Active Transportation

A number of state departments of transportation are pushing ahead with projects that support “active transportation” activity; a catch-all term that refers to infrastructure development that supports pedestrian, bicycling, and other “active” forms of mobility.

[Above photo by the Utah DOT]

The Utah Department of Transportation recently completed a $415 million I-15 Technology Corridor project that not only expanded highway capacity to support “explosive” population and business growth along the border of Salt Lake and Utah Counties but improved existing multi-use trail systems, bike lanes, and transit capacity as well.

Utah DOT said the incorporation of infrastructure “elements” supporting pedestrian and bicycling activity proved key to the overall success of the I-15 Technology Corridor project.

Prior to construction, active transportation in the area had been poor with at-grade sidewalk crossings and minimal connectivity to existing trails, the agency said. Through analysis and collaboration with multiple agencies, Utah DOT created an active transportation network with shared-use paths parallel to the frontage roads and other streets via the construction of pedestrian bridges and under-crossings.

“The Tech Corridor project was much more than just a transportation project for motor vehicles. Along with it, we now have a great looped bike and pedestrian path on each side of the freeway,” explained Kim Struthers, community development director for Lehi City, in a statement.

“This will allow easier commuting to our employment center by alternate modes of transportation. It will also serve recreational users, and allows bikers, walkers, and joggers to tie into the extensive surrounding network of trails including the Murdock Canal Trail, Jordan River Parkway Trail, and the Southern Rail Trail,” she explained. “A key component to the looped trail system is the grade-separated crossings at the I-15 at the S.R. 92 interchange, Triumph Blvd. and State Street that allow people to get across the freeway and major arterial roads in a much safer and comfortable way.” 

Meanwhile, the Oregon Department of Transportation is supporting an effort by the Portland Bureau of Transportation to install the next phase of the $13.7 million Congressman Earl Blumenauer Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge. During the weekend of October 8, that 450,000-pound and 400-foot-long bridge – spanning I-84 – crews will lift and roll the structure into place.

Following the initial bridge placement, crews will connect the bridge to the north landing as part of the final phase of construction. When complete, the Blumenauer Bridge will connect pedestrians and people biking on NE 7th Avenue between two of Portland’s fastest-growing neighborhoods –Lloyd and the Central Eastside – and beyond. In the future, it will also serve as an important link for Portland’s Green Loop, Oregon DOT said in a statement.

When it opens in summer 2022, the agency said the bridge would also be “seismically resilient” and serve as a backup route for emergency vehicles over I-84 in the event of an earthquake. In addition to the bridge, the project includes two new public plazas and landings on the north and south sides of the bridge.

ODOT supports this effort with the city of Portland as they work to maintain a safe and modern transportation system, part of ODOT’s Strategic Action Plan.

Finally, the Washington State Department of Transportation recently invited the public to comment on the next phase of the state’s active transportation plan. WSDOT – which published part one of its active transportation plan in May – said the deadline for comments on part two of the plan is October 29.

Part one of the plan provided an assessment of the needs for accessible pedestrian and bicyclist facilities, highlighted safety concerns, and detailed the first-ever examination of state right-of-way and its suitability for active transportation. The agency said part two provides an overview of the performance metrics strategy needed to support implementation of the recommendations identified in part one of the plan.

The new phase of the plan comes during a time when motor vehicle crashes resulting in the deaths of people walking or bicycling are occurring at a higher rate in Washington State than the averages for 2010 through 2019. Those fatal crashes made up 22 percent of all traffic deaths in the state in 2020. Early in the pandemic walking and bicycling soared, and WSDOT’s multimodal transportation dashboard continues to show higher use of active transportation than in 2019.

“We analyzed state highway routes in our needs assessment because they now serve as local streets as population centers have expanded. In the past we haven’t had the data to describe the critical characteristics of these highway segments,” noted Barb Chamberlain, director of WSDOT’s Active Transportation Division, in a statement. “We’re now laying out the strategies needed to address the effects of having that mix of uses interacting,” she noted. “We’re especially focused on safety because decreasing the chance of a serious or fatal crash benefits everyone using the system, not just those who are walking or rolling and are more exposed to the consequences.”

In late August, the New York State Department of Transportation completed work on two projects that enhance safety for pedestrians along the 90-mile corridor of State Route 25 and portions of three other roads in Nassau and Suffolk counties. 

[Above photo by NYSDOT]

Those two projects – costing $11.3 million and completed on time and under budget, NYSDOT stressed – added more than 250 new curb ramps, more than 1,800 feet of new or upgraded sidewalks, and dozens of new traffic signals and signs that will improve travel conditions for both pedestrians and motorists on some of Long Island’s busiest roadways.

