Walk and Roll: WSDOT Active Transportation Update Jan. 13, 2020

Washington State Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 01/13/2020 07:00 AM PST

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WSDOT Walk and Roll E-News alternates between this resource edition and a regional news round-up. It comes out 2-3 times per month.

ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION NEWS FROM WSDOT AND PARTNERS

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Move Over Three Feet or More to Pass: It's the Law

With the passage of SB 5723, as of Jan. 1, 2020, the new requirements for drivers overtaking bicyclists, pedestrians, and other vulnerable road users are:

  • When the driver has an additional lane of travel in the same direction, the driver must move into that lane to pass.
  • When the driver has only one lane for traffic moving in the direction of travel, the driver must move into the lane going in the opposite direction to pass if it's safe to do so; if not, pass when it's possible to do so at a distance of at least three feet and reduce speed to a safe speed for passing relative to the speed of the individual being overtaken.
  • Drivers must also allow sufficient space for safety when following behind a vulnerable user.

The new law clarifies an important element of bicyclist lane positioning. The law already specified that riders are to position themselves in the lane as far to the right as is safe. This is sometimes misunderstood to mean they're required to ride as far to the right as seems possible to a driver, but riders can see hazards that may not be apparent to a driver. SB 5723 specifies directly that riders may position themselves in the lane as needed to avoid grates, debris and other hazards.

Pedestrian movements also received an important clarification: They are to use sidewalks if the sidewalks are accessible. If not, they may use the shoulder or roadway.

Some sidewalks are not accessible due to lack of ADA infrastructure. Weather is another factor that can affect accessibility. With winter conditions affecting sidewalks, drivers particularly need to be on the lookout for people who don't have an accessible walkway available.

The beginning of SB 5723 sums up the reason for and importance of the new law: "The legislature finds that a number of the collision types that have resulted in a high number of serious injuries and deaths of vulnerable roadway users can be associated with certain types of traffic infractions. To address the heightened risk to vulnerable roadway users when violations of these traffic infractions occur, the legislature intends to: (1) Introduce an additional fine as a penalty for drivers who commit these violations against a vulnerable roadway user; (2) modify when certain vulnerable roadway users may be passed by motor vehicles; and (3) clarify when and how pedestrians and bicyclists may use the roadway."

Fines for drivers who violate the new requirements are doubled, with those revenues going into a vulnerable roadway user education safety fund.

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Don't Snow Us In: A Video Reminder from Your Neighbors with Disabilities

Speaking of accessible sidewalks--

Snow clearance of sidewalks is typically the responsibility of property owners in most Washington communities. Rooted in Rights and Seattle Dept. of Transportation partnered on a public service video that should play across the state. Take a look and pass it along to your friends, share on social media, and remember the message when the snow piles up. 

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State Active Transportation Plan Update

Through the fall and winter of 2019 we held great conversations around the state gathering additional input about issues, challenges, opportunities and priorities.

Some of the places we went, sometimes for a public open house, sometimes to participate in a meeting held by a local group or committee: Aberdeen, Anacortes, Brewster, Ellensburg, Mountlake Terrace, SeaTac, Tacoma, Toppenish, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver, among others.

We're reviewing feedback received through our community conversations, the online open house and questionnaire (which closed Dec. 15).

We'll continue to refine the technical tools we're developing to analyze state routes, which will give us a systematic approach to identify and prioritize future improvements. We know that with the development of these new decision-making tools we'll need to keep updating and improving the analysis in years to come and expand it to include adjacent elements of the network on the local systems.

The next couple of months we're working on the draft plan document to bring all the pieces together. In addition to the statewide needs assessment the plan includes performance measures, a policy review and other elements. We expect the draft plan to come out in March for public review and comment. 

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Economy, Environment and Health Benefit from Trails, Two New Studies Show

Trails contribute more than $8.2 billion annually to the state’s economy, according to companion studies released by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

Done in collaboration with Washington Trails Association, Washington Bikes, and the University of Washington, the studies look at the economic, environmental, social and health benefits of trails and recommend that state leaders develop more trails and use them as a way to improve the health of Washingtonians.

Commissioned by the Legislature, the twin reports note that poor communities face more significant health challenges and more barriers to accessing trails than more affluent areas. The reports recommend using trails as a health intervention strategy by improving access and decreasing barriers to trails for poor communities.

Report recommendations:

  1. Build more trails.
  2. Develop trails that promote multi-day trips.
  3. Improve trail amenities.
  4. Use trails as a health intervention.
  5. Conduct comprehensive trail planning.
  6. Improve trail data collection.
  7. Develop standard permitting requirements statewide

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Washington Communities Selected for First-ever Complete Streets Academy

The National Complete Streets Coalition, a program of Smart Growth America, announced the cities of Arlington, Wenatchee, and Airway Heights have been selected for the first ever Complete Streets Leadership Academy workshop series.

The National Complete Streets Coalition is debuting this technical assistance program in Washington State with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Transportation Improvement Board in partnership with WSDOT and the Washington State Department of Health.

These communities will participate in a series of three workshops designed to pilot new approaches to implementing activity-friendly routes and making it safe and convenient for people of all abilities to walk, run, bike, skate, or roll to everyday destinations. Each of the communities will host one of the workshops. 

