Synthesis of successful bicycle planning in mid-size cities.

Details

• Creators:
  Liu, Hongchao ; Kumfer, Wesley ; Chintaluri, Bhargavi
• Corporate Creators:
  Texas Tech University. Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Transportation
• Corporate Contributors:
  Texas. Dept. of Transportation. Research and Technology Implementation Office ; United States. Federal Highway Administration
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Traffic flow
  • Traffic control
  • Highway traffic control
  • Highway traffic control systems
  • Electronic controllers
  • Bicycling
  • Nonmotorized transportation
  • Bicycle commuting
  • Bicycle travel
  • Mode choice
  More +
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA/TX-11/0-6582-1;0-6582-1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Texas
• Edition:
  Technical report; Nov. 2009-Nov. 2010.
• Corporate Publisher:
  Texas Tech University. Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Transportation
• Abstract:
  The Texas Tech Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Transportation worked together with the Texas ; Department of Transportation to conduct a survey of successful bicycle policies and practices in the United ; States. The team developed and released an online survey targeted at various groups including Metropolitan ; Planning Officials, government officials, bicycle users, bicycle advocacy groups, TxDOT employees, and TexITE ; members. The purpose of this survey was to rate various issues of funding, safety, and organization to create a ; clear picture of how successful bicycling would appear in Texas, particularly in mid-size cities. Although it is ; gaining popularity as a means of transportation, bicycling has historically been underutilized in the United States. ; The federal transportation funding program in the United States has focused on highway construction and ; maintenance for automotive travel. As a result, many U.S. cities have been developed with very little thought for ; the use of bicycling for recreation or travel. Insufficient and badly-designed bicycle facilities have caused many ; problems, including insufficient access, insufficient street markings, limited right-of-way, discontinuity, or heavily ; motorized vehicle traffic on bike paths. These challenges make it difficult for bicyclists to properly access and use ; the necessary facilities. ; The goal of this research project was to synthesize successful practices of bicycle planning in mid-size cities, ; including reviews of bicycle practices in the U.S. and successful experiences in planning, design, and ; implementation of bicycle facilities, conduct a survey of successful bicycle policies and practices in the U.S., and ; identify common problems in bicycling and key factors for promoting bicycling transportation. ; Key findings include that funding, culture, education, and engineering are equally important for promoting ; bicycling; funding and consistent commitment is the primary issue for transportation agencies while safety is the ; primary concern for bicyclists; there are few differences between city sizes for bicycle users and government ; officials; and that it is likely that bike plans are underutilized in mid-size cities. ; The research team suggests that the following actions be taken to properly plan and implement effective ; bicycle strategies: long-range and short-term transportation plans should be made with an aim at building livable ; societies in which bicycling is given dual consideration with automobile travel; local government agencies should ; be responsible for developing the bicycle plan and should be given authority to use federal funding for financing ; bicycle projects; mid-sized cities should have at least one bicycle coordinator employed by the city or local MPO; ; and state and local transportation agencies should be aware that promoting bicycling is a long-range endeavor ; which requires continuous funding support and coordinated planning, design, and maintenance efforts.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Funding:
  0-6582
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/23738/dot_23738_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.93 MB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8172febaf38ced611597c4a4c8750e6d4f47cde1f59bf4e24ea1af7f13d1da29581de91110f51479d1512e9cc3462b13c82cc4ff265153c420354c760ac81312