Walk and Roll: WSDOT Active Transportation Update Sept. 20, 2021

Washington State Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 09/20/2021 11:12 AM PDT

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ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION NEWS FROM WSDOT AND PARTNERS

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Active Transportation Plan Part 2

Comments due Friday, Oct. 29, 2021; overview webinars Sept. 22, Sept. 23, and Oct. 12

Forward this to anyone who will want to comment on the plan.

The Washington State Department of Transportation has just released a draft of Part 2 of the state active transportation plan for public review and comment, available in an online open house.

These chapters provide a brief recap of the work completed in Part 1 (published May 2021) and highlight the performance metrics and strategies needed to move forward. The deadline for comments is Friday, Oct. 29.

The online open house and a series of webinars provide opportunities to learn more about the draft of Part 2 and to provide comments.

Active Transportation Plan online open house information

When

Monday, Sept. 13, to midnight Friday, Oct. 29, 2021

Where

Due to COVID-19 safety precautions, plan information is available in an online open house. The site includes a PDF of the draft plan and the link to a SurveyMonkey form to submit comments.

Active transportation plan overview webinars

Participation in a webinar isn't required to comment; it may be helpful as an orientation to the content. Participants must register to view one of the three webinars or to access the link to a recording once the webinar is done:

  • Webinar 1: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 22
  • Webinar 2: Noon to 1 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 23
  • Webinar 3: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 12

Free, temporary internet access is available to those who do not have broadband service in locations throughout the state. To find the nearest WiFi Hotspot (including parking lot hotspots as well as some indoor locations) visit: www.commerce.wa.gov/building-infrastructure/washington-state-drive-in-wifi-hotspots-location-finder/

Local and regional plan inventory: What's missing?

Part 2 includes an appendix that lists active transportation plans developed at the regional level and by counties, cities and towns. This inventory was based on an online search conducted some time ago. 

Your review of your community's plan links will help improve and complete this inventory. Go to the online open house, review the document, and check Appendix G. The comment survey form includes a space for you to provide additional plans that should be added or corrected links.

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Annual active transportation safety report published

WSDOT publishes an annual Active Transportation Safety Report in the Gray Notebook along with other performance analysis and reporting. The latest issue is now available online. 

The new phase of the state active transportation plan comes during a time when motor vehicle crashes resulting in the deaths of people walking or bicycling are occurring at a higher rate than the averages for 2010-2019. These fatal crashes made up 22% of all traffic deaths in the state in 2020.

Two factors rise to the top in serious and fatal crashes:

  • Speed: From 2010 to 2020, 86% of pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities occurred on roads with posted speeds above 25 mph.
  • Crossings: People crossing the street at intersection and non-intersection locations made up 63% of fatal and serious injury crashes involving pedestrians in 2020. In the same year, 43% of fatal and serious injury
    crashes involving bicyclists were intersection-related. 

Early in the pandemic walking and bicycling soared, and WSDOT's multimodal transportation dashboard continues to show higher use of active transportation than in 2019.

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WSDOT Local Technical Assistance Program trainings 

Washington Transportation Professionals Forum & Peer Exchange – webinar, September 21 (9am-11:30am).  Join us for the upcoming event with panel sessions on: The Safe Systems Approach to Eliminate Fatalities and Serious Injuries for All Road Users; and Building Equity into Transportation Projects from Development to Delivery.  Register:  https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4661873644071473678. WSDOT is also seeking topic and presenter suggestions for future WTPF & Peer Exchanges; email ideas to  spilkee@wsdot.wa.gov

2021 Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Council (IACC) Conference – online, October 19-21.  Infrastructure is FUNdamental!  Registration is now open for the 2021 Online IACC Conference, $30.  Join us for 24 timely sessions, plus the Short Course in Local Planning. This year you will also have the opportunity to meet virtually with Exhibitors, and chat with other conference participants.  IACC supports Washington State communities by connecting them to resources, technical assistance, and to each other to innovate, grow, and find better ways to promote, fund, and build local Infrastructure. Check the conference webpage for links to the Schedule and to Register: http://www.infrafunding.wa.gov/conference.html 

How to Plan a Walk & Bike to School Day – webinar hosted by Florida LTAP, September 23 (1.5 hrs).  With a focus on student transportation safety, this webinar provides details to plan an event in coordination with schools and local partners in the community. Register: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2177935039987360270

