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Connectivity -- Safety -- Opportunity -- Participation -- Partnership
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What you'll find in this issue:
- Author Anna Zivarts on disability pride and transportation
- And then what happened?! How surveys we featured turned out
- Three states’ approaches to statewide trail networks
- Recommendations for things to read/watch/listen to
- Events and trainings to keep on your radar
- Grants and funding opportunities
- Opportunities to present and publish
- Plenty of useful resources!
‘Designing with dignity means having that space to actually re-envision’: Author Anna Zivarts on disability pride and transportation
Many of us not only assume but also expect we’ll be able to reasonably access sidewalks, shared-use paths or buses when we travel. But those of us with disabilities couldn’t take access for granted along our transportation system until Congress passed the American Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990.
The ADA, which turned 35 on July 26th, bars discriminating against people based on disabilities in contexts such as public transportation and public accommodations. The ADA prompted changes that required baseline service for often-overlooked neighbors using these facilities. That includes everything from allowing service animals on light rail, to ensuring wheelchair access and priority seating on buses, to requiring large print maps or braille signage.
People with disabilities led the charge to pass the ADA, testifying to the damage of being passively and intentionally excluded from public services. They demanded to be valued and respected not despite their disability but while embracing it. Today, Americans honor not only the Act but also the entire month of July as Disability Pride Month.
The Act’s changes would be valuable enough if they only served their primary audiences, but they have cascading benefits for every traveler. Elevators and ramps make it possible to reach light rail platforms while using mobility devices, but while traveling with a bicycle, lugging heavy equipment, pushing a stroller, or hauling around wheeled baggage. When you’re able to see an approaching bus’s sign announcing its destination or route number from far away, or an audible message, that’s the ADA working in everyone’s favor.
Even today, despite legal requirements and lots of progress, people with disabilities are still fighting for their right to safely and comfortably access public space. One noted advocate influencing people nationwide is Seattle author Anna Zivarts.
Zivarts doesn’t just assert her right as a person with a disability to access our car-centric transportation system. In her bestselling book, When Driving Is Not an Option, Zivarts outlines how today’s transportation system fundamentally doesn’t serve the roughly one-third of Americans who don’t or can’t drive. Increasing and improving active transportation and multimodal options, she argues, would serve every traveler better.
Walk and Roll interviewed Zivarts by email about how today’s transportation system does and doesn’t enhance disability pride – and what it takes to keep making progress.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Walk and Roll: Your book, When Driving Is Not an Option, has been out (and making waves!) for a little over a year. You’ve been to a lot of places and met a lot of travelers along the way. What have you learned about the state of accessible design around the country? Which communities are leading the way in normalizing accessible design?
Zivarts: What has been most interesting about this work is seeing how the stories in other parts of the US and Canada are very similar to the stories and experiences of nondrivers in Washington State. What I’m most excited about is communities that are thinking about land use and housing in the context of transportation access. I was really impressed with the bus system in Ottawa, the separated bike infrastructure in Montreal, bike/roll multiuse trails in Moscow, Idaho.
Who are people, especially people with disabilities, who you admire who’ve moved the needle on making transportation safer and more accessible for everyone?
I’m really loving to see groups in different parts of the US (and Canada) that are doing work that intentionally brings in and centers disabled nondrivers. Some examples: Access Living (Chicago, IL), Disability Advocates of Kent County (Grand Rapids, MI), Moving Maine Network, Local Motion (Columbia, Missouri), and Los Angeles Walks (Los Angeles, CA).
What’s something you’ve noticed helps transportation organizations go from ‘designing for compliance’ to ‘designing for dignity?’
Having disabled people and nondriving people on staff! Once there are people in the room where decisions are getting made, it makes it hard to design for the bare minimum of compliance.
What does disability pride mean to you in the context of transportation?
Pride comes from knowing that you aren’t alone. So much of the work I do is about letting people who can’t drive or can’t afford to drive understand they aren’t alone -- that there are so many other folks out there who share that experience.
What do transportation practitioners most misunderstand about designing for dignity?
It’s very easy to assume your experience of the world is how everyone else experiences or accesses their communities. And that’s simply not true. But we’ve had decades (if not longer) of traffic engineering, transit planning, and landscape architecture that was led by, and centered the needs of, mostly middle-aged, mostly white, mostly professional class, non-disabled, not primary caretaker men. Those perspectives are so normalized in our workplaces, our social spaces, and in our built environment that we assume, even for those of us who aren’t all those things, that those choices are just the way things are supposed to be. Not only do we need to have people with different experiences of the world able to be in these rooms to start designing things and changing cultures, we need the mental space and time to begin to imagine what actually would work better for us because we’ve been trained for our whole lives to assume things just are the way that’s best. Designing with dignity means having that space to actually re-envision. (The Othering and Belonging Institute is a great example of a place that is trying to create this space.)
