Awareness Test

TxDOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Program:

an Overview of Best Practices Transportation Short Course TAMU October 17, 2012

Charles Riou P.E. - State Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator

TxDOT Goals:

• Maintain a safe system

• Address congestion

• Connect Texas communities

• Become best-in-class state agency

Fundamental Transportation

Hominid bipedalism 4,400,000 years ago

Transportation History Quest for horsepower

Chauvet Cave 32,000 years ago Horse domestication 6,000 years ago

323 BC Alexander’s Companion Cavalry - 8 squadrons of 200-300 horsemen

19th century Replacing the horse

1880 –Good Roads Movement founded by bicyclists of L.A.W.

April 1815 - Tambora

June 1815 July 1816

1817

Laufmaschine, velocipede,

dandy-horse or draisine

"running machine"

First commercially

successful two-wheeled,

steerable, human-

propelled machine

Marengo - Napoleon’s famous war mount

Grey Arabian imported to France from Egypt in 1799

on display at the National Army Museum, London

Transportation History Not to beat a dead horse…

1940’s France

20th century Automobile ubiquity

Saturn V 160,000,000 hp

(>2x horse pop 75,000,000 est) ½ ton pickup 300-400 hp Monster truck 1500-2000 hp

21st century Rethinking Transportation

New Generations are driving significantly less than prior

generations and choosing to live in areas that are easily

walkable, bikeable, and have plenty of access to public

transportation

“Can’t we just

build bigger

roads?”

We can't keep widening our roads, we have to broaden our thinking

Walking Pedestrian 3.9 ft/s = 8 SF…………..

Bicycle 20 mph (5’ ln + 2’ HC) x 120’ SSD = 840 SF…………..

30 mph (12’ ln + 2’OS + 3’HC) x 200’ SSD = 3,400 SF…………..

70 mph (12’ ln + 30’ HC) x 730’ SSD = 30,660 SF/0.7 ac…………..

Austin City Block (to CL street) 350’ x 350’ = 122,500 SF/2.8 ac…………..

100 mph (13’ ln + 100’ HC) x 1310’ SSD = 150,290 SF/3.45 ac.………….

3.45 ac

0.7 ac 2.8 ac

Space

“You get a car…

and you get a car…”

“High Five Dystopia”

Sustainable Transportation

Bicycling is a big part of the future. It has to be.

There's something wrong with a society that drives a car to workout in a gym.

Bill Nye The Science Guy

Consult your

doctor ...

Total Projected Obesity Costs to Texas Businesses

(in billions)

What’s the best part of your day?

Mr. Walker & Mr. Wheeler

Bike To Work Day 1993 - 20 yrs/ 50,000+ miles

Physical Activity helps the body & also the mind:

• solve problems & make complex decisions

• perform better & think more clearly

• Increase production of serotonin & dopamine

• Increase blood flow & improves concentration

A Traffic Engineer’s Lament We, as a profession, continued to build more roads, wider roads, and faster roads

while knowing full well we were running out of capacity and making transport systems

less efficient…the Brooklyn Bridge, when it was largely a rail and walking bridge,

handled 430,000 people daily. In the 1940’s, we ‘modernized’ it by removing the rail; its

daily person carrying volume dropped to 180,000. Sam Schwartz, former New York City Traffic Commissioner

Tearing down walls - Still building barriers

Today

1800 1945 1936 1920s

1961-1989

Human Environment - Renewing Relationships

1943

2010

1957 Seurat's Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte 1884

Safety in

Numbers More Walking/Bicycling = Greater Safety

Walking and bicycling in 68 California cities in 2000.

Jacobsen P L Inj Prev 2003;9:205-209

©2003 by BMJ Publishing Group Ltd

Engineering

Build it

and they will come

Bike/Ped Infrastructure/Policies

= Increased Mode Share

With a modest investment, the city could dramatically improve the

connectivity of its bike network with traffic calming measures,

median refuge islands, bike lanes and separated cycle tracks.

Centerline Miles by Level of Traffic Stress (LTS)

Stress LTS Miles %

Lowest 1 (children) 2,131 64%

Low 2 (mainstream adults) 115 3%

Medium 3 (enthused & confident) 276 8%

High 4 (strong & fearless) 678 20%

Prohibited 5 134 4%

Total 3,334 100%

Useable Connected Networks

March 23, 2011 Memo to District Engineers

Guidelines Emphasizing Bicycle and Pedestrian

Accommodations

“TxDOT is committed to proactively plan, design and

construct facilities to safely accommodate bicyclists and

pedestrians.”

“The dimensions shown above for a wide curb lane or a

bicycle lane are minimum values. Where traffic volumes or

speeds are high, wider lanes for bicycles may be needed.”

http://www.ci.los-altos.ca.us/police/traffic/toolkit/images/dddb77cg_1092th2ddgp_b.png

Bicycle Facility Design Guidance

Texas Administrative Code

Department adopts latest version of AASHTO Bike Guide.