The communities will then apply their new and improved skills in placemaking, inclusive community engagement, and local road safety planning to implement temporary, on-the-ground demonstration projects with support from Smart Growth America and the Transportation Improvement Board.

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WSDOT 2020 City Safety Grants Require Local Road Safety Plans

Cities must have a local road safety plan grounded in systematic safety principles to be eligible to apply to WSDOT for approximately $25 million in federal Highway Safety Improvement Program funds. The deadline for application is April 16, 2020.

A local road safety plan is a data-driven analysis and prioritization of an agency's roadways for traffic safety that addresses fatal and serious injury crashes and systemic safety needs. WSDOT has crash data available, including an analysis of pedestrian and bicyclist serious injuries and fatalities, and we provide technical assistance to support development of a plan.

  • Program information
  • Contact: Ed Spilker, City Safety and Traffic Programs Manager, SpilkeE@wsdot.wa.gov.

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WSDOT Plans and Projects

I-5 Corridor Study Tumwater to Mounts Road

WSDOT Olympic Region is partnering with the Thurston Regional Planning Council on a study of the I-5 corridor from Tumwater to Mounts Road. While the study is labeled by the highway number, it addresses connectivity and transportation needs for all modes in the transportation catchment that includes I-5.

Review the interactive maps and other information and scroll to the end to get to the comment link. 

State Rail Plan open for comment; deadline Feb. 18, 2020

WSDOT's State Rail Plan addresses both freight use and passenger rail. The draft plan is open for comment through Feb. 18.

Seattle Design Commission Commends WSDOT for SR 520 Project Design

In a Dec. 5, 2019 letter Seattle Design Commission recognized WSDOT staff and their consultants for “ongoing collaborative engagement on the design of the Seattle segment of State Route 520.”

Among the design elements they highlighted: Elevating pedestrian and bicyclist experience through higher quality materials, resting spots for bicyclists, and use of materials that provide visual cues to differentiate user space; north/south pedestrian land bridge that creates a significant link to City non-motorized system; creating critical intersections between the regional shared-use path and City non-motorized system; and focus on bridge details that elevate recreation user experience, both on bridge and under bridge, impacting bike trails and in-water recreation spots.

The work continues: SR 520 Montlake Project

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Registration open for Washington Bike, Walk, Roll Summit April 26-27, Spokane

The Washington Bike, Walk, Roll Summit provides an opportunity for community members, advocates and professionals to learn, share and connect around mobility issues and to make our communities safer and more accessible for people wheeling and walking.

WSDOT sponsors the Summit and encourages state and local transportation professionals to participate in technical trainings offered.

  • Dates: April 26-27, 2020
  • Location: Spokane Convention Center
  • Registration

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Mode-Neutral Usage: Modal Usage and Traffic Safety

In December 2019 staff from City of Bellevue in transportation, community development, law enforcement, communications and other departments gathered for a presentation on how mode-neutral and mode-inclusive language can support their Vision Zero efforts as a community. The presentation covered multimodal usage concepts coupled with principles of systematic safety and positive traffic safety culture, tailored to some of Bellevue’s findings about community support for safer streets.

The video of the presentation covers usage tips included in past Mode-Neutral Usage columns. Content also provides a brief introduction to elements of systematic safety, positive traffic safety culture approaches to communications, and new research about the effects of news coverage on preferred traffic safety solutions (Goddard, Ralph, Thigpen and Iacobucci 2019). 

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FIVE+ THINGS TO READ

Pedestrians Deaths On Freeways On The Rise: “More Americans are dying on high-speed roads because cities and states haven’t built proper infrastructure to help people cross safely, a new study shows.”

Walk the Walk: "It wasn’t about scheduling investment over a 20-year period.... It was about making sure that the countless decisions being made every day about those elements, by various departments and officials, at various scales and for different purposes, were all compatible with pedestrian needs."

The real problem with the NTSB's mandatory bike helmet recommendation: “The fact is that not wearing a helmet is not a cause of death or injury in most cases. Getting hit by a vehicle (driver) is.”

Cities Need To Rethink Micromobility To Ensure It Works For All: "It’s incumbent upon civic and industry leaders to abandon the narrow, technology-driven understandings of micromobility and embrace a broader, humanity-first vision necessary to ensure that the micromobile future includes all and works for all."

It's time to make our transportation system less efficient: "We’ve been trained to believe increasing efficiency is an inherently good, apolitical value without recognizing that speed benefits some and hurts others.... what if we considered accessibility our primary objective, and we designed a transportation system that could be used safely and reliably by everyone?"

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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.

January

February

Looking 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, COMPETITIONS AND KUDOS

PLANNING AND PROJECTS

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 to barb.chamberlain@wsdot.wa.gov

RESEARCH AND RESOURCES

SURVEYS AND DATA COLLECTION

  • Rural Advisory Bike Lanes Project: Seeking examples of rural low-volume roads with speeds above 35 MPH/60 kph. Send examples to Michael Williams at bikepedx@gmail.com.
  • ITE Pedestrian Demand Survey: On behalf of the ITE Bicycle & Pedestrian Standing Committee, asks for information about crossings where before and after counts have been performed. Respondents will receive summary or link to completed results. Google account required to complete survey; for email option contact Mike Hendrix at mike.hendrix@perteet.com.
  • Does your city/town have bicycle traffic signals? Add to the crowdsourced tracking spreadsheet of cities in North America

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