What is Washington state, or cities around Washington, getting right in terms of incorporating accessible design into their transportation development? Are there projects or design treatments you’d encourage more Washington communities to emulate?
Anything that slows down cars makes it safer and more comfortable for everyone outside of cars, and chips away at the “time tax” of taking non-private automobile trips. For instance, if the speed limit/design on a road is slower or there’s no highway option, the difference between how long it takes you to get somewhere riding transit or biking/walking versus driving is less. This decreases the induced demand for people who can choose to drive, to drive.
And then what happened?! How surveys we featured turned out
Regular readers of this newsletter are familiar with our “Planning, Projects and Surveys” section. It often lists opportunities to comment on plans or to respond to surveys. But what happens to those plans and surveys?
We followed up on results from a few of these surveys, in which you may have participated! (Nudge, nudge to response collectors: Share your comment and survey opportunities with us so we can improve your reach):
The state of cargo biking: Researchers at Pennsylvania State University’s Physical Activity and Public Health Laboratory have been crunching the data about how we use cargo bikes. PSU’s Melissa Bopp and colleagues recently shared findings from surveying over six hundred North American riders who use cargo bikes for varying reasons. The researchers wanted to know everything from how users store and maintain them, to why they use them). The report defines cargo bikes as specialized bikes with attached cargo areas meant to carry heavy loads.
Some high-level results:
- Most survey respondents (nearly four out of five) had purchased a new cargo bike, rather than renting or buying used (it can be difficult to find used cargo bikes). The authors attribute this to the growing popularity of this kind of bike.
- People use these bikes frequently. Large shares of respondents use their bikes multiple times per week, with the majority using them at least four days per week.
- The most frequent reported use is for running errands daily or weekly, with the second highest use being taking children to school.
- People are mainly riding short (within five miles) to middle (five-to-15 miles) distances from home.
- People carry a range of things from passengers to groceries to pets. The sky is the limit!
- Additional data on storage, annual spending, and safety gear are presented in graphs.
The survey also asked about barriers to cargo bike use. They revealed two main factors: Weather and Inadequate infrastructure, such as either roads respondents consider unsafe or a lack of bike paths.
Responses revealed how much people love using cargo bikes. The researchers pulled excerpts from typical responses as to why people enjoy these bikes. Here’s one that rings true: “The joy it brings, connection to community as people are curious about it. It sparks conversations and smiles with strangers.”
The state of public space: There is no transportation without quality public space. So when The Project for Public Spaces put out a call to public space professionals asking about the state of these public goods, we perked up. The Project just issued its findings as the State of Public Space in 2025 Report on the organization’s 50th anniversary.
More than 700 people globally helped PPS reveal some key takeaways. Their biggest takeaway is that few respondents feel that public realm features like parks and streets are meeting community needs.
So, what’s getting in the way? The report found practical issues eroding the capacity of public spaces to meet the needs of communities. This includes shrinking investment in both capital improvements and operations, which has led to aging infrastructure across the multiple kinds of public space. The authors note red-tape and political will are significant factors.
Other major challenges include poor access to public spaces, with specific mention the dearth of sidewalks (or more broadly the “quality of the walk, bike, roll or transit ride”); and the interplay of overall societal issues of homelessness, social isolation and disinvestment/gentrification. The report also acknowledges impacts from climate change to people’s ability or willingness to enjoy public spaces. The report concludes with a hopeful note, showing a map of placemaking examples around the world that includes images and links to inspire.
The ‘Secret Sauce of Cycle Highways’: Three states’ approaches to statewide trail networks
Many of us would like to travel more easily between nearby communities in Washington state without driving. States like Utah and Minnesota are not only developing these types of dedicated active transportation routes between population centers but also aiming to connect them into intentional statewide trails networks.
There’s a possibility of Washington going down the same path someday. In the 2023-2025 biennium, Washington state legislators funded a proviso for WSDOT to research what might support a ‘cycle highways’ program. Such a program would make it easier, safer and more comfortable to travel longer distances using active transportation. We recently published that research as the Cycle Highways Action Plan, improved by feedback from more than 100 Washington residents. The Action Plan offers insights into how similar systems are already working, and what Washington would need to fund should legislators make future funding available. (Preservation and maintenance funding needs affect our ability to deliver on trails expansion.)
