According to a report published by the Frontier Group and U.S. PIRG Education Fund, the downturn in vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) since 2004 has been led by young people.  The study reports that, from 2001 to 2009, the average annual number of vehicle-miles traveled by 16- to 34-year-olds decreased from 10,300 miles to 7,900 miles per capita – a drop of 23 percent.  The report attributes this trend to a number of ongoing reasons, including higher gas prices, new licensing laws, improvements in technology that support alternative transportation, and changes in Generation Y’s values and preferences.  In addition to the decrease in VMT among 16 to 34 year olds, other highlights from the study include:

• In 2009, 16 to 34-year-olds took 24 percent more bike trips than they did in 2001 (despite the age group shrinking in size by 2 percent).
• In 2009, 16 to 34-year-olds walked to destinations 16 percent more frequently than they did in 2001.
• From 2001 to 2009, the number of passenger-miles traveled by 16 to 34-year-olds on public transit increased by 40 percent.
• According to Federal Highway Administration, from 2000 to 2010, the share of 14 to 34-year-olds without a driver’s license increased from 21 percent to 26 percent.

Richard Florida, in the Atlantic Cities, has also written on this phenomenon.

The online magazine, Slate, has published a four-part series on the history, science, and future of walking in America.  The author, Tom Vanderbilt, argues that “America is a country that has forgotten how to walk.”  The series offers an overview of how scientists have studied pedestrians and what they believe they have learned and concludes with ideas on how experts believe the country might get people walking more again.

As reported by the Beacon-News, the Kendall County Highway Department is proposing that the County set aside money each year for bike trail construction along county and state roads. The Highway Department director has proposed setting aside $50,000 per year for bicycle and pedestrian trails and paths.  The money would come from the county’s transportation sales tax, which currently brings in approximately $4.8 million each year.

The 4th Urban Street Symposium and 2012 Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Midwestern District Meeting will take place June 24-27 in Chicago at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza (350 West Mart Center, Chicago). The symposium is intended to explore improvements in urban and suburban street design practices, encourage discussion on emerging street designs, and to facilitate the transfer of research findings on urban street design and design processes to state agencies and local governments.   The conference is sponsored by the ITE and TRB.

The Will County Board of Commissioners approved a construction contract for two sections of the DuPage River Trail, as highlighted in the Spring 2012 edition of the Forest Preserve of Will County’s newsletter, The Citizen.  One section is in Naperville, near 95^th Street and Naperville Road to near Knock Knolls Park in the DuPage River Preserve.  Last year, this trail connection was awarded $1.37 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement(CMAQ)  program funds.  This trail will link to a bicycle facility being built as part of an extension of 95^th Street over the DuPage River.

The other segment to be constructed is in the Village of Plainfield, from  Black Road (County Highway 56) to Sunset Ridge Park near the Hammel Woods Preserve.

The National Center for Safe Routes to School has released two new bicycling safety resources.

• “Helping Your Child Be a Safe Bicyclist” is a brochure for parents that covers bike safety basics, including proper helmet fit.
• “Ride Your Bike Safely” is a brochure with safety tips for elementary school students.

Both of these brochures, as well as links to additional bike safety resources, are available at www.walkbiketoschool.org/keep-going/bike-safety.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has a new child transportation safety campaign called Think Safe, Ride Safe, Be Safe!   The campaign is a collaboration between NHTSA and Ludorum, the producers of the Chuggington™ television series, which provides tools to help children walk, bicycle, ride school buses, and travel in motor vehicles more safely. The campaign includes child safety tools such as a Traffic Safety Pledge, Activity Book, banner ads and safety tips.

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has released the fourth edition of its Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, last published in 1999.

According to AASHTO, the guide “provides information on how to accommodate bicycle travel and operations in most riding environments. It is intended to present sound guidelines that result in facilities that meet the needs of bicyclists and other highway users. Sufficient flexibility is permitted to encourage designs that are sensitive to local context and incorporate the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.”

The guide is currently available for pre-order through AASHTO and is expected to ship in early June. The new edition of guide will also be available as a download. 

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) announced three new Walk Friendly Communities (WFC) and the elevation of one (Corvallis, OR) to a higher status level. Among the three new communities is the Village of Forest Park.  Congratulations, Forest Park.  The WFC program recognize cities or towns for their success in working to improve conditions for walking, over a wide range of factors, including safety, mobility, access, and comfort. PBIC recognizes these four communities for their commitment to improving walkability and pedestrian safety:

Gold Level
 Eugene, Oregon
 Corvallis, Oregon

Bronze Level
 New Orleans, Louisiana
 Forest Park, Illinois

The City of Chicago was honored with Gold Level Walk Friendly status in 2011.

Kane County Division of Transportation and the Kane/Kendall Council of Mayors (KKCOM), in conjunction with the Forest Preserve District of Kane County, have completed the update of the Kane County Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan.  The original planning study was completed in 2002, and since then, a number of changes have occurred within the KKCOM planning area, including a substantial increase in population and increasing development pressure, especially in eastern Kane and Kendall County.

You can find links to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan and to the new bicycle planning and user maps on Kane County DOT’s Planning and Programming website.

Last month, the Chicago City Council approved a plan to partner with Portland, Oregon-based Alta Bicycle Share to operate the City’s first large-scale bike-sharing program until 2027.  The bike share program received $18 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement program funding for the first phase, which calls for 3,000 bikes and 300 docking stations to be installed by the end of 2012, with an additional 1,000 bikes and 100 stations in 2013 to be funded by a U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant.

