The National Center for Bicycling and Walking (NCBW) recently published a new fact sheet as part of its Active Living Resource Center (ALRC) entitled “Active Facts: Ramps and channels to link bikes and trains.”  The fact sheet offers information on infrastructure designed to overcome one of the most common barriers to use of bicycles at transit stations: stairs.  It provides details on designs and materials used for channels and ramps alongside stairs, which allow bicyclists to safely and easily roll their bikes up or down stairways.  In addition to transit stations, channels and ramps can be useful in any situation where stairs are present that bicyclists may need to use.

The Association of Bicycle and Pedestrian Professionals (APBP) will host a webinar on “road diets” on August 18, 2010 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. CDT.  A road diet narrows or eliminates travel lanes on a roadway in order to make more room for pedestrians and bicyclists, manage speed, and/or improve overall traffic flow.  Increasingly, cities and Transportation agencies around the country are implementing road diets to improve road conditions for all users and to enhance the opportunity for social and economic exchange in urban commercial and mixed use areas.  Presenters include Chicago’s own Mark de la Vergne, of Sam Schwartz Engineering.

The cost is $50 per site for APBP members and $75 per site for non-APBP members.  Register online.  For more information, contact Debra Goeks (262-228-7025 or deb@apbp.org).

One tool that planners and engineers use to improve the safety and functioning of roads for all users – especially pedestrians and bicyclists – is the “road diet.”  A road diet narrows or eliminates travel lanes on a roadway in order to make more room for pedestrians and bicyclists, manage speed, and/or improve overall traffic flow.  General information on road diets can be found at on the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) website and in “Lesson 15: Bicycle Lanes” in the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) University Course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation.

FHWA’s Highway Safety Information System (HSIS) recently released a summary report evaluating the effects of “road diet” treatments on crashes and injuries.   This report updates and replaces an earlier report (FHWA-HRT-04-082) on the same topic.  The treatment studied was the reduction from four lanes to three.  The report concludes that such road diets can result in a 19 to 47 percent reduction in crashes, depending on context and site characteristics.

Chicago now has its own small-scale bike sharing program.  The program is owned and operated by Bike and Roll Chicago, a bike rental and tour company, and currently consists of 100 bicycles stocked at six stations at various locations in or near downtown Chicago.  The Chicago B-cycle program uses bikes and (parking) stations provided by B-cycle, a joint venture of Trek Bikes, Humana Health Care, and the advertising agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky.  The system allows residents and visitors to rent bikes by the hour for errands or recreation using either a credit card or a B-cycle membership card.   While the 100 bikes in phase one of the Chicago B-cycle program may pale in comparison to Paris’ Velib program’s 20,000 bicycles, the goal, according to news reports, is to expand coverage over time.  For more information on bike-sharing programs, see MetroBike, LLC’s bike-sharing Blog.

Alderman Brendan Reilly of the 42nd Ward and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) recently presented plans for the Lakefront Path flyover near Navy Pier.  The proposed project will make it easier and safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other users traveling along the Lakefront Path in an area that now has many traffic conflicts.  The flyover would run from the Chicago River north to the Ohio Street Beach.  Readers can view a presentation given recently by CDOT staff on the 42nd Ward website.

The proposed $40 million project would be financed largely with federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds programmed by CMAP.  The flyover would provide a dedicated path for bicyclists and pedestrians where the sidewalk route currently conflicts both motor vehicles and pedestrians.

The second webinar in the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) series, Designing for Pedestrian Safety, will take place on Tuesday, August 3 at 1:00 p.m. CDT.  The webinar, “Sidewalk Design,” will cover pedestrian safety and design issues related to sidewalks and walkways, ADA requirements, and treatments to reduce pedestrian crashes, improve pedestrian mobility, and increase pedestrian activity.  The webinar is free.  More information and registration is available at the PBIC website.

According to a Northwest Herald article from July 7, 2010, McHenry County Board voted to retain a 10-foot-wide, multi-use path as part of the ongoing Walkup Road project.  In addition, the County will pay one half of the required local match for the construction of a pedestrian-bicycle bridge over Rakow Road at Pyott Road, along the McHenry County Prairie Trail, which was funded in large part by a Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) grant.

Walkup Road plans include a multi-use path running from Route 176 north to Pleasant Hill Road, which will provide access to Veteran Acres Park and the Prairie Rides Conservation Area. The County is again using CMAQ funding ($11.8M) for both the sidepath and the $23 million road project.  The cost associated with maintenance of the path will be the responsibility of the Crystal Lake Park District.

The pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Rakow Road is estimated to cost $856,000.  The bridge will be constructed as part of a project to widen Rakow Road – one of McHenry County’s most congested.  The bridge lies along the McHenry County Prairie Trail, which runs for twenty-six miles from Kane County (in the Village of Algonquin) to the Wisconsin border.

The County Board will pay half the required twenty percent local match – $85,600 – for the bridge.  The McHenry County Conservation District, who maintains the Prairie Trail, will pay the other half and the remainder will come from CMAQ funds.

The Walkup Road project is expected to be completed next year.  The $32 million Rakow Road project is expected to begin late this year or early next year and is planned to last for two years.

TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) has issued a request for consultant letters of interest in conducting a synthesis to document the regulatory, financial, and administrative tools used by communities to create vibrant pedestrian networks. Letters of interest are due August 13, 2010, and must be submitted using the Synthesis Consultant Letters of Interest web portal. Additional information on the submittal process is available online.

Easter Seals Project ACTION, in partnership with the Transportation Research Board (TRB), is offering a free online conference entitled “Promising Practices and Solutions in Accessible Transportation.”

The conference will take place from August 2 to August 5, 2010, with one session on each of the four consecutive days.  Sessions begin at 1:00 p.m. CDT and last approximately an hour and a half.  The deadline to RSVP is July 28.  The four sessions are as follows:

Session 1: Monday, August 2, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CDT
Accessible Taxis Getting the Cabs into Service on the Street

Session 2: Tuesday, August 3, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CDT
Technology in Transit: Innovation and Evaluation

Session 3: Wednesday, August 4, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CDT
Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines for Roundabouts and Intersections

Session 4: Thursday, August 5, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CDT
The Role of Transit-Oriented Development: Livable and Sustainable Communities

Presenters will include representatives from metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), transit agencies, academics, and advocates.  For more information, visit the Easter Seals website.  Register online.

AASHTO report Unlocking Gridlock

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) issued the first in a series of reports on the need to increase our nation’s Transportation system capacity.  The series is entitled, “Transportation Reboot: Restarting America's Most Essential Operating System.”  The first report is called “Unlocking Gridlock.”  The report outlines a four-pronged approach to “rebooting” our Transportation system to increase mobility.  One of the four prongs is to substantially increase travel by modes other than private automobile.  According to AASHTO, the actions needed to accomplish this mode shift are:

1. Increase public transit and transit ridership
2. Increase bicycle and walking trips
3. Shift freight from trucks to rail
4. Shift trips to intercity passenger rail

Increasing public transit ridership and increasing bicycle and walking trips will require investment in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure to facilitate those trips, and such investment is supported by AASHTO: “AASHTO supports the continuation of the Transportation Enhancement Program, which supports new bike and pedestrian facilities.”  AASHTO notes in their report that the increased Transportation system funding they propose ($375 billion) would provide between $500 million and $1 billion each year for Transportation Enhancement bicycle and pedestrian projects.

Officials from the Village of Frankfurt in Will County announced that construction will begin soon on a 1.2-mile paved multi-use bike path.  The 10-foot-wide path will travel along Sauk Trail Road through the Sauk Trail Forest Preserve between 80th Avenue and Harlem Avenue, with access points at Harlem Avenue, St. Andrews Way, and 80th Avenue.  The facility is shown in CMAP’s Regional Greenways and Trails Plan.

The path is funded in part by a $119,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.  Frankfort will provide the balance of the $254,475 cost for the facility. The project is a cooperative effort between the Village of Frankfort, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the Will County Forest Preserve, which owns the land and will maintain the path. Construction of the path is expected to be completed by the end of the fall.

Part 1 of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center’s (PBIC) Pedestrian Safety Webinar Series take place on July  20, 2010, from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. CDT.  The title of the webinar is “Introduction to Pedestrian Safety Design and Planning Principles.”

The webinar will provide an overview of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)/PBIC course, "Designing for Pedestrian Safety" and will also provide participants with a background in planning and pedestrian safety issues. Nationwide statistics on pedestrian safety and crash trends in the U.S. will be presented to give participants an understanding of the scope of the problem.

The presentation also covers key questions regarding pedestrian planning principles and related accommodations, and builds the case for including pedestrians in all Transportation and design decisions. Participants will then be presented with an overview of planning elements that affect pedestrian safety, including land use, connectivity, access management, site design, and level of service.

The instructors will be Michael Ronkin of Designing Streets for People, LLC, and Craig Allred, FHWA resource center technical specialist.  Online registration is available.

