What you'll find in this issue:
- Washington is still leading the way for bike friendliness
- 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!
Washington is still leading the way for bike friendliness
Washington state ranks first in supporting people traveling by bicycle, according to one of the nation’s largest bicycle advocacy organizations.
The League of American Bicyclists releases rankings that gauge how states and their partners are fostering bicycle travel and systems that support it. Today, the League announced that Washington is not only back on top of the Bicycle Friendly State rankings but also continuing to improve on its successes.
The League’s Washington report card highlights how Washington is boosting access to bicycle travel to help people ride more safely, comfortably and confidently. The League assessed bike-friendliness in many ways. In addition to meeting specific policy benchmarks, Washington rose to the top across the following categories:
- Funding
- Infrastructure
- Laws
- Policies
- Capacity & support
- Safety
- Every Ride Counts
This time around, the League gave Washington its flowers for smart policies that help every traveler understand their role in keeping others safe. The League called out legislative actions to strengthen driver education requirements, to clarify how e-motos differ from e-bikes while developing responsive regulation, and to require that convicted speeding offenders use speed-management technology if they still wish to drive.
The organization also noted WSDOT’s structural commitments to speed management policy and the Safe System Approach, which inform our Design and Traffic Manuals; our continued success expanding the nation’s leading bicycle education program; and the extraordinary demand for our active transportation grant programming. We earned more points because of the proportion of Washington towns and cities that have earned Bicycle Friendly Community status, as well as the percentage of commuters dedicated to riding to work.
“Washington state is committed to making active travel more comfortable, more convenient, and more accessible,” said our Active Transportation Division Director Barb Chamberlain. “The League’s assessment emphasizes our wraparound approach to expanding biking access in collaboration with communities around the state. We’re making better places for people of all ages and abilities to bike, strengthening our partners’ capacity to deliver bike- and people-friendly streets, getting more people riding with skills and equipment and improving safety performance across the system.”
We’ve taken the program’s top spot for all but one ranking round since Bike Friendly States launched in 2008, but we’re not resting on our laurels. We have more work to do advancing active travel but are proud that we’re making important strides. We’re also proud to see WSDOT staff recognized as national leaders paving the way for states aspiring to similar success.
Read more about the rankings in the League’s 2026 Bicycle Friendly States Report & Ranking.
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 and are free of charge unless they are a conference or professional course (we try to note when there is a fee).
- Nov. 12, 10 a.m.: Building Community Through Bike Repair and Placemaking (American Trails, donations appreciated)
- Nov. 12, 11 a.m.: Beyond ADA: Accessibility, Dignity and Choice on Multiuse Trails (Rails-to-Trails Conservancy)
- Nov. 14: Ruby Bridges Walk to School Day
- Nov. 14: Anniversary: The first bicycle in Washington Territory arrived in Seattle on this day in 1879
- Nov. 15: World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (WDoR)
- Nov. 17, 8 a.m.: Every City Needs a Department of Neighboring (Gil Penalosa: Cities for Everyone)
- Nov. 17, 10 a.m.: Speed Safety Camera Enforcement in North Carolina School Zones (UNC Highway Safety Research Center)
- Nov. 17, 12 noon: Managing Bike Parking and Bike Theft on College Campuses: Tools, Tricks, and Technology (League of American Bicyclists)
- Nov. 18, 10 a.m.: State Legislative Landscape: Building Your 2027 Agenda for Walking, Biking and Trails (Rails-to-Trails Conservancy)
- Nov. 18, 11 a.m.: 2026 Year in Review: How Your Support Made Biking Better (PeopleForBikes)
- Nov. 18, 12 noon: MnDOT's Separated Bike Lane Guidance: When and How to Implement. (APBP)
- Nov. 18, 12 noon: Safe System Success Stories (Institute of Transportation Engineers)
- Nov. 19, 9 a.m.: Safety and Systems Thinking – Washington Traffic Safety Conference (Kenmore and hybrid, ITE Washington)
- Nov. 19, 11 a.m.: Transit for Walkability (America Walks)
December
Save the Date:
- December 1 – 3: North America Workshop - Community-Based Social Marketing (Community-Based Social Marketing, Doug McKenzie-Mohr)
- March 9 – 11, 2027, Washington, D.C.: 2027 National Bike Summit (League of American Bicyclists)
- April 13 – 15, 2027, Durham, NC: International Trails Summit (American Trails and Professional Trailbuilders Association)
- May 11 – 14, 2027, Nashville, TN: Designing Cities Conference (National Association of City Transportation Officials)
- June 15 – 18, 2027, Minneapolis & St. Paul, MN: CNU 35 (Congress for the New Urbanism)
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.
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.
Calls for applications:
Calls for papers/presentations/abstracts:
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Ecological Frontiers: Urban Ecology: "This special issue focuses on four key areas: urban socio-ecological systems, urban resilience, ecosystem services and health, and smart governance." Deadline: December 30.
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Vehicles: Emerging Transportation Safety and Operations: Practical Perspectives, 3rd Edition: The publication "seeks original contributions within this research area, covering topics that include, but are not limited to, applications of safety methods along with emerging technologies, the evaluation of traffic studies, before–after studies of safety countermeasures, operation-based safety and other impact studies, emerging trends in traffic safety and operations, surrogate measures, and applications of data-driven safety and operation methods with CAV-generated data, third-party data, or other synergized data sources." Deadline: February 24.
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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