In the meantime, trails organizations and networks are still developing long-distance trails on a regional level in Washington state. One such network, the Leafline Trails Coalition, views a network like this as supporting mode shift, connectivity, wayfinding and signage for Leafline Trails and beyond. Leafline hosted a panel on July 24th to discuss how cycle highway networks happen. Panel members included Active Transportation Division Director Barb Chamberlain; Jake Rueter, active transportation unit supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Transportation; and Stephanie Tomlin, director of the Utah Department of Transportation’s recently formed Trails Division, with Leafline’s David Urbina moderating.
Three big things to know about the panel event:
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Washington laid out a concept for a statewide trails network in its award-winning 2021 Active Transportation Plan. “To the extent we could, with the data we had, we identified local and regional trails and said, ‘What would it look like if you drew connections between population centers?’” Chamberlain said. Washington’s state Legislature picked up on that. The proviso created a “plan to plan,’ she said, or a roadmap for building a team and program that would then produce a network plan.
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States like Utah and Minnesota are taking different but successful approaches to building out cohesive, consistent networks. Tomlin and Rueter both stressed that working with local partners is important to understand where people most want, most need, and might use long-distance trail spines. How they gather that information is different.
- Our Action Plan found MnDOT uses a ‘bottom up’ planning approach. That is to say, MnDOT appears to first identify critical trail gaps, then decide which projects to prioritize by collaborating with member jurisdictions to make sure they’re best meeting community needs. In the best cases, Rueter said, engagement collaboration helps MnDOT understand what people really want out of connected trails. That’s anything from economic development to tourism to environmental interest to physical activity and beyond. “We learn what resonates with people along corridors: what do people want to reach?” he said.
- UDOT, on the other hand, is characterized as using a ‘top down’ planning approach, as UDOT takes a lead on planning and implementing destination connections. UDOT received $45 million of ongoing funding from its state legislature in 2023 to build out a statewide trail network. The Trails Division started funding projects before a plan was in place, to ensure they put funding to work immediately: They currently have 19 active projects in various stages of design and feasibility study. The four-person team is two-thirds of the way through developing the trails master plan that will inform future trail funding decisions.
- Tomlin said that Utah got a head start assessing where trails are likely useful because locals and MPOs have done a lot of work and outreach creating active transportation plans. With those in hand, they then did public outreach around the state at 11 open houses, then categorized potential trails into definites, gap projects (places where they’ll need to figure out a connection down the line) and visionary projects that won’t happen for a while but will ambitiously connect the state.
- How would Washington handle planning? Whichever path, it’ll start with what we have and involve the best of what’s already working, Chamberlain said – so long as our work is funded. State governments can create unifying visions that elevate local and regional segments, but working with willing partners is important too, she said. It would also make data-based decisions that help fund places that really need safer infrastructure – often places that have been historically disinvested. Climate Commitment Act funding explicitly calls for at least 35% of funds to go to vulnerable populations like these.
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Even though Cycle Highways work isn’t funded this biennium, Chamberlain said there are still things regional groups can do to support a statewide network. “Every year is a budget year somewhere,” she advised. Because the state plan succeeds with local pre-planning and support, it helps to encourage local and regional groups to develop or invest further in active transportation and trail plans with connections. Additionally, the agency can discuss these local plans when figuring out how to deliver Complete Streets projects, which are a factor in forecasted active transportation work. And lastly, groups can help the state continue building out datasets that inform current projects but also might support Cycle Highways, like data specialist Grace Young’s trails data work described in the March issue of the Walk and Roll (Section: "Call for data: Help us build a statewide bicycle facility database.")
Read the Cycle Highways report on WSDOT's website, and keep tabs on this newsletter for more Cycle Highways resources!
We add new trainings as we find them, so the list changes with every issue. Some of these offer continuing education credits. All times are shown in Pacific Standard Time.
All items are webinars unless a location is noted.
