Walk and Roll: WSDOT Active Transportation Update July 15, 2019

Washington State Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 07/15/2019 07:07 PM PDT

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ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION NEWS FROM WSDOT AND PARTNERS

We may occasionally repeat news items of particular interest since our subscription base keeps growing.

Bellingham and Walla Walla Win Governor's Smart Communities Awards for Active Transportation Work

The City of Bellingham received the Smart Projects Award in for its rapid implementation of its 2014 Bicycle Master Plan. The announcement of the awards from Gov. Jay Inslee and the
Washington state Department of Commerce noted that Bellingham has created more citywide bicycle connectivity than in any other city of a similar size in Washington.

In the five years since adoption, the Bellingham Public Works has completed and funded over 111, or 52%, of the 215 individual prioritized bicycle infrastructure projects. Bellingham’s public engagement and annual report on mobility allow for a series of comprehensive actions and opportunistic efforts to partner with other agencies and jurisdictions, as well a private development, to maximize the amount of bicycle connectivity that is funded and constructed each year.

City of Walla Walla and partners received a Smart Partnership Award for the Blue Mountain Region Trails Plan. Developed within 16 months and finalized in February 2018, the Blue Mountain Region Trails Plan is the culmination of a collaborative effort involving 30 city, county, regional, state, federal, and tribal entities.

The Plan outlines a region-wide, non-motorized transportation and trails network that spans southeast Washington and northeast Oregon. The Plan stimulates economic development, encourages walking, biking, and hiking; provides more access to outdoor recreation; and increases the overall quality of life for the residents. This is a unique and unprecedented regional effort, where many regional partners joined forces to complete the development of a non-motorized plan and recreation network. “Impressive effort! A shining star for growth management, mobility, and open space protection!”-Judge’s comment.

Other communities received awards for plans that included elements of improved active transportation safety, mobility, and connectivity. City of Colville and partners created the vitalization plan Colville Together, which includes downtown pedestrian improvements as a goal. City of Tukwila and partners are creating Tukwila Village as walkable transit-oriented development with access to schools, parks, groceries, and light rail. City of Blaine's strategic economic initiative surveyed residents and identified trails as a strategic objective, as well as improvements to roads that serve all users. City of Lakewood received a Smart Vision Award for the downtown plan, which calls for downtown to be accessible for all travel modes.

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Bicycle Friendly Community Applications Due Aug. 8

The League of American Bicyclists BFC process gives communities a framework for understanding the elements that contribute to better conditions for bicycling. Communities that apply receive feedback on their policies, programs and infrastructure, and recommendations for improvement.

BFCs in Washington

Gold: Seattle

Silver: Bellevue, Bellingham, Ellensburg, Port Townsend, Redmond

Bronze: Anacortes, Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe (first Indian tribe in the US to be named a BFC), Kenmore, Kirkland, Liberty Lake, Port Angeles/Clallam County, Sequim, Shoreline, Spokane, Tacoma, Walla Walla, Wenatchee Valley

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Mode-Neutral Usage: It's Accessible and Active, Not "Nonmotorized"

Federal performance measures refer to "nonmotorized transportation" so that term will remain in circulation for a while. But even before the advent of e-bikes, e-scooters, balancing devices of various types and wheel counts, and whatever else someone is dreaming up for the next hot micromobility start-up, users of motorized wheelchairs were on the sidewalk. "Nonmotorized" hasn't been an inclusive or accurate term for a long time.

One reason to move away from "nonmotorized" aside from its straight-up incompleteness: The term "nonmotorized transportation" assumes the word "transportation" inherently includes the meaning "motorized", as if that's the default setting. 

Transportation is defined by Merriam-Webster as "a means of conveyance or travel from one place to another." Before it meant anything else it meant using your feet, and then a canoe, kayak, or animals tamed to carry or pull us. They weren't saying "nonmotorized transportation" when that was the only kind. It was just transportation.

Mode-neutral usage sticks with the dictionary and uses a modifier to be specific about every mode, not just some of them. So if when you say "transportation" or "traffic" you really mean "motor vehicle transportation or traffic" then say so. If you want to be more specific about how many people are in the vehicles you might distinguish between single-occupancy motor vehicle transportation, vanpool/carpool, and public transportation or transit.

Yes, it takes longer. If it makes you stop and think about who you're really designing, building, operating and maintaining the transportation system for (and whose movements you're not addressing), that's an important pause for thought.

Pulling apart "active transportation" a bit, the term "active" has come in for some critique thanks to the advent of wheeled devices with batteries beyond the wheelchair. These commenters ask whether, if you're standing on a motorized foot scooter and the like, you're being active. (I don't know about your abdominal strength, but if I'm to keep my balance on a skinny little board I'll be doing some core work.)