“If we are serious about securing a greener future for all New Yorkers, making our streets safer and more walkable needs to be at the top of our agenda,” noted Governor Kathy Hochul (D) in a statement. “More and more people are taking to the roads again as our state continues coming back from the pandemic, and we must continue working to improve accessibility and make our streets and highways more accommodating to all modes of transportation.”

“Safety is [our] number one priority,” added Marie Therese Dominguez, NYSDOT commissioner. “Unfortunately, too often motorists are traveling at unsafe speeds or they are distracted, resulting in devastating motorist-pedestrian crashes. In addition to promoting safe driving and enforcement, these projects exemplify New York State DOT’s efforts to build safer corridors in communities across New York. A 21st Century transportation network demands that we go beyond just motor vehicles and accommodate all modes of transit so that communities continue to prosper and grow.”

The first of those projects – an $8.6 million initiative along State Route 25 that added approximately 300 new pedestrian safety enhancement measures, both large and small, along the entire stretch of the road from the New York City border to Orient Point – cost roughly $1 million less than the initial estimated costs. 

A second $2.7 million project – running some $600,000 less than expected – built 123 new Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant curb ramps on State Route 24 in the Town of Hempstead, State Route 25A (Main Street) in the Town of Huntington, and State Route 27 in the Town of Southampton.  That also included the construction of nearly 800 feet of new sidewalks along with the modernization of over a dozen pedestrian crossing signals and the addition of new pedestrian crossing signs.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation’s Office of Highway Safety has launched a new campaign to raise awareness about a new statewide pedestrian safety law that goes into effect on October 1.

[Above photo Of Asylum Street in Hartford, CT, via Wikimedia Commons]

Dubbed the Pedestrian Rules campaign, it seeks to educate residents about how that new pedestrian safety law expands the circumstances under which motorists must yield the right-of-way to pedestrians at marked and unmarked crosswalks not controlled by traffic signals or police officers.  

Currently, a driver must yield to a pedestrian, slowing or stopping as necessary, if the pedestrian has stepped off the curb or into the crosswalk. Under the new law, a driver must slow or stop as necessary if the pedestrian:

• Is within any portion of the crosswalk.
• Steps to the curb at a crosswalk’s entrance and indicates intent to cross by raising a hand or arm to oncoming traffic
• Indicates intent to cross by moving any body part or extension of a body part into the crosswalk entrance, including a wheelchair, cane, walking stick, crutch, bicycle, electric bicycle, stroller, carriage, cart, or leashed or harnessed dog.

As under existing law, motorists who fail to yield at a crosswalk when required are subject to a $500 fine, the Connecticut DOT said.

Meanwhile, the act of “dooring” will also become illegal in Connecticut on October 1. That new law prohibits a person from causing physical contact between a vehicle door and moving traffic by (1) opening the door, if the moving traffic is traveling at a reasonable speed with due regard for the safety of people and property, or (2) leaving it open longer than needed to load or unload passengers.

“Across the country, we are seeing increased pedestrian fatalities and injuries,” said Joseph Giulietti, commissioner of the Connecticut DOT, in a statement.

“Nationally, we saw an unprecedented 55 percent increase in pedestrian deaths between 2009 and 2018,” he added. “And although we are seeing a small recent decrease, pedestrian fatalities recorded in 2018 and 2019 have not been this high since 1990.”

According to preliminary estimates released in June by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, pedestrian fatalities in 2020 totaled 6,205 – the same as 2019, the agency noted. Yet agency data indicates that the 2019 number is 44 percent higher compared to pedestrian fatalities recorded in 2010.

“This new pedestrian safety law is an important step to keep everyone safe, and ultimately save lives,” added Giulietti.

Concurrently, various states across the country are achieving significant reductions in pedestrian fatalities.

For example, while a report issued by the Governors Highway Safety Association in March showed pedestrian fatalities trended up in the first half of 2020, the report also noted how several state-directed efforts are successfully improving pedestrian safety.

That report found that pedestrian fatalities during the first half of 2020 declined in 20 states and Washington D.C. compared with the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, nine states – Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina – witnessed double-digit percentage and numeric declines in pedestrian fatalities in the first six months of 2020 compared to the same six-month period in 2019.

Based on analysis of 2017-2020 data, Arizona has experienced two consecutive years of declining pedestrian fatalities, while Delaware and Kentucky have experienced three consecutive years of declining pedestrian deaths.