An Herald-News article covers the beginning of construction of a bike path in the Village of Plainfield along the south side of119^th Street, from Heritage Meadows Drive to Olympic Drive.  The path is expected to be finished within a month and will provide a needed connection with the existing bike path network.

The Chicago Tribune covers the City of Evanston’s plan to install a protected bike lane, or “cycle track,” on Church Street, between Dodge Avenue and the lakefront.  For more information on protected bike lanes, see the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Urban Bikeways Design Guide.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) will host a free webinar on raised median islands and pedestrian safety on May 30 from noon to 1:30 p.m. CT.  The webinar will discuss design considerations for raised median islands, address barriers to implementing these countermeasures, and present case studies of agencies that have been using these treatments to improve pedestrian safety.  Presentations will be by Charlie Zegeer (UNC Highway Safety Research Center), Sheila Lyons (Oregon DOT), Gary Sokolow (Florida DOT), and Jack Ecklund (City of University Place).  Advance registration is required and for more information, visit the PBIC website.

The Mineta Transportation Institute has released a report examining practices and program characteristics associated with high levels of non-motorized travel.  The study features case studies from three California cities – Davis, Palo Alto, and San Luis Obispo. These case studies are intended to illustrate how urban communities can better integrate non-motorized transportation modes into the existing physical infrastructure, as well as reach out to and educate community residents and employees on the benefits of walking and cycling.

The study recognizes that, while many manuals, handbooks, and guides on planning and designing bicycle and pedestrian facilities already exist, there is little indication about which of the varied treatments in these guides work well for users. While some cities are highly acclaimed for deploying bicycle-friendly and walking facilities, mostlag behind and lack the resources to assess what is needed to integrate these facilities with other means of travel. This study attempts to bridge that gap.

A recent article in the journal Transportation analyzes the variation in bike commuting in large American cities, with a focus on assessing the influence of bike paths and lanes on bike commute rates.  Using new data on the total length of such bikeways in 90 cities and applying various statistical analysis methods, the study finds thatcities with a greater supply of bike paths and lanes have significantly higher bike commute rates, even when controlling for land use, climate, socioeconomic factors, gasoline prices, public transportation supply, and cycling safety.  The analysis also revealed that cities with safer cycling, lower auto ownership, more students, less sprawl, and higher gasoline prices had more residents cycling to work. By comparison, annual precipitation, the number of cold and hot days, and public transport supply were not statistically significant predictors of bike commuting in large cities.

The City of Chicago has scheduled a series of meetings and webinars to review and discuss a draft network for future bikeway facilities, remaining challenges, and next steps.

The purpose of the Streets for Cycling Plan 2020 is to identify locations for up to 250 miles of traditional and innovative bicycle facilities that will encourage all Chicagoans to use their bikes to get around their neighborhoods.  You can read more about the plan's benchmarks and goals online.  The Streets for Cycling 2020 plan received $32M from CMAP’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) program.

Event details are as follows:

Public Meetings

Copernicus Center

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

5216 W. Lawrence Ave.

4:00 to 8:00 p.m., presentation with Q&A at 4:30 & 6:30p.m.

Gary Comer Youth Center- Exhibition Hall, 3rd floor

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

7200 S. Ingleside Ave.

4:00 to 8:00 p.m., presentation with Q&A at 4:30 & 6:30p.m.

Douglas Park Cultural and Community Center- Ballroom

Wednesday, June 6th, 2012

1401 S. Sacramento Dr.

4:00 to 8:00 p.m., presentation with Q&A at 4:30 & 6:30p.m.

Open House

77 S. Dearborn– Building Lobby

Saturday, June 9th, 2012

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Webinars

Webinar #1

June 11, 2012

Noon to 1:00 p.m.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: http://goo.gl/lEV2k

Webinar #2

June 13, 2012

6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Reserve your Webinar seat now at: http://goo.gl/CQSS9

The Mineta Transportation Institute has released a report that evaluates literature related to the risks associated with cycling, and explores case studies regarding bicycle safety.

The report gives an overview of the risks associated with cycling to emphasize the need for safety.  The report uses the framework of the 5 Es—engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, and evaluation—to organize a literature review, with particular attention to engineering and education.

The report includes case studies on bicycle safety programs and projects from San Jose (education), Berkeley (engineering and evaluation), Davis (engineering, education, and enforcement), and Portland (the education and encouragement efforts of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance).

The City of Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has released a before and after report with data demonstrating that implementation of a road diet (on Nickerson Street, completed in August 2010) resulted in improved safety for all users. According SDOT, the project, completed in August 2010, reduced collisions by 23 percent, helped prevent speeding, and did not result in traffic diversion to other streets.

The Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota has released a report that explores approaches to distinguish bicycles from pedestrians for traffic counting applications.

The primary goal of the study is to develop a practical vision-based bicycle counting system that is capable of automatically processing video stream data of traffic scenes involving bicycle and pedestrian activity and estimating their traffic counts.

The authors argue that, once deployed, vision-based counting systems can potentially be the least expensive and easiest method to do counting. This is due to the fact that cameras themselves are relatively inexpensive and easy to use.  In addition, the authors believe that in many places communities will be able to leverage the already existent security cameras, which can further reduce expenses.  Algorithms that perform image analysis and object classification are presented and discussed

With funding from the Martin County, Florida Community Redevelopment Agency, Dan Burden’s Walkable and Livable Communities Institute has created three short educational videos to help the general public understand the basics of walkability, road diets, and head-out angled parking.