An article in the journal Injury Prevention examines the relative risk of injury for bicycling on cycle tracks versus in the street. The study, which was conducted in Montreal (where a relatively extensive and long-standing network of cycle tracks exists) compares bicyclist injury rates on six cycle tracks versus the risk rate (RR) on comparable reference streets.  The study found that the risk of injury for cyclists riding on cycle tracks is about 28 per cent lower than for cyclists riding on roads where they are unprotected from traffic.  Specifically, the RR of injury on cycle tracks was 0.72 (95 percent confidence interval 0.60 to 0.85) compared with bicycling in the reference streets.  The authors conclude that the “data suggest that the injury risk of bicycling on cycle tracks is less than bicycling in streets. The construction of cycle tracks should not be discouraged."

The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) is issuing this Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) to develop accessibility guidelines for shared use paths. Shared use paths are designed for both transportation and recreation purposes and are used by pedestrians, bicyclists, skaters, equestrians, and other users. The guidelines will include technical provisions for making newly constructed and altered shared use paths covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) and the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 (ABA) accessible to persons with disabilities.

Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted by June 27, 2011.  You can download the document and submit comments directly from the eRulemaking Program  website.

A new study sponsored by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) and the Royal College for Art (RCA) in the U.K. investigates how blind and partially-sighted people navigate the public realm in order to gain a better understanding of their needs and to embed this understanding into emerging street design practice. The study surveyed a range of urban designers, engineers, architects, and people with low vision in order to gain information and insights. The study attempts to look at how real people experience real street environments, and thereby seeks to move the debate away from abstract ideas and towards practical interventions informed by user experience.

It should be noted that the designs and guidance offered in this study may not be consistent with U.S. best practice and proposed guidance, which can found on the U.S. Access Board’s Public Rights-of-Way Advisory Committee (PROWAC) website.

A new report (FHWA-HRT-10-068) examines the relative daytime and nighttime visibility of three crosswalk marking patterns: transverse lines, continental, and bar pairs. The primary objective was to study the visibility of crosswalk markings by determining detection distance and identifying the variables that affect this distance.  The main conclusions of the study are:

• The detection distances to continental and bar pairs are statistically similar. The detection distances to continental and bar pairs are statistically different from transverse markings.
• For the existing midblock locations, a general observation is that the continental marking was detected at about twice the distance upstream as the transverse marking during daytime conditions. This increase in distance reflects 8 s of increased awareness of the crossing for a 30-mi/h operating speed.
• Participants preferred the continental and bar pairs markings over the transverse markings.

The study recommends that the following revisions to the MUTCD be considered:

• Add bar pairs as a usable crosswalk pattern.
• Provide typical dimensions for the marking patterns including spacing that will assist in avoiding wheel paths.
• Consider making bar pairs or continental the “default” for all crosswalks across uncontrolled approaches (i.e., not controlled by signals or stop signs), with exceptions allowing transverse lines where engineering judgment determines that such markings would be adequate, such as a location with low-speed residential streets.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently released two new fact sheets summarizing recent bicycle and pedestrian crash data for 2009.  The fact sheets present and analyze 2009 bike and ped crash data and compare it to previous years.  The factsheets can be read and downloaded at 2009 Pedestrians Safety Traffic Facts and 2009 Bicyclists Safety Traffic Facts.  Nationwide, both pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities declined substantially.

The Safe Routes to School National Partnership published a guide to curricula teaching bicycle and pedestrian safety.  The guide is designed to be used by educational practitioners and policy makers, government employees, parents, and students.

In its first two sections, the guide provides background and tips for systematic implementation of bicycle and pedestrian safety education.  The ‘Policies and Funding’ and the ‘Description of Categories’ sections will help teachers, parents, after-school instructors, bike club leaders, and bicycle and pedestrian professionals choose a curriculum that meets their needs.  The ‘Inventory’ section contains a matrix of basic information regarding various curricula around the country.  These are then described in more detail in the ‘Summary’ section, which offers one-page snapshots of each program, as well as a links to more information. 

