Bike/Ped advocacy works! AASHTO rescinds recommendation to limit bike/ped considerations!

Early last week I talked about how the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) request to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)to limit the mandatory consideration of bicycle and pedestrian needs for roadway projects that receive Federal funding. I also discussed how a coalition of bike/ped groups were not going to take this sitting down and fought back against AASHTO's demands.  Well due in part to the hard work of national bicycle and pedestrian advocacy groups like the League of American Bicyclists and America Bikes (just to name a few) and thousands of everyday citizens, AASHTO has rescinded their request to limit bicycle and pedestrian considerations.

Take a look for yourself from the email I received from the League of American Bicyclists.  I quote:

Thank you to the thousands of you who contacted the director of your state transportation agency regarding last week’s action alert. Your voice has been heard loud and clear. Due to your combined efforts, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has withdrawn their recommendation to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to weaken the requirements for states to give “due consideration” to the needs of bicyclists and pedestrians when constructing roadways. The League of American Bicyclists, the National Center for Biking and Walking, and America Bikes will be meeting with AASHTO officials next month to discuss this and other important issues.

If you haven't already, please take action to ensure that state transportation agencies do not gut important bike funding. Visit our Advocacy Center and ask your Governor to rescind federal transportation dollars proportionally across all programs.

You can follow progress on these and other campaigns at bikeleague.org/blog. Thanks again for your support.

Even though many projects designed prior to NJDOT's December 2009 Complete Streets Policy continue to disappoint and underwhelm many New Jersey bicycle and pedestrian advocates, it was very unlikely that NJDOT would have gone along with this carte blanche policy to essentially ignore the needs of bikes and peds.  Still, even with a Complete Streets policy at a state level, this is by no means a reason to relax our vigilance on such issues.

Bike advocates fight back against AASHTO's recomendations

Quickly,

The other day I talked about how AASHTO (the American Association of Highway Transportation Officials) is looking to relax rules that require bicycle and pedestrian consideration in all roadway projects that receive federal funding. Well bicycle and pedestrian groups aren't taking this lying down. America Bikes, a coalition of bicycle, pedestrian and trail advocacy groups, recently wrote this letter to the US DOT in support of keeping the current bike/ped considerations in roadway projects.  I highly suggest that you take a look at that letter!

I know many cyclists often lament wanting to join addition groups, aren't interesting in advocacy and often just don't care.  Well, if these national groups weren't out there fighting for your rights to the road and for the road to be built to better consider your needs, its clear to me that your ride would be much less enjoyable, possibly even illegal.  As such, give a thought to joining one or more of the following organization who are all members of the America Bikes coalition:

Adventure Cycling Association
Alliance for Biking and Walking
America Walks
Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
Bikes Belong
International Mountain Bicycling Association
League of American Bicyclists
National Center for Bicycling and Walking
National Complete Streets Coalition
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Safe Routes to School National Partnership

Closer to home here in Jersey think about these groups:

The New Jersey Bike and Walk Coalition
The East Coast Greenway Alliance
Jersey Off-Road Bicycle Association

AASHTO seeks to weaken considerations for bikes & peds

This news has hit the bike/ped universe rather hard today.   Fortunately, us bike/ped folks are hitting back equally hard.  In a letter to the Federal Highway Administration the American Association of Highway Transportation Officials asked for a "change" in FHWA bicycle and pedestrian policy. The part of interest is below.  Emphasis mine, I quote:

FHWA Guidance for Bicycle and Pedestrian Provisions of Federal Transportation Legislation, updated on April 4, 2007, states the following:  

"Due consideration" of bicycle and pedestrian needs should include, at a minimum, a presumption that bicyclists and pedestrians will be accommodated in the design of new and improved transportation facilities. In the planning, design, and operation of transportation facilities, bicyclists and pedestrians should be included as a matter of routine, and the decision to not accommodate them should be the exception rather than the rule. There must be exceptional circumstances for denying bicycle and pedestrian access either by prohibition or by designing highways that are incompatible with safe, convenient walking and bicycling.

The law clearly states that bicycle and pedestrian facilities shall be considered where appropriate. However, FHWA guidance has embellished the law from “consider where appropriate” to a must include condition unless not doing so can be justified. Furthermore, it states that “there must be exceptional circumstances” for not providing such facilities. This regulation presents an undue burden on states to justify exceptional circumstances when not including provisions for bicyclists and pedestrians in a project. Recommendation: FHWA should rescind their guidance on the meaning of “due consideration.”

WalkBikeJersey contributor and Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Advocacy Director, John Boyle asks:

What does this mean? The FHWA improved its due consideration language to reflect the values of a good complete streets policy. AASHTO is not happy with that language and wishes to exclude any suggestion that they must justify not accommodating bicycles and pedestrians in transportation projects. Justification for exclusion is perhaps the most important element of a complete streets policy-that you just can't say no because the project manager says so. Note that the Federal language says "should" not "shall"

So basically AASHTO is attempting to further weaken a flimsy federal policy for accommodating bicycles and pedestrians. That doesn't sound supportive and bicycle and pedestrian advocates deserve an explanation.

I couldn't agree more.  This is such a shame and a surprise since from where I stand, it seemed that AASHTO was coming around to the side of of bicyclists and pedestrians.  However, Executive Director of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals Kit Keller, had this to say today :

AASHTO officials seem to be oblivious to blossoming interest and innovation of local governments across the land that want walkable, bicycle-friendly communities. AASHTO's recent pronouncement contributes to a growing sense of the irrelevance and irrationality of applying state mandates to local road conditions and needs. Hence the development of new tools like the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide.

Whoa!  You tell 'em Kit!  I knew there was a reason why I liked you.

For more analysis on this, see this great post from Streetsblog Capitol Hill.