The US Department of Transportation recently issued its Draft Strategic Plan for comments (sorry, they're not accepting them anymore). The Strategic Plan establishes the strategic goals and objectives for the DOT for FY2018 through FY2022.
It doesn't mention much about cycling or cyclists. Here is the extent of what it says about biking and pedestrians:
Among those killed in traffic crashes were 1,430 children, 5,286 motorcyclists, and 6,827 pedestrians and bicyclists. Traffic fatalities increased in both 2015 and 2016 after several years of decline. Deaths among pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists increased in 2016.
But then there isn't anything about how to protect cyclists. There isn't any planning about cyclists at all.
This wasn't the case in the 2014-2018 Strategic Plan which had a whole section on bicyclists and pedestrians (page 25). [One reason why the Trump plan doesn't mention it and the Obama plan did may be that the Obama plan was four times longer than the Trump one is]. The draft version of the Obama plan (using the draft because a readable pdf is available) said this:
While we have achieved many safety gains through traditional roadway safety design practices, there are too many roadways, especially in highly populated areas, that inconsistently provide adequate safety for pedestrians, bicyclists, and people with disabilities. While the ten year trend in pedestrian and bicycle fatalities is consistent with the downward trend in overall fatalities, pedestrian fatalities increased 3 percent and bicycle fatalities were up by 9 percent, respectively, between 2010 and 2011. When this increase is looked at in conjunction with a greater demand for pedestrian and bicycling options and an increased emphasis in many urban areas for a more diversified transportation network that accommodates that demand, more attention needs to be placed on how pedestrian and bicycling options can be more effectively and safely integrated into existing transportation networks.
Roadway designs that accommodate all users, referred to as complete streets, help to reduce fatalities and injuries. These roadway designs include features such as sidewalks, raised medians, turning access controls, better bus stop placement, better lighting, traffic calming measures, accessible sidewalks, curb cuts, accessible signage for sensory and cognitive disabilities, and other advances for travelers with disabilities. A safety review found that designing streets with these users in mind improves pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorist safety.
Instituting policies that accommodate all roadway users ensures that every transportation project becomes a comprehensive safety project. These policies have the added benefit of making walking and biking more attractive options and of enhancing the aesthetic quality and commercial activity on local streets.
Older road users are particularly vulnerable. They are more likely to suffer life-threatening injuries even in minor crashes compared with younger people. In 2011, more than 5,400 people age 65 and older were killed and 185,000 were injured in traffic crashes. With the rising number of Americans reaching retirement age over the next 10 to 20 years, strategies to address their transportation safety needs more attention.
To reduce fatalities and injuries for pedestrians, bicyclists, and older drivers, DOT will:
Establish a new clearinghouse of information on determining medical fitness to drive as a resource for State licensing agencies;
Encourage States to adopt policies and programs that improve pedestrian, and bicyclist safety
Work with State, local, and Tribal governments to provide more technical assistance such as the application of pedestrian and bicycle safety assessments to ensure that transportation systems are designed for optimum safety for all;
Develop training programs for motorists, children, pedestrians and bicyclists and promote the use of these programs in schools and other venues;
Work with stakeholders to increase accessible sidewalks, curb cuts and signage, to increase safety for people with disabilities, older adults, novice drivers, and young children;
Distribute community-oriented material, including material in multiple languages, and in culturally competent and accessible formats for people with disabilities, that offers technical guidance on improving pedestrian and bicycle safety through engineering, outreach and enforcement activities;
Consider adopting vehicle standards to reduce pedestrian deaths by making vehicles less likely to harm the pedestrian and by providing driver warnings or automatic braking to prevent a pedestrian crash;
Collaborate with the U.S. Department of Justice, and with State and local law enforcement agencies to promote the adoption of integrated law enforcement and traffic safety strategies based on geographic analysis of crime and traffic safety data; and
Provide national leadership on comprehensive, data-driven and evidence-based emergency medical services and Next Generation 911 systems.
And then went on to mention cycling, bike commuting and bike lanes several more times.
The Trump plan may not mention anything about bike and pedestrian safety, but it does have a whole section on reducing the regulatory burden. So there's that.
Anyway, DOT anticipates that the final DOT Strategic Plan for FY 2018-2022 will be submitted to Congress and posted on the DOT Web site in February 2018.
And the League just announced that Elaine Chao is going to speak at this year’s National Bike Summit. Should be interesting.
Posted by: Henry Dunbar | December 28, 2017 at 06:30 AM