Active Transportation Alliance has a website devoted to sharing information on Lakefront Trail conditions.  The website offers regular updates on the trail, including trail conditions, lakefront events and activities that impact the trail, detours, and trail-related news. The information comes from Active Trans staff, partners, and everyday trail users.  You can also follow updates to the webpage via Twitter: @activetransLFT, or on your phone by texting “follow activetransLFT” to 40404.

Ray LaHood, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, delivered the keynote address at this year’s Bike Summit in Washington D.C.  His main message was simple: “We have work to do” – in order to raise awareness among elected officials and all citizens of the economic, transportation, health, and environmental benefits of cycling and pedestrian investments. You can read his post about the Summit on his blog, Fastlane.dot.com.

In March, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) released its Urban Bikeway Design Guide at the National Bike Summit in Washington D.C.  The guide is part of the Cities for Cycling Initiative. The guide’s stated purpose is to provide cities with state-of-the-practice cycling solutions to create complete streets that are safe and enjoyable for bicyclists.

The guide is divided into five major sections, presenting innovative treatments and designs for bike lanes, cycle tracks, intersections, signals, and signs and marking.  There are also sections containing case studies from NACTO member cities, a matrix of all the treatments that the guide presents, and a list of the design guide project team members in each of the NACTO member cities.  The Bikes Belong coalition and the SRAM Cycling Fund sponsored the guide.

Most of the treatments in the guide are not directly referenced in the current versions of the AASHTO Guide to Bikeway Facilities or the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), although many of the elements are found within these documents. The Federal Highway Administration recently posted information regarding approval status of various bicycle related treatments not covered in the MUTCD, including many of the treatments provided in the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide. All of the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide treatments are in use internationally and in many cities around the U.S.

Active Transportation Alliance is holding a photo contest.  They are seeking photos of the best -- and the worst -- places to bike and walk in our region.  Photos submitted may be used in Active Trans publications to “help showcase the highlights (and ‘lowlights’) of biking and walking opportunities around Chicagoland.”

The contest will result in winners in the following geographic categories:

• City of Chicago
• Northwest Indiana
• North suburban Chicagoland
• West suburban Chicagoland
• South suburban Chicagoland

The winner in each category will receive complimentary registration to the MB Financial Bank Bike the Drive (5/29/11), Four Star Bike Tour (8/28/11) and a one-year membership to Active Transportation Alliance.  In addition, the person who uploads the most correctly tagged photos will win $250 and a complimentary registration to the MB Financial Bank Bike the Drive on Sunday, May 29, 2011.

The City of Chicago released the results of bike counts conducted at 26 locations around the city in the summer and fall of 2009.  The counts were made with automated pneumatic tube counters designed specifically to count bicycles but not motorized vehicles.  Counts were taken for 24 hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in warmer-weather conditions.  All but two of the count locations have on-street bikeway markings (bike lane, marked shared lane, or bus/bike lane).

Comparing the bike counts to 2006 vehicle counts shows that in some locations bicycles constitute a significant percent of roadway traffic (i.e. bicycles in relation to motor vehicles) – as high as 21.9 percent (at 640 N. Milwaukee Ave. in September).

Seventeen of the 26 count locations recorded more than 200 daily cyclists, with the highest count (again, at 640 N. Milwaukee Ave.) being 3,121 cyclists.

On January 4, 2011, President Obama signed the Pedestrian Safety Enhancement Act.  This law requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to ensure that electric and hybrid car manufacturers add noises that alert the blind and other pedestrians of their approach.  As the U.S. Secretary of Transportation wrote on his blog, Fastlane.com, “Because these cars operate so quietly, particularly at low speeds, they are involved in more accidents with pedestrians and cyclists, who can't hear the vehicle coming.”

According to a new report by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, planning and building bicycle and pedestrian projects creates more job per million dollars spent than road repairs and road resurfacing.  The study finds that in the City of Baltimore pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure projects create 11 to14 jobs per $1 million of spending, while road infrastructure projects create approximately 7 jobs per $1 million of expenditures.