Chicago Public Radio (WBEZ), along with other area media, have picked up on the growing popularity in our region of bikable communities.   More and more suburban towns are acknowledging the desire of residents to live in places where you can comfortably and safely ride a bike or walk.  These communities are actively seeking ways to make that happen. WBEZ recently ran a piece on the Village of Homewood’s innovative approach to house-hunting.  The Village, with the help of Steve Buchtel of the Active Transportation Alliance, has promoted house-hunting trips by bike so that potential buyers can see just how bike-friendly the Village is.  CMAP’s draft GO TO 2040 plan, recommends the development of walkable and bikeable communities to increase livability.  Comments are currently being accepted on the draft GO TO 2040 plan until August 6, 2010.

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) hosts the Livable Communities Webinar Series in order to encourage safe walking and bicycling as a viable means of Transportation and physical activity.  The free webinars are offered every other month. Afterwards, the webinars are archived for free download.

Learn about the evolving best practices in the creation of bicycle boulevards.  This Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) webinar will draw from lessons learned in Portland, OR, and other cities across the nation.  Presenters Mia Birk of Alta Planning+Design and Greg Raisman of Portland Bureau of Transportation will describe the current state of the practice and the “next big thing” -- neighborhood greenways -- which incorporate the idea of bicycle boulevards with green streets, neighborhood enhancements, and community building.  This broader concept of sustainable, bike-friendly streets appeals to diverse groups and can help communities obtain funding.

The webinar is designed to help practitioners fully optimize existing bicycle boulevards. Attendees will learn about:

• route selection
• levels of intervention
• examples of challenges and solutions for a range of design issues
• neighborhood greenway strategies, and
• processes for getting project buy-in and approval

The webinar takes place Wednesday, July 21 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. CDT.  Cost is $50 per site for APBP members, $75 per site for non-APBP members.  Online registration is available.  For more information, contact Debra Goeks at 262-228-7025 or deb@apbp.org.

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) launched a web-based library collection of pedestrian and bicycle-related safety videos on its website.  Submitted from pedestrian and bicycle organizations from across the country, the videos can either be viewed online or downloaded from the site. Visitors to the PBIC Video Library can use the videos for any noncommercial projects including on websites, presentations, and for events. Users of the site can either browse available videos or search by topic area.

PBIC will continually seek and compile videos to be included in this Library.  If you have publicly available videos that you have developed and would like to be included in the Video Library, contact Katy Jones at jones@hsrc.unc.edu or 919-843-7007. All videos must be either in digital or DVD format, be educational and non-commercial, and be relevant to pedestrian and bicycle safety issues.

Localities and states have increasingly turned to land planning and urban design for help in reducing automobile use and related social and environmental costs.  However, the effects of such strategies on travel demand have not been generalized in recent years from the multitude of available studies. The authors of the article “: a meta-analysis,” published in the June issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association reviews and generalizes literature on the built environment and its affect on Transportation options and travel behavior.  Consistent with prior studies, the authors find that vehicle miles traveled (VMT) is most strongly related to measures of accessibility to destinations and secondarily to street network design variables.  According to the article, “walking is most strongly related to measures of land use diversity, intersection density, and the number of destinations within walking distance.”

The full article is available for free online.

Bike lanes now run down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue -- America’s “Main Street.”  As the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood wrote on his blog, “for too long, walking and biking have been overlooked as important forms of Transportation. Now we see local governments answering that call by creating new opportunities for people to take advantage of streetcars, transit, walking, and bike lanes. They’re taking the needs of pedestrians and cyclists into account like never before.”

The Federal Highway Administration released The National Bicycling and Walking Study: 15-year Status Report.  The report, by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC), discusses trends and outcomes in bicycling and walking since 1994.

More specifically, the report measures the progress made toward goals of lowering the number of fatalities while increasing the percentage of trips made by bicycling and walking.  Injury and fatality statistics are presented to measure this progress, as well as results from surveys related to travel habits.  This 15-year report, unlike two earlier reports, examines a range of efforts to increase bicycling and walking in the U.S.  Programs at the federal, state, and local levels are included, as well as case studies on best practices.  In addition, the report makes recommendations for research, policy, and other measures that can help achieve goals proposed in the original study.

For the second year in a row, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is making funds available through competitive grant program designed to assist local and tribal governments in establishing and implementing climate change initiatives.  The overall goal of the Climate Showcase Communities grant program is to create replicable models of sustainable community action that generate cost-effective and persistent greenhouse gas reductions while improving the environmental, economic, public health, or social conditions in a community.  The U.S. EPA expects to award approximately 25 cooperative agreements ranging from approximately $100,000 to $500,000. Approximately 5 percent of the total available funds ($500,000) are set aside for tribal governments.

Proposals are due by July 26, 2010, 4:00 p.m. EDT.