of sidewalk riding on less serious injuries to e-scooter users and pedestrians is unclear. A previous IIHS study showed that most e-scooter rider injuries in Washington, D.C., happened on the sidewalk but also that injuries that occurred on the road were more severe.

“E-scooter users clearly take risk into account when choosing where to ride,” said IIHS’s Cicchino. “Many are also conscious of the risk of hitting a pedestrian. [But] slowing down the fastest sidewalk riders should help prevent crashes and reduce the severity of injuries when e-scooters hit pedestrians. The clear preference for bike lanes also gives communities another reason to focus on expanding their bicycle networks.”

The researchers also analyzed rider behavior in the central business district of Washington, D.C., where sidewalk riding is prohibited. Despite the ban, IIHS found that two-thirds of e-scooter users rode on the sidewalks at locations without bike lanes that area – noting that riders in the central business district without bike lanes were also 38 percent more likely than riders in Austin to choose the sidewalk over the street.

There’s little evidence sidewalk bans are any more effective elsewhere. Nevertheless, two-thirds of U.S. communities are considering them or have them in place already, according to a 2022 survey by the Behavioral Traffic Safety Cooperative Research Program.

Others are mulling banning e-scooters from all or certain roads. Improvements in e-scooter technology could offer an alternative solution, IIHS noted, with some e-scooter companies now deploying systems that can detect when their e-scooters are on sidewalks.

As this technology matures, it could be used to apply separate speed restrictions for sidewalk riders or prevent sidewalk riding altogether in key locations, IIHS noted.

Researchers at the University of Alabama Birmingham recently unveiled a new smartphone-based application called “StreetBit” that uses Bluetooth beacon technology to prevent pedestrians from becoming distracted while navigating road crossings.

[Above photo by the UAB]

The school said the StreetBit app sends auditory and visual warnings to a distracted pedestrian’s smartphone as they approach a street corner where Bluetooth beacons are installed.

A new study co-written by five UAB researchers shows that the application is not only helpful, but also cost-effective by providing a template of how existing data sources can be leveraged to do cost-benefit analyses for any interventions designed to enhance pedestrian safety.

“We hope the template developed in this study can facilitate large-scale implementation of any intervention designed to prevent pedestrian fatalities and injuries by providing policymakers with information on the net benefits of the intervention,” said Jillur Rahim, first author of the study and statistician II in the UAB School of Public Health, in a statement.

“The findings can lead to significant cost savings for the states and, most importantly, save pedestrian lives by facilitating large-scale adoption of such programs,” Rahim added.

UAB said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted that more than 7,000 pedestrians were killed in the United States because of crashes involving motor vehicles in 2020, and that part of this issue can be attributed to excessive smartphone-related distractions.

For its study, UAB researchers analyzed pedestrian injury and death rates, expected costs per injury, and prevalence of distracted walking and estimated that StreetBit, or similar interventions, can potentially save between $18 million and $29 million annually in Alabama alone.

Even under the most conservative scenario, StreetBit could yield an estimated net annual benefit of $11.8 million for the state, the researchers said.

The UAB claimed its analysis – entitled ‘Cost–benefit analysis of a distracted pedestrian intervention’ and published in Injury Prevention – is the first U.S.-based study to demonstrate how existing data can be leveraged to predict the net monetary benefits of distracted pedestrian intervention programs.

A revised active transportation plan or ATP recently issued by the Kansas Department of Transportation seeks to boost walking, bicycling, safe wheelchair use, skateboarding, and non-motorized vehicle mobility options across the state.

[Above photo by Kansas DOT]

Developed with extensive input from state residents – with guidance from various state agencies and partners as well as national and local experts in planning, design, and safety – the new plan is expected to serve as a guide for Kansas DOT and communities statewide on how to include and promote active transportation when planning roads, bridges, and other transportation infrastructure projects.

“Providing access to safe, direct and continuous routes for people whether they are driving, walking or cycling is essential for a healthy multimodal transportation system,” said Calvin Reed, acting secretary for Kansas DOT, in a statement.

“The vision of the ATP is for Kansas to be a place where people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds have safe and convenient active modes of travel available throughout the state,” he noted.

“This plan provides communities with information to develop active transportation opportunities through improved planning, design and partnerships with state agencies,” added Matt Messina, multimodal bureau chief for the agency.

“Whether Kansans use active transportation regularly, rarely or somewhere in between, infrastructure that supports all modes of transportation is critical for residents,” he pointed out.

Kansas DOT plans to host “Bike, Walk, and Roll” webinars starting May 24 to detail how local communities can help implement its new ATP. The agency is also hosting in-person “ATP Summit” Sept. 20-22 to offer more insight on the transportation options within the new plan.

State departments of transportation across the country are beefing up efforts to provide more active transportation options to their residents.

For example, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is working on its first-ever active transportation plan – a policy toolkit that can be used internally and by Oklahoma counties and towns as engineers and designers look to develop more people-friendly infrastructure.

The plan will address walking, biking, “wheelchairs and mobility scooters, pedal and electric scooters, electric bikes, skateboards, and other similar wheeled vehicles,” according to a website developed by the agency that details the plan’s contents.

The finished product will be more of a policy guide than a rule book, said Shelby Templin, an Oklahoma DOT certified planner who is heading up the plan’s development.

“We’re hoping this will guide our engineers and designers, in-house, as well as provide a starting-off point for smaller communities that may not have the resources,” she said. “It also will give the multi-modal group more of a leg to stand on for project development.”

The agency said its Active Transportation Plan is expected to be completed this summer and opened to a 30-day public comment period. In the fall, Oklahoma DOT expects to submit the plan to the Oklahoma Transportation Commission for approval.

The Washington State Department of Transportation unveiled a formal Active Transportation Plan in December 2021 – a plan that subsequently won the 2022 America’s Transportation Awards contest’s “People’s Choice Award.”

The West Virginia Department of Transportation recently issued $9.7 million worth of Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Program grants to fund 38 projects in 22 counties across the state.

[Above photo by WVDOT]

“We’ve learned that investing in our cities, towns, and beautiful parks is one of the best ways to attract tourists and improve the daily lives of our residents,” explained Governor Jim Justice (R) in a statement.

“This program provides millions of dollars to make some of the best places in West Virginia more accessible, which will also enhance visitation throughout the state,” he added. “The positive economic ripple effects will be off the charts, and I couldn’t be prouder to approve these well-deserved initiatives.”
Administered by WVDOT, grants via the West Virginia Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Program – which receives funding from the Federal Highway Administration – helps towns and cities build and improve sidewalks, lighting, walking paths, rail trails, and more.

According to the FHWA, its Recreational Trails Program or RTP provides funds to the states to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both non-motorized and motorized recreational trail uses.

The agency said that federal transportation funding seeks to boost “recreational activity” such as hiking, bicycling, in-line skating, equestrian use, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, off-road motorcycling, all-terrain vehicle riding, four-wheel driving, or using other off-road motorized vehicles.

The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, enacted in November 2021, reauthorized RTP funding from federal fiscal year 2022 through 2026 as a set-aside from the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside under the Surface Transportation Block Grant, with the amount set aside equal to the state’s FY 2009 RTP apportionment.