New DOT Policy on Walking and Bicycling

After the Bike Summit, Ray LaHood announces the US DOT's new Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations and Recommendations.

It is simply the strongest statement of support for prioritizing bicycling and walking ever to come from a sitting secretary of transportation.

It sounds like a National Complete Streets initiative:

Today, I want to announce a sea change. People across America who value bicycling should have a voice when it comes to transportation planning. This is the end of favoring motorized transportation at the expense of non-motorized.

We are integrating the needs of bicyclists in federally-funded road projects. We are discouraging transportation investments that negatively affect cyclists and pedestrians. And we are encouraging investments that go beyond the minimum requirements and provide facilities for bicyclists and pedestrians of all ages and abilities.

To set this approach in motion, we have formulated key recommendations for state DOTs and communities:

• Treat walking and bicycling as equals with other transportation modes.
• Ensure convenient access for people of all ages and abilities.
• Go beyond minimum design standards.
• Collect data on walking and biking trips.
• Set a mode share target for walking and bicycling.
• Protect sidewalks and shared-use paths the same way roadways are protected (for example, snow removal)
• Improve nonmotorized facilities during maintenance projects.

Tony Kornheiser is not going to like this. 

On his blog LaHood goes on

And our ongoing inter-agency DOT-EPA-HUD partnership on sustainable communities actively encourages planning for walkability and bikability. We think livability means giving folks the flexibility to choose their own mobility.

Look, bike projects are relatively fast and inexpensive to build and are environmentally sustainable; they reduce travel costs, dramatically improve safety and public health, and reconnect citizens with their communities.

This is great news. An administration that wants to put active transportation on equal footing with driving.

Comments

[freewheel]

Wow. Kudos to Secretary LaHood.

[oboe]

Maybe 'w' will get his comprehensive network of elevated cycle-tracks after all.

:)

[SJE]

LaHood hits the nail on the head. Bike projects are fast and inexpensive, and they REDUCE travel costs. If I want to go A to B, its much cheaper for me and for the government if I go via bike than via car.

[Jonathan Krall]

Now I know why I worked so hard to help get Obama elected. Thanks for the great news.

[iRideDC]

I hope HHS Sec Sebelius and Treasury's Geithner were standing beside him during the announcement. This is a bid for a healthier population and less dependence on foreign oil, not just an acquiescence to a noisy little special interest group (of which I am a somewhat silent member.)

[Michael H.]

A big side benefit is having a healthier population. It's no secret that Social Security and Medicare are living on borrowed time. Having cycling become a significant part of mainstream culture can help reduce the insane obesity and diabetes rates that we've been seeing for decades now. Inactivity and poor nutrition end up costing all of us billions (probably hundreds of billions) of dollars a year in increased medical costs, higher insurance rates and higher FICA taxes, to pay for the obesity/diabetes-related expenses (fewer productive years, fewer years of paying into the system, higher medical expenses sooner in one's life, expensive treatments for heart disease, etc.).

Hopefully expanded cycling activity can help reduce the national health bill. In dollar terms, this could be even more important than the foreign oil issue, even though it's not as "sexy" an issue as oil and energy is. Cycling alone won't solve all of these problems but it can be a significant part of the overall solution.

At the same time, this is just one speech. Actions speak much louder than words so I hope these words do end up influencing federal, state and local transportation and planning policies.