Improving Rural Road Safety with the Safe System Approach – webinar series, September 29 (1.5 hrs).  Part 3: Safe Vehicles, focusing on the safe vehicle element with strategies and techniques to improve rural road safety. Register:  http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07eiiqjfea8665bc71&llr=ngyyawuab

Title VI Basics – E-Learning from WSDOT Office of Equal Opportunity.  Self-paced workshop on the Title VI/Nondiscrimination responsibilities of local agencies.  The training provides videos and resources.  A link to request a certificate is at the completion of the training.   https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021/05/06/TitleVIBasicsforLPAsMay2021eLearning.pdf.  For any questions, please contact: TitleVI@wsdot.wa.gov

FHWA Every Day Counts (EDC) Virtual Safety Summit Series – webinars (4 hrs ea).  Sept. 22 (Intersection and Interchange Geometrics), Sept. 29 (Road Diets).  Scheduled each Wednesday during September, the summit series highlights seven safety initiatives, and how they can save lives. Register: https://www.labroots.com/ms/virtual-event/2021-edc-virtual-safety-summit-series

FHWA Local & Tribal Road Safety MATCH Program - Free Technical Assistance for Local and Tribal Agencies to Help Address Roadway Safety Concerns. The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Mentoring, Assistance, Training, and Communication Help (MATCH) Program provides free, broad-based technical assistance to local and tribal agencies facing roadway safety challenges. For more info: https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2021/06/11/FHWA-Local-Tribal-MATCH-program-Flyer.pdf

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2021 Washington Bike, Walk, Roll Summit Sept. 27-Oct. 1

The Washington Bike, Walk, and Roll Summit will be held virtually September 27 - October 1. Among the sessions:

  • A conversation on mobility justice and the meaning of safety facilitated by members of the Cooper Jones Active Transportation Council
  • Complete Streets examples from the communities that participated in a Smart Growth America academy: Airway Heights, Arlington, and Wenatchee
  • Speed management for safety: New tools for communities
  • Disability-led design processes with an interactive learning space for all participants
  • Much more!

For more information:

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WSDOT updating Highway System Plan

The Highway System Plan is WSDOT’s blueprint for preserving, maintaining, improving and operating interstates, US routes, and state routes in Washington, including active transportation facilities. The plan is being renewed for the next 20 years. The plan intends to address today's needs, reflect a modern strategy that prioritizes overall performance and maintenance over expansion, anticipate future needs, and describe the role of highways within the overall transportation system.

The online open house provides more information and links to an opinion poll.

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FIVE+ THINGS TO READ (or watch/listen to)

Transportation Access for Everyone: Washington State: "...understand the urgent need for 'radical' inclusion of disabled nondrivers in the planning processes across every level of our transportation systems and...begin, with urgency, to practice that inclusion." Disability Rights Washington storymap accompanies the report.

We Are Going to Need a Lot More Electric Delivery Bikes: "A recent study of London found that cargo bikes could reduce emissions from package delivery by one-third compared with electric vans, and by 90% compared with diesel ones."

Design Justice: "...larger systems—including norms, values, and assumptions—are encoded in and reproduced through the design of sociotechnical systems, or in political theorist Langdon Winner’s famous words...'artifacts have politics.'”

Not So Fast: Better Speed Valuation for Transportation Planning: " conventional planning tends to exaggerate the benefits and understate the costs of higher travel speeds. This favors faster modes, such as automobiles, over slower but more affordable, equitable and resource-efficient modes such as walking, bicycling and public transit; favors higher roadway design speeds; and favors sprawl over compact development."

As traffic deaths climb, NTSB chair calls for 'fundamental rethink' of transportation planning: "We spent decades planning, designing, building and operating our road system for the efficient movement of people and goods rather than safety. We spent decades developing countermeasures and behavioral interventions that are targeted at individuals rather than the entire system."

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GRANTS AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

  • City of Seattle is accepting applications for Safe Routes to School mini-grants on a rolling basis.
  • USDOT Applicant Toolkit for Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) Initiative intended to help communities understand and apply for discretionary grants, some of which may be able to fund active transportation improvements.
  • USDOT TIFIA Rural Project Initiative loans can be used to construct pedestrian/bicyclist infrastructure
  • League Certified Instructor Equity Scholarship Program: Offers scholarships to people of color interested in teaching bike education courses in underserved communities. 
  • Have any funding opportunities people should know about? Send to barb.chamberlain@wsdot.wa.gov

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AWARDS, COMPETITIONS, AND KUDOS

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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

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SURVEYS AND DATA COLLECTION

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