GHSA’s report noted that most pedestrian fatalities occur on local roads, in the dark, and away from intersections – suggesting the need for safer road crossings and increased efforts to make pedestrians more visible through improved lighting and other countermeasures.

The New Mexico Department of Transportation recently adopted a five-year pedestrian safety plan that focuses on reducing pedestrian fatalities statewide, making infrastructure improvements, launching informational pedestrian safety campaigns, plus change key policies and procedures.

[Above photo by the New Mexico DOT]

The agency said plan – formally known as the “New Mexico Pedestrian Safety Action Plan” – seeks to reverse a climb in the number of pedestrian fatalities statewide. New Mexico suffered 83 pedestrian fatalities in 2019, the highest per-capita pedestrian fatality rate in the country, with another 95 pedestrians suffering serious injuries that same year.

“We must take action and the department is committed to making pedestrians safer in New Mexico,” explained Transportation Secretary Mike Sandoval in a statement. “Comprehensive pedestrian safety isn’t just a governor’s priority, it isn’t just an NMDOT priority – it’s a country, state, county, and city priority.”

He noted that New Mexico DOT’s pedestrian safety project team developed its new five-year plan following two years of research and outreach, which included gathering internal, public, and external stakeholder input, as well as cataloging and adopting national best practices.

New Mexico DOT’s efforts reflect a larger push among state departments of transportation nationwide to reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries.

For example, while a report issued by the Governors Highway Safety Association showed pedestrian fatalities trended up in the first half of 2020, that same report also noted how several state-directed efforts are successfully improving pedestrian safety.

GHSA’s annual Spotlight on Highway Safety report found that the U.S. pedestrian fatality rate increased 20 percent in the first six months of 2020 as speeding, distracted, and impaired driving – as well as other dangerous driving behaviors – increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yet that report also found that pedestrian fatalities during the first half of 2020 declined in 20 states and Washington D.C. compared with the same period in 2019. Meanwhile nine states – Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina – witnessed double-digit percentage and numeric declines in pedestrian fatalities in the first six months of 2020 compared to the same six-month period in 2019.

The Adventure Cycling Association and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials announced the designation of 18 new bicycle routes in five states, adding 2,903 miles to U.S. Bicycle Route System.

[Above photo by WSDOT]

The two groups said the new routes in California, Indiana, Ohio, Utah, and Washington State represent the largest addition to the USBRS to date in terms of both the number of designations and their total mileage. They added that two other routes – one in California and the other in Florida – were “realigned” to improve the bicycling experience.

With those new designations, the USBRS now extends 17,734 miles across 31 states and Washington, D.C., with at least 40 states currently developing U.S. Bicycle Routes.

“Twice each year, state departments of transportation play a significant role in the expansion of the U.S. Bicycle Route System by designating new routes,” said Jim Tymon, AASHTO’s executive director, in a statement.

“This summer, we are not only witnessing the highest number of designations in any single period to date, but we are also seeing why making improvements to existing routes when possible is important,” he noted. “In Northern California, for example, officials realigned U.S. Bicycle Route 50 to take advantage of a new paved path that is making cycling in the region safer and better than ever before.”

“With this addition of nearly 3,000 miles, the U.S. Bicycle Route System continues to pick up momentum — and the growth of the system benefits every person who has, is, or will be traveling by bike,” added Scott Pankratz, executive director of Adventure Cycling. “Adventure Cycling applauds our state department of transportation partners, who understand the role bike travel plays in our national infrastructure, supporting health and wellness, transforming communities, and increasing economic activity across the country.”

On February 23, AASHTO and Adventure Cycling signed a memorandum of understanding or MOU to formalize their 16-year partnership, which seeks to establish more than 50,000 miles of bike routes across the country.

The Utah Department of Transportation is seeking public feedback through August 28 on the agency’s overall Active Transportation Plan, so it can “better understand” the community’s needs for more bike lanes, trails, multiuse paths, crosswalks, and sidewalks for state roads.

[Above photo by the Utah DOT]

“Community input is essential in making sure we build projects the right way,” Heidi Goedhart, Utah DOT’s active transportation manager, in a statement. “Our emphasis is to build a complete transportation system where people can choose how they travel.”

The agency added that public input will help it develop active transportation plans to provide better access to trails and paths on state routes. Active transportation is human-powered transportation like walking, biking, using a wheelchair, or hand cycling and provides more options for people to access jobs, education, and other services within their communities, the Utah DOT noted.

The agency said state residents could provide feedback in several ways: By visiting its active transportation project website at publicinput.com/udotplanning and responding via a quick survey and/or pin a location on a map; sending an email to planning@utah.gov; or phoning in comments to 385-360-1900. 