July is Disability Pride Month
August
- August 4, 9 a.m.: Rethinking Public Transit in Emergency Evacuations—Lessons from Wildfires (Transportation Research Board – Fee for most registration)
- Aug. 5, 8 a.m.: Streetfight: Handbook for an Urban Revolution with Janette Sadik-Kahn (Cities for Everyone with Gil)
- Aug. 5-19 (Tuesdays), 10 a.m.: Trail Towns 101: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration to Make Trails Work for Your Community (The Harbinger Consultancy – Fee)
- Aug. 5, 12 noon: Election Cycles: Empowering Advocacy Groups in Local Elections (League of American Bicyclists)
- Aug. 7, 10 am: Forging the Future for Trail Technicians (American Trails – donations appreciated)
- Aug. 10-13, Orlando, FL: ITE Annual Meeting: Innovative Pathways to Safer Transportation (Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) International/Puerto Rico Chapter - Fee)
- Aug. 13, 12 noon: Celebrating Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day (Safe Routes Partnership)
- Aug. 16, 2 p.m., Seattle, WA: Mapping Belonging: Pedestrian Access Walkabout (Seattle Design Festival)
- Aug. 16-20, Seatac, WA: Navigating Today for Tomorrow: Washington State Public Transportation Conference (Washinton State Transit Association)
- Aug. 20, 11 a.m.: Safety vs. Safety: Understanding and Overcoming Conflicts between Street Safety and Fire and Emergency Response (Center for Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety)
- Aug 20., 12 noon: Documenting Pedestrian Infrastructure; Lessons from the Maryland Sidewalk Data Collaboration (APBP)
September + Save the Date
- September 4, 10 a.m.: National Collaboration Efforts on Federal Trail Data and Tools (American Trails – donations appreciated)
- Sept. 9, 11 a.m.: Road Safety Champion Program: Overview of the MUTCD (National Center for Rural Road Safety)
- Sept. 10, 12 noon: 2025 U.S. Federal Policy Webinar - 3rd Quarter (APBP)
- Sept. 11, 10 a.m.: AASHTO Bike Guide Series Part 3: Additional Advances in Bicycling Design (PBIC)
- Sept. 11, 10 a.m.: Helping Communities Tell Their Outdoor Recreation Economic Story (American Trails - donations appreciated)
- Sept. 15-19, Providence, RI: AMPO Annual Conference (Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations – Fee)
- Sept. 17, 11 a.m.: Spatial and Temporal Shifts in Pedestrian Serious Injuries and Fatalities (CPBS)
- Sept. 17, 12 noon: Designing, Delivering, and Scaling an Income-Tiered E-Bike Rebate Program from Local to Provincial Implementation (APBP – Fee)
- Sept. 25, 5 p.m.: Pierce County Trails Conference (ForeverGreen Trails – Fee)
- Sept. 25-26: APBP Virtual Summit 2025 (APBP – Fee)
- October 2, Issaquah, WA: Washington State Trails Caucus (Washington State Trails Coalition - Fee)
- Oct. 7-9: 2025 IACC Conference (Infrastructure Assistance Coordinating Council – Fee)
- Oct. 8 - Nov. 19: Implementing the Safe System Approach Course (ITE – Fee)
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Washington State Transportation Improvement Board has open calls for projects for local governments to apply for funding to make system improvements, including for active transportation and complete streets. Deadline: August 15.
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2025 Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day Mini-grants: $500 and $1000 grants available to organize an event for Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day on November 14, 2025. Safe Routes Partnership provides these grants to local governments, schools, or non-profit/community organizations who are interested in activities that will promote dialogue on activism, anti-racism, and anti-bullying. Webinar in August listed above. Deadline: Aug. 22.
- The Washington State Department of Commerce has ongoing climate planning grants and technical assistance available to local governments across the state.
Keep track of all of the USDOT’s discretionary funding opportunities at the DOT Discretionary Grants Dashboard. Also, a full listing of pedestrian- and bicycle-related federal funding programs is available through FHWA.
Have any funding opportunities people should know about? Send them to WSDOTActive@wsdot.wa.gov.
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WSDOT Open House: Please share your feedback on upcoming projects that affect active transportation.
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Omak, Okanogan and Riverside pedestrian and bike mobility: "WSDOT North Central Region is interested in understanding and improving bike and pedestrian access and mobility through Omak and Okanogan area in Okanogan County. This project will assess the feasibility of trail improvements, sidewalk, and intersection improvements for the Omak and Okanogan communities along the state highways SR 155, SR 155 Spur, US 97/20, and SR 215." Feedback deadline: TBD.
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PNW Active Transportation Professional Education Needs Survey 2025: "The PacTrans Workforce Development Institute, a partnership of PNW universities and organizations collaborating to increase transportation research and education, would like input from practicing professionals like you to help us understand your active transportation education needs as leaders and practitioners. We aim to understand the current landscape of the field, identify potential challenges and opportunities, and develop an action plan to create an innovative and complete active transportation education for professionals."
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 WSDOTActive@wsdot.wa.gov .
Call for Applications/Nominations:
Calls for Papers/Presentations/Abstracts:
We share new papers, established databases, thoughtful essays, and even older research that was ahead of its time. If these are helpful to your existing work or spark a new project: Email WSDOTActive@wsdot.wa.gov to let us know!
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. Forward WSDOT Walk and Roll to others and share the subscription link on social media (tag it #WSDOTactive).
Hannah Weinberger
Communication Lead, WSDOT Active Transportation Division
hannah.weinberger@wsdot.wa.gov
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