With respect to "active" some commenters seem to start from the assumption that busting a sweat is somehow a requirement for the use of a wheeled device. Whether you realize it or not that implies some judgment of those for whom this may not be an option or a desirable outcome of their transportation method.

We may never arrive at the perfect brief terminology that covers everything in such a rapidly expanding portfolio of form factors. Linguistically speaking, "bicycle" doesn't include a tricycle, quadcycle or unicycle. Who decided two wheels was the perfect number to describe a whole class of vehicles? (In Washington state law a tricycle is a bicycle and unicycles aren't defined, while the Washington state Uniform Crime Reporting Manual counts unicycles as bicycles to match federal data definitions.)

Talking about accessible active transportation provides us with a broader approach, one that recognizes that someone may be using any of a number of wheeled things whether it's an e-bike/trike, a motorized wheelchair, a standing or seated motorized scooter or something else. That term can include everyone using the spaces sometimes identified as pedestrian or bicyclist infrastructure. And while we're at it, let's make sure it actually is accessible so everyone can get where they need to go.

Mode-Neutral Usage is back after a break. We'll refresh articles that ran last year for the benefit of new subscribers and address new topics. This topic was originally addressed in August 2018; it has been updated and expanded.

Wrestling actively with active transportation usage? Send your questions to barb.chamberlain@wsdot.wa.gov.

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FIVE+ THINGS TO READ

Don’t Blame ‘Distracted’ Pedestrians for Rising Death Toll: "...this problem cannot be addressed by deflecting blame back on the victims. For any solution to have a real chance of success, it will have to start with empathy for the victims and working to understand the structural causes — and that begins and ends with discussions of the destructive power of increasingly big cars and bad road design."

Pedestrian deaths keep rising in the U.S. Can Congress reverse the trend?: "Complete streets could be an important tool for lowering emissions as better walking, biking and transit infrastructure is shown to encourage a shift in modes. Safety is often cited as a deterrent for people who want to switch from driving to walking and biking."

Process Equity Wins: "The short version of capturing process wins is recognizing when a process has changed to be more equitable. A process win is looking at how crappy a former process was and shifting power and resources to be more equitable. It also recognizes the process is sometimes just as important as the outcomes in working towards undoing racism."

2 Photos Reveal Why the Key to Slowing Traffic Is Street Design, Not Speed Limits: "We know how to design streets that will slow down traffic automatically, without the need for heavy-handed enforcement, and regardless of what the speed limit sign says. We just need to do it."

Americans Shouldn’t Have to Drive, but the Law Insists on It: "Americans customarily describe motor-vehicle crashes as accidents. But the harms that come to so many of our loved ones are the predictable output of a broken system of laws. No struggle for justice in America has been successful without changing the law." (Longer paper by law professor/author Gregory Shill on the same topic)

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TRAININGS, CONFERENCES, WEBINARS

We add new trainings as we find them so the list changes with every issue. The National Center for Biking and Walking maintains a searchable international calendar of conferences, training and events. Some of these offer continuing education credits. All times are shown in Pacific time zone. 

All webinars listed are FREE unless a price is noted. All items are webinars unless a location is noted.

July

August

Planning Ahead

Know of an upcoming webinar, conference, or other professional development opportunity? Send details to barb.chamberlain@wsdot.wa.gov.

GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

AWARDS AND COMPETITIONS

  • America Walks seeks suggestions for inspiring women who promote walking and walk-friendly, accessible communities. Email info@americawalks.org with your suggestions for women to profile.
  • Have any we should list?

PRESENT AND PARTICIPATE

New category: Opportunities to submit for presentation at conferences, committees and work groups seeking participants

PLANNING AND PROJECTS

  • King County:
  • Spokane: Charrette for US 395 North Spokane Corridor and Children of the Sun Trail July 13, Sheridan Elementary. Child-friendly environment with play area provided in the workshop room. Invitation PDF
  • Looking for a WSDOT project to check on status, get email updates, attend an open house? Start here.

Have an upcoming project, open house, public comment opportunity? Construction projects people should know about as they relate to biking/walking? Compliments on a project? Send tobarb.chamberlain@wsdot.wa.gov

RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

Vision Zero

Disabilities and Accessibility

Pedestrian Laws

Bicyclist Laws

SURVEYS AND DATA COLLECTION

If you read this far, thank you! You're finding something of value here and you know someone else who should receive this kind of news and learn what's happening with the state Active Transportation Plan. Forward WSDOT Walk and Roll to others and share the subscription link on social media (tag it #WSDOTactive).