Utah DOT’s active transportation efforts are the latest in a series of similar initiatives launched by state departments of transportation across the country.

The Ohio Department of Transportation, for example, recently unveiled a bicycling and pedestrian “framework” to advance statewide development of active transportation over the next five years.

The agency said its new Walk.Bike.Ohio plan – constructed over the last two years based on input from local governments, other state agencies, and the public – seeks to improve mobility, safety, and quality of life as part of “equitable investments” statewide in walking and bicycling infrastructure, maintenance, programs, and policies.

In May, the Washington State Department of Transportation made sections of its new “Washington State Active Transportation Plan, 2020 and Beyond: Part 1” available online as part of its efforts to support more transit, bicycle, and pedestrian options.

That plan assesses the needs for accessible pedestrian and bicyclist facilities, highlights safety concerns and provides the first-ever examination of state right of way and its suitability for active transportation.

In December 2020, the Kansas Department of Transportation began gathering public feedback on the state’s first active transportation plan in 25 years. The agency noted that funding for active transportation investment is included within the state’s 10-year Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, or IKE, signed into law in early April 2020.

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The Ohio Department of Transportation has unveiled a bicycling and pedestrian “framework” to advance statewide development of active transportation over the next five years.

[Above photo by the Ohio DOT]

The agency said its new Walk.Bike.Ohio plan – constructed over the last two years based on input from local governments, other state agencies, and the public – seeks to improve mobility, safety, and quality of life as part of “equitable investments” statewide in walking and bicycling infrastructure, maintenance, programs, and policies.

“Nearly one out of every 10 Ohio households does not have access to a motor vehicle, meaning active transportation options like walking and bicycling are necessary to meet basic needs,” said Governor Mike DeWine (R) in a statement.

“When we ensure that walking and biking are safe, convenient, and accessible options – everybody wins,” he added. “The Walk.Bike.Ohio plan puts us on the right path to do that.”

The Ohio DOT noted that recent trends in safety, health, and demographics highlight what the agency called an “urgent need” for safer, accessible, and more convenient options for walking and biking in communities across the state.

In Ohio, people walking and biking make up about 14 percent of all traffic deaths, despite making up just 2.6 percent of trips to work, with “high need” populations and areas of the state experiencing a disproportionate amount – nearly double – of the severe pedestrian and bicycle crashes.

In 2020, the agency there were 164 people killed and 469 people seriously injured while traveling along or across Ohio’s roadways on foot. From 2019 to 2020 alone, pedestrian deaths increased by 30 percent, with the most notable increases occurring at intersections with unmarked crosswalks (up 600 percent), at unmarked, mid-block locations (up 84 percent), and in circumstances involving speed (up 60 percent).

“Although the publication of Walk.Bike.Ohio is a major milestone for Ohio, it is just the beginning of the work necessary to achieve our vision,” said Jack Marchbanks, Ohio DOT’s director.

For example, an economic impact analysis completed as part of this effort found that existing trips by foot or bike could save Ohioans $12.7 billion in transportation and environmental costs over the next 20 years. Furthermore, in walking and biking rates increase by just over 1 percent statewide, an additional $5 billion in cost savings over the next two decades.

In addition to economic benefits, connected active transportation networks can also play a role in improving Ohio’s ranking of 40th in the United States for overall health outcomes and 47th for health behaviors, which include obesity and physical inactivity.

The Ohio DOT active transportation plan is also an “opportunity” to address growing mobility “needs and preferences,” the agency said. In 1983, about 46 percent of 16-year old Americans had a driver’s license, according to the Federal Highway Administration. By 2014, that number had dropped to just over 24 percent. In Ohio, the number of 16- and 17-year old drivers fell from 84,985 in 2016 to 70,678 in 2020.

Additionally, as the share of Ohio’s population over 65 continues to grow, more state residents may rely on or prefer transit and active transportation options, the Ohio DOT noted.

The hope, said the agency, is that its five-year active transportation plan will serve as a “useful tool” for decision-makers at all levels of government in Ohio as they look at ways to make the state more walkable and bike accessible. “The development of Walk.Bike.Ohio has helped us to establish a statewide vision for walking and biking, informed by practitioners and the public,” Caitlin Harley, Ohio DOT’s active transportation manager. “This plan outlines what Ohio DOT will seek to advance over the next five years in order to improve walking and biking as a transportation option in Ohio.”

Reducing fatalities among pedestrians and improving safety for all travelers is the focus of a new statewide safety campaign launched by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

[Above photo by the Minnesota DOT]

The theme for this campaign – “Let’s Move Safely Together” – highlights safety tips that remind people to use extra caution when driving and walking. So far this year, the Minnesota DOT said 24 people have died while walking on roads statewide, while 224 people died in vehicle crashes.