U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) secretary Ray LaHood in his blog Fastlane.com stated that this study, when combined with a new survey released by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that indicates widespread public support -- 67 percent -- in America's cities for street designs that increase physical activity, “creates a powerful argument for continuing U.S. DOT's support for bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure projects.”

The Navy Pier Flyover, which received substantial funding under the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program, recently moved one step closer to becoming a reality.  Late last month, the City of Chicago Plan Commission approved the project.  You can see a presentation regarding the Flyover on the City of Chicago’s website.  The Plan Commission hearing and its decision was widely reported in local media, including the Chicago Tribune, Sun Times, Chicago Reader, and NBC Chicago.

The Flyover will create safer conditions by reducing conflicts between cyclists, pedestrians, and automobiles.  The Flyover will also provide congestion relief for cyclists, pedestrians and other Lakefront trail users near Navy Pier.

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has instituted a proceeding to clarify, update, and seek public comments on proposed changes to its existing regulations and procedures regarding the use of railroad rights-of-way for railbanking and interim trail use under the  National Trails System Act (Trails Act).

Comments are due by April 12, 2011; replies are due by May 12, 2011.

For more information and instructions on how to comment, see the Federal Register notice (February 16, 2011, Volume 76, Number 32).

The U.S. DOT Federal Railroad Administration Office of Railroad Safety issued draft guidance to railroads concerning pedestrian safety.  The document includes strategies and methods to prevent pedestrian accidents, incidents, injuries, and fatalities at or near passenger rail stations.  The report uses hazard analysis methods to evaluate the risk associated with the movement of pedestrians at or near passenger stations in light of the history of crashes that have resulted in serious pedestrian injuries and fatalities.  The report considers:

• Train-borne audible and visual warnings.
• Station-sited audible and visual warnings.
• Swing gates.
• ADA accessibility.

[Photo "Fast Trains" by Eric Alixx Rogers on Flickr.]

Walk Score created an enhanced version of its walkability ranking tool, which uses walking distances rather than “as the crow flies” distances, as well as intersection density and average block length.  The new version is called Street Smart Walk Score.  In addition, Walk Score revised the weights it assigns to various “amenities” or business types.  The Street Smart Walk Score search results show users exactly how many points each amenity contributed to their score.

A white paper providing a detailed explanation of how the Street Smart Walk Score algorithm works, as well as a rationale for choices made when designing the algorithm, can be found on Walk Score’s website.

According to its publisher, Cadence Press, Joyride: Pedaling Toward a Healthier Planet, tells the story of “Mia Birk’s 20-year crusade to integrate bicycling into daily life.”  As bicycle program manager in Portland, OR, Ms. Birk helped transform that city into one of the most bicycling-friendly cities in the United States.  She works today at Alta Planning + Design and teaches at Portland State University, where she co-founded the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation.

Through the generosity of Ms. Birk and her colleague at Alta Planning, Craig Williams (who is based here in Chicago), CMAP has two signed copies of Joyride to give away through a drawing.  To enter the drawing, email joneal@cmap.illinois.gov by March 8, 2011.   Indicate “book drawing” on the subject line of your email. If you are the winner, we will reply asking for your mailing address.  (Note that copies can only be mailed within the United States.)

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) will present a webinar in its Livable Communities Webinar Series entitled, “FHWA Resources for Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals,” on Tuesday, March 1, 2011, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CST.  The webinar will provide an overview of tools and resources available to communities to enhance walking and bicycling in their local area.

Presenters include:

• Dan Nabors, Senior Transportation Engineer at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc.,
• Charlie Zegeer, Director, Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
• Libby Thomas, Research Associate, UNC Highway Safety Research Center
• Tamara Redmon, Pedestrian/Bike Safety Team Leader, FHWA

Bridges are critical parts of most communities’ transportation networks, and making sure they safely accommodate people on foot or on bike allows for expanded mobility and transportation choice, as well as increased safety.  A new report from the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) shows how to successfully advocate for “complete” bridges, including lessons learned from several campaigns.