An examination of practices for retrofitting existing roads with sidewalks in the United States.

Details

• Creators:
  Kastenhofer, Ilona O
• Corporate Creators:
  Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC) ; Virginia. Dept. of Transportation ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Pedestrian Areas Pedestrian Areas--Planning--Virginia Retrofitting Sidewalks Sidewalks--Planning--Virginia Sidewalks--United States Sidewalks--Virginia Surveys
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/VTRC 10-R4 ; VTRC 10-R4
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Virginia
• Edition:
  Final report
• Corporate Publisher:
  Virginia Transportation Research Council (VTRC)
• Abstract:
  In Virginia, as in the United States, many roads were built without sidewalks. With steadily increasing efforts to
  
  develop a more balanced, multimodal transportation system, missing sidewalks pose a unique connectivity issue. Although the
  
  Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) Policy for Integrating Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodations allows for the
  
  construction of bicycle and pedestrian facilities separate from highway construction, it does not specifically address the issue of
  
  missing sidewalks. The purpose of this study was to identify and examine current practices relating to retrofitting existing roads
  
  with sidewalks in order to provide VDOT with guidance on addressing the issue of missing sidewalks in its transportation
  
  system.
  
  Three tasks were performed to achieve the study objectives. First, a literature review was conducted to identify material
  
  that addressed issues relating to retrofitting existing roads with sidewalks. Second, VDOT’s current practices were documented
  
  and reviewed based on a survey and interviews of district staff. Third, the practices of state departments of transportation
  
  (DOTs) and selected localities were identified based on a survey of the DOT and locality representatives, the literature review,
  
  and a search of agency websites.
  
  With regard to the literature review, no publication focusing on the topic of missing sidewalks was found. Most of the
  
  literature was focused on accommodations for pedestrians along newly constructed roads and on operational issues for existing
  
  pedestrian facilities.
  
  With regard to VDOT’s current practices, VDOT has no current policy to construct missing sidewalks. No VDOT
  
  district has an inventory of sidewalks or missing sidewalks or any “wish-list” for sidewalk connections. Further, there is no
  
  prioritization method should more requests for sidewalk connections be received than is possible to accommodate. Although
  
  VDOT has completed a limited number of projects to provide missing sidewalks, there is no dedicated funding source to address
  
  future requests.
  
  Most state DOTs are similar to VDOT in not having a program to construct missing sidewalks. Experiences of localities
  
  across the United States show successful sidewalk retrofit programs, which focus on targeted areas with high pedestrian activity.
  
  The study recommends that VDOT develop guidelines for identifying, prioritizing, and constructing missing sidewalks.
  
  Such guidelines are expected to provide guidance relating to identifying high-priority targeted areas for constructing missing
  
  sidewalks, prioritizing needed projects, and identifying funding options.
  
  
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  83999
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:8fba04fb12e2d1af8f2d3ac2c6a7fc77d37a8ec034e961bba70c2c9c81fa04b5
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/20246/dot_20246_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 213.51 KB ]