The move follows the release of the Minnesota DOT’s first Statewide Pedestrian System Plan in May 2021 – a plan that provides “policy and investment guidance” to improve places where people walk across and along Minnesota highways.

“One life lost on our roadways is too many. When we work as a team and watch out for each other, we can save lives and make progress Toward Zero Deaths,” said Margaret Anderson Kelliher, the agency’s commissioner, in a statement.

“That means drivers need to slow down and stop for people crossing the road,” she added. “When you’re walking, look all ways before crossing and stay alert because people driving may not see you.”

The agency is highlighting aspects of this safety campaign via its Pedestrian Safety Education website as well via social media channels and through television, newspaper, digital, and radio ads across the state now through October.

State departments of transportation across the country are ramping up efforts to address pedestrian safety needs.

For example, while a report issued in March by the Governors Highway Safety Association showed pedestrian fatalities trended up in the first half of 2020, the report also noted how several state-directed efforts are successfully improving pedestrian safety.

GHSA’s annual Spotlight on Highway Safety report found that the U.S. pedestrian fatality rate increased 20 percent in the first six months of 2020 as speeding, distracted, and impaired driving – as well as other dangerous driving behaviors – increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, pedestrian fatalities during the first half of 2020 declined in 20 states and Washington D.C. compared with the same period in 2019. Meanwhile, nine states – Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina – witnessed double-digit percentage and numeric declines in pedestrian fatalities in the first six months of 2020 compared to the same six-month period in 2019. GHSA’s report noted that most pedestrians are killed on local roads, in the dark, and away from intersections – suggesting the need for safer road crossings and increased efforts to make pedestrians more visible through improved lighting and other countermeasures.

The New Jersey Department of Transportation and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection are co-hosting the state’s first ever trails summit to demonstrate opportunities to create robust trail networks throughout the state.

[Above photo by the New Jersey DOT]

Kicking off on September 1st, the month-long 2021 New Jersey Trails & Greenways Summit will be a free online event aimed at broadening the conversation around trails and increasing local knowledge about the funding, design, construction, maintenance, and use of multi-use paths, trail crossings and Complete Streets.

The New Jersey DOT added that the summit would also feature a variety of webinars and online social mixers along with Saturday morning mobile workshops hosted by bicycle clubs and nonprofit organizations statewide.

“Trails are an increasingly important piece of the transportation network in New Jersey, providing safe corridors for walking and bicycling,” explained NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti in a statement. “These networks connect neighborhoods and communities while also providing important resources for public health and wellbeing.” “Trails are truly at the intersection of conservation and recreation, providing access to preserved places and scenic landscapes,” added NJDEP’s Acting Commissioner Shawn LaTourette. “This inaugural summit will allow trail planners, builders, and advocates to gather, share resources, and collaborate on a ‘future-focused trails vision’ that incorporates climate resilience and promotes environmental justice.”

The Minnesota Department of Transportation released its first Statewide Pedestrian System Plan on May 26 – a plan that provides policy and investment guidance to improve places where people walk across and along Minnesota highways.

[Photo by Minnesota DOT]

The plan identifies current priority areas for investments while laying out specific strategies to improve walking availability and accessibility statewide for the next 20 years.

“This plan provides an important framework and will help ensure we are meeting the needs and interests of people, today and into the future,” explained Minnesota DOT Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who serves as chairperson of the AASHTO Committee on the Environment, in a statement.

“Creating safe places for people to walk is essential to improving equity and mobility, addressing climate change, and ultimately providing a better quality of life for everyone,” she said.
Kelliher added that the agency’s Statewide Pedestrian System Plan offers policy direction, identifies investment need, and provides technical guidance to improve the state transportation system for people who walk. It also sets performance measures to track progress towards creating a better pedestrian system and identifies strategies to protect people walking from the effects of climate change.

The Minnesota DOT noted that work on its pedestrian plan begin in February 2019 and included two public engagement efforts that reached 2,700 people statewide. The agency also installed seven pedestrian safety demonstrations projects across Minnesota to highlight certain safety measures in action to the public.

“This plan helps [us] identify opportunities and implement the right strategies on projects to make walking safer and more convenient for all Minnesotans,” noted Tori Nill, director of Office of Transit and Active Transportation within the Minnesota DOT. “While the plan doesn’t tell us exactly what to do in every situation, it does provide the tools we need to make those decisions and make sure pedestrian safety is included on every highway project,” Nill said.