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. 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed an online resource, the Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for walking and cycling.  The tool estimates the economic savings resulting from reductions in mortality as a consequence of regular cycling and/or walking. Simply put, HEAT calculates an answer to the following question: "If x number of people cycle or walk y distance on most days, what is the economic value of mortality rate improvements?"  While default parameters are set for the European context, they can be adapted to various situations.

The League of Illinois Bicyclists (LIB) has won this year’s Alliance for Biking and Walking Advocacy Award for Best Practices, which honors an organization that serves as a model for other bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations, and states that LIB “played a critical role in the effort to preserve dedicated funding for biking and walking in the next federal transportation bill,” and, by working with local groups, showcased “the importance and power of effective partnerships.”

The American Heart Association (AHA) is offering funding through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant to support ongoing public policy change campaigns that address childhood obesity, including programs that "increase physical activity during the school day and out-of-school programs" and  that "increase physical activity by improving the built environment in communities."  For more information and instructions on how to apply, visit the AHA website.

This webinar is designed to teach the “ins and outs” of fundraising for Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs.

Participants will be given tips and tricks on where to find funding for SRTS projects and programs and how to go about obtaining it.  Scott Bricker, executive director of America Walks, will provide an overview of the issues surrounding fundraising and advice on how to develop appropriate goals and objectives.  Ian Thomas, Executive Director of the PedNet Coalition, will go into an in-depth discussion of what type of budget your program may need, potential sources of funds, and tips for successfully raising money from those sources. Finally, Kathy Smith, a program officer from the Partners for Health Foundation, will provide a Foundation's perspective on grant applicants and provide tips on how you can "look" ready for funding.

The webinar takes place tomorrow, April 24, 2012, at 12:00 p.m. CT.  The webinar is free but requires advance registration.

In March, the magazine Autoweek, covered Volvo Car Corporation’s plan to begin manufacturing its V40 sedan with a pedestrian airbag that deploys across the windshield in the event the car hitting a pedestrian. The airbag ejects from the hood to protect pedestrians from injury.  Volvo previewed the car and airbag at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

The Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, No. 2264 is dedicated to studies on topics related to pedestrian planning and safety.  The volume contains 20 papers exploring topics such as automatic pedestrian detectors, sign visibility for pedestrians, advance yield markings, midblock pedestrian crosswalks, signal-based countermeasures for pedestrian safety, and other topics.

In this volume, readers will find papers that examine phase optimization at intersections to minimize vehicle and pedestrian delays; crossing behaviors and activity of pedestrians at signalized intersections; the lower rates of physical activity by low-income and minority populations; and measurement of greenway use in Cary, North Carolina.  In addition, this volume highlights walking behavior prediction; probability models for pedestrian injury severity; pedestrian safety programs in central areas of large cities; risk of fatality in vehicle–pedestrian crashes; estimation of frequency and length of pedestrian stride in urban environments; and accessibility of complex intersections.

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012, at noon, CMAP will host Jeffrey Tumlin, Principal and Sustainability Practice Leader of Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates, for a Soles and Spokes brownbag discussion on sustainable transportation planning and the role that parking can play. Mr. Tumlin is the author of Sustainable Transportation Planning: Tools for Creating Vibrant, Healthy, and Resilient Communities.  Mr. Tumlin’s full resume is here.  The brownbag will be held at noon in CMAP’s offices, 233 S Wacker Dr., Suite 800, Chicago.  For information on registration, visit http://www.cmap.illinois.gov/bike-ped.

A Rails-to-Trails report argues for investing in a more diverse transportation system that provides viable opportunities to walk and bicycle and to use public transportation.  The report demonstrates that increased investment in non-motorized transportation will lead to a more efficient use of federal transportation resources.

The Daily Herald news reported on the Village of Mount Prospect trustees’ approval of its village bicycle plan at their February meeting.  The comprehensive bicycle plan has been under development by Village staff, with help from the Active Transportation Alliance and Sam Schwartz Engineering, since 2010.  The plan sets goals and outlines strategies for making bicycle travel safer and more convenient in the Village by developing a comprehensive biking and walking network consisting of marked on-street bikeways, signed routes, and, where possible, multi-use trails.

The plan also calls for development of a safety and education plan to promote safe cycling and to inform residents about the benefits of cycling and a fully implemented bicycle network, including personal health benefits and cost savings; reductions in greenhouse gases, energy usage, and congestion on Village roads; and the encouragement to shop locally downtown and in other commercial areas.

A project to extend Anderson Road and build a bridge carrying it over Metra tracks near the Elburn station will provide accommodation for bicyclists and pedestrians, as well as direct access to the Elburn Metra Station, fulfilling important goals in CMAP’s GO TO 2040 plan.  A Daily Herald article covers Kane County’s current negotiations with the Village of Elburn over the construction and maintenance of the proposed roadway and bridge.