Federal Highway Administration University Course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation: Lesson 18: Bicycle and Pedestrian Connections to Transit

Details

• Corporate Creators:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration. Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  Bicycling Education And Training Pedestrians Public Transit
• Publication/ Report Number:
  FHWA-HRT-05-119
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Right Statement:
  Public Domain
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Highway Administration
• Abstract:
  Bicycling and walking typically account for one–fourth to one–half of all personal trips in European cities, as well as the vast majority of all public transportation access trips, even in lower density suburban areas. This stands in sharp contrast to the United States, where the share of personal trips made by nonmotorized means fell in recent decades to less than 10 percent, and where automobile park–and–ride accounts for a major share of suburban transit access. In city after city, transit agencies are rediscovering that good bicycle and pedestrian access is a critical component of the success of the transit system. It has been estimated that 53 percent of the American public lives within 3.2 km (2 mi) of a public transit route. Walking is the most environmentally friendly and low–cost way to get people to and from public transportation. When given sidewalks or traffic–calmed streets to walk along, safe and convenient ways to cross streets, and a comfortable and attractive environment, most people are willing to walk farther to reach public transportation. In the United States, however, lack of attention to pedestrian needs beyond the bounds of the transit station seems fairly common. The locations of park–and–ride lots are often not amenable to nonmotorized access. One transit agency commented that all of their park–and–ride lots are located near freeways and/or shopping areas where residential housing is quite far away, and no paths or sidewalks are located near the park–and–ride lots. Some U.S. transit and transportation agencies are, nevertheless, turning a promisingly sharper focus on the larger environment that surrounds and leads to transit stations and bus stops. A variety of facilities and services are being provided to improve the interface between bicycling and transit: bike racks on buses; provisions for the transport of bicycles on light– and heavy–rail transit, commuter rail, and long–distance trains; bike parking at transit stations; design improvements at transit stations (curb cuts, signing, and lighting); links to transit centers (bike lanes, multiuse trails, and widened roadway shoulders); and multipurpose Bikestations® which cater to the bicycle commuter. The U.S. Congress has emphasized the connection of transit with bicycle and pedestrian facilities in Federal transportation legislation by providing several funding sources for bicycle and pedestrian improvements through the FTP, among other programs. This lesson discusses the history of bicycle and pedestrian access to transit in the United States and provides an overview of how bicycling and walking are being integrated with transit. Case studies from the United States and Europe describe successful projects.
• Format:
  PDF
• Collection(s):
  Federal Highway Administration
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:613978bf18bbf697c1c42e7d433374a930b8e5ad9fa87b9fc43189d4add1759157556b798e082d1536d32922bcebbbd8ae7a95e552297fac3ea2ac428d3a4e03
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/86010/dot_86010_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.18 MB ]