Department will continue to review guidelines with intent to

adopt new guidelines as appropriate.

Texas MUTCD - Effective December 8, 2011

Part 9 - Traffic Control for Bicycle Facilities

Shared Lane Marking and other treatments added

AASHTO Bike Guide - 2012 Forth Edition

Covers paths & on road bikeways

Covers design comprehensively

Covers many , but not all innovations

NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide

NACTO is a source of information for solutions that are

currently being tested.

The FHWA has posted information regarding MUTCD

approval status various bicycle facilities, signs, markings,

signals, and other treatments.

AASHTO Bike Guide - 2012 Forth Edition

Bicyclists need accommodation on ALL roadways – “All roads, streets, and highways,

except those where bicyclists are legally prohibited, should be designed and constructed

under the assumption that they will be used by bicyclists.”

Sufficient flexibility is permitted to encourage designs that are sensitive to local context

and incorporate the needs of bicyclists, pedestrians, and motorists.

• Expanded from 75 pages to over 200

• Facility Selection guidance

• Affirms lane diets and road diets

• Expanded bike lane guidance

• Expanded signal guidance

• Expanded shared use path guidance

• Considerations for Different Bikeway Types

Green Pavement FHWA Interim Approval April 2011

TAMU Area – Mobile Workshop

Joe Routt and Rudder/Koldus Plaza Renovation

• Planter boxes, Seating & Shade Trees

• Raised mid-block crossings

• Accessibility improvements

• Bike lanes

University Drive Pedestrian Safety Project

• Reconstructed ramps & wider sidewalks

• College Main Bicycle/Pedestrian mall

• Bicycle and pedestrian crossings

• Median on University Drive

MaroonBike Program - Lease or Buy

• Save time & money (park FREE next to class)

• Reliable transportation - airless, chainless

• Never throw away or abandon

Old Main at Wellborn Road Underpass

Grade separation of railroad from motor vehicles,

bicycles and pedestrians

AASHTO Bike Guide FREE Webinar Series www.walkinginfo.org/training/pbic/AASHTO_webinars.cfm

20% Bike Guide discount www.walkinginfo.org/training/pbic/ AASHTO_Promo_Flyer.pdf

Upcoming Webinars

• Oct. 23, 2012 - Off Road Facilities: Share Use Path -

Roadway Intersection Design

• Nov. 6, 2012 - Maintenance and Operations

Archived Webinars

• Overview of Revised AASHTO Guide for Development

• Bicycle Planning

• On- Road Facilities Part 1: Bike Lanes

• On-Road Facilities Part 2: Shared Lanes, Paved

Shoulders,

Bicycle Boulevards and Traffic Signals

• Off Road Facilities: Shared Use Path Design

VeloTexas www.velotexas.com Technical conference designed to gather communities,

bicyclists, planners, engineers, researchers, public agencies,

and those interested in improving safety of bicyclists.

Education Walking and biking skills for children

Adult bicycle and pedestrian safety

Motorist awareness

Targeted safety messages

Encouragement •Market as a healthy lifestyle.

•Promote through special events (bike-to-work day).

•Inform target audiences.

•Include walking and biking in local recreation programs

Enforcement •Enforce pedestrian/bike laws.

•Review/modify existing laws.

•Review/modify young violator practices.

•Reduce bicycle theft.

•Reduce assaults on pedestrians and bicyclists.

•Implement police bicycle patrols.

Evaluation

Transportation programs and facilities should accommodate people of all ages

and abilities, including people too young to drive, people who cannot drive, and

people who choose not to drive. Ray LaHood, United States Secretary of Transportation

2007, Paw Paw, Mich., 50 mph, 4 mi

Helotes - Safe

Passing Ordnance

London Marathon - 16 days

Equity

33% of Americans do not drive

United States Department of Transportation

Policy Statement on Bicycle and

Pedestrian Accommodation March 2010

Purpose is to Support:

• Fully integrated active transportation networks

• Well-connected walking and bicycling networks

• Going beyond the minimum requirements

• Fostering increased use by bicyclists and pedestrians

• Accommodating people of all ages and abilities

Rationale • Walking and bicycling:

– foster safer, more livable, family-friendly communities;

– promote physical activity and health;

– and reduce vehicle emissions and fuel use

• Bike/Ped accommodation, including links to transit, is required by existing laws and regulations

Paradigm Shift

• Post-war era dominated by:

– Automobiles

– Increasing obesity, diabetes and health care costs

• Improved facilities for active transportation:

– Improved health

– Improved safety for all users

– Improved environment

FHWA perspective

• Presumption that bicyclists & pedestrians will be accommodated on all projects

• Coordination with stakeholders

• Explain early if not feasible (NEPA document)

• Provide safe facility – go beyond minimums