Walk and Roll: WSDOT Active Transportation - February 13, 2026 - Web

Washington State Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 02/13/2026 04:57 PM PST

    Active Transportation Division News From WSDOT and Partners

    What you'll find in this issue: 

    • Effects of e-bike rebates on your neighbors' transportation access
    • Daylight Saving Time effects on traffic safety
    • Legislative bill tracking
    • Webinar updates for our grant programs 
    • 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 
    • Surveys to take
    • Plenty of useful resources! 

    The Mobili-Tea at ATD

    Powering healthy habits: The lifechanging benefits of e-bike rebates

    Like many Washingtonians, I moved to the state in part to spend more time outside. But even the most enthusiastic outdoorspeople can struggle to build physical activity into their daily lives in the winter. After months of cold, gray and wet days huddled next to SAD lamps, there are more mental and sometimes physical barriers to taking a morning walk, finding the energy to hit the gym, or gearing up for a chilly, hilly bike commute.

    Enter the humble e-bike. Riding an e-bike even at a moderate intensity does count as exercise. Plus, e-bikes provide a bit of a boost on sluggish days and can make it possible for people of all abilities to get the heart-pumping fitness benefits of a bike ride. And because they can replace car trips, people who ride e-bikes can get incidental exercise during their daily commutes and errands.

    Feedback from the pilot year of WE-Bike, our e-bike rebate program, suggests that e-bikes make it easier to travel more places conveniently and make exercise fun. Legislators funded the WE-Bike program with Climate Commitment Act dollars to make e-bikes more affordable for Washington residents. The Legislature is continuing to fund the program, which means we can provide it again with even more dollars to put toward rebates.

    These rebates motivated people to buy e-bikes they couldn’t or wouldn’t have otherwise, especially those in lower-income households.

    Leilani F. had always wanted her own bike. “[But] if I were to just get on a regular bike, it would be very tough,” said Leilani, who is one of nearly 3,000 Washingtonians who purchased e-bikes and related safety equipment so far with help from WE-Bike. Riding an e-bike helped her get in shape. “I try not to use the [motor assist] part of it too much, but when I do get tired, it's actually really nice,” she said. “My bike is perfect.”

    Government e-bike rebate programs are starting to gain ground in North America. They’ve been popular where governments offer them, and have helped many people make bike riding a habit. When more people replace car trips with bike rides, they also help us make progress toward improving traffic safety for everyone and reducing pollution. After replacing car trips with bike trips when traveling to a nearby town, one recipient discovered e-biking is a great way to get leisurely exercise in a rural setting. “It’s just fun – I feel like a kid again!” they shared with us.

    Improving access to this convenient transportation can also be lifechanging for those who don’t or can’t drive, or who face barriers to purchasing e-bikes. One recipient said being able to bike to and from ferry stations and their office, instead of transferring between multiple buses, gives them more flexibility in their commuting schedule. “This has provided me with some great exercise and saves me time waiting for the bus when I arrive to either location,” they said.

    We’re launching the program again this Spring. It will be open to anyone living in Washington state who is 16 or older. We’ll continue to update the WE-Bike program webpage with information as it becomes available. In the meantime, we recommend signing up for our e-bike programs listserv for updates by email.

    Saving lives by staying alert as we shift to Daylight Saving Time

    Daylight Saving Time begins March 8. More evening light is cause for celebration, but travelers, take note: Suddenly losing an hour of sleep and knocking our circadian clocks out of rhythm can make us less alert. Combined with less light for the morning commute, shifting to DST usually leads to a six-percent increase in the risk of fatal crashes in the following workweek, especially on Monday. Your risk increases the farther west you are in a given time zone. 

    It's one reason why the work we do with our partners to complete streets and build more infrastructure for people walking and biking is important. Making comfortable, accessible, well-lit space for biking, walking and rolling helps everyone get where they need to go. And when we work with the Safe System Approach, we account for mistakes people may make while traveling. The Approach, highlighted in our Target Zero highway safety plan, asks everyone who plays a role in transportation to use tools that reduce the likelihood and severity of crashes as well as people's exposure to them. Together, layers of safety create a system where if one form of protection fails, others still work. 

    Tracking bills in the 2026 Legislative Session 

    We're midway through the Washington State Legislature's 60-day legislative session. You can search for bill copies, detailed legislative reports, and other information on the legislature's bill information page. There are a number of 'cutoff dates' during the session, which can indicate which bills won't move forward. The most recent cutoff was Feb. 9, by which bills needed to leave their fiscal committees. Bills must leave their committees of origin by Feb. 17 to continue. 

    Policy bills that have some bearing on active transportation and which have moved forward include:

    Upcoming webinars: Funding opportunities with WSDOT's Safe Routes to School and Pedestrian/Bicyclist Programs 

    The Pedestrian/Bicyclist Program and Safe Routes to School Program are accepting project applications for the 2027-29 biennium until April 15, 2026. We are providing webinars to assist partners in developing applications. 

    • February 17, 10 a.m.: Overview Webinar

      • This presentation will cover the details of the Safe Routes to School and Pedestrian/Bicyclist Program call for projects and the application process. This presentation is being recorded and the slides will be made available.

    • Feb. 19, 11:00 a.m.: Design Guidance
      • This webinar will discuss updates to the WSDOT Active Transportation Programs Design Guide and present ​​the WSDOT Active Transportation Program's new rubric for evaluating active transportation design at crossings​. This presentation is being recorded and the slides will be made available.
    • The due date to submit 2026 applications for both these programs is, again, April 15. Please note that you will only be able to submit complete applications, and that includes providing a memo documenting tribal consultation for your project(s).

    Please direct any questions to the WSDOT ATD Grants Mailbox (ATDGrants@wsdot.wa.gov).  We look forward to reviewing your applications and continuing to support investments of funding and technical assistance for jurisdictions building safer, more equitable communities.

    5+ Things to Read/Watch/Hear

    Trainings, Conferences, Webinars

    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.

    February: Black History Month, American Heart Month, National Cancer Prevention Month

    March

    Save the Date (Many of the following events require registration, fees, etc.)

    Grant and funding opportunities

    • Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program (USDOT) Deadline: February 24.
    • Regional Mobility Grant (WSDOT): opens February 3, and pre-application due March 3.
    • WSDOT City Safety Program (WSDOT). This part of our state’s implementation of the Highway Safety Improvement Program supports cities in making improvements identified in their local road safety plans and aimed at reducing fatal and serious crashes on city streets. Tribal governments may apply for funding for projects that are within incorporated cities that have experienced fatal or serious injury crashes during the past five years. Due: March 6.
    • 2026 Trails Accelerator Grants (International Mountain Bicycling Association) Planning and design. Due March 15. Also coming soon: Education Services Grant Round (April 2026).
    • American Association of Retired Persons, AARP - Community Challenge Program – opening soon (subscribe to the AARP Livable Communities Newsletter from their webpage to get most current information). Deadline: "in March." 
    • WSDOT Pedestrian/Bicyclist (PBP) and Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs Calls for Projects. Applicant trainings in mid-February (see Trainings/Webinars listing above). Deadline: 11:59 p.m., April 15. 
    • Riding for Focus (R4F) (Outride) For public middle schools and schools districts serving students from low-income families. Deadline: April 17.
    • 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.

    Planning, projects and surveys

    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.

    Present, publish and participate

    Calls for papers/presentations/abstracts: 

    Calls for applications/expressions of interest/nominations:

    Research and resources

    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