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Recreational Trails Program and Transportation Enhancement Activities

 
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In this issue:

Program Update - March 30, 2010

Program Information Resources

United States Department of Transportation Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations and Recommendations

On March 15, 2010, Secretary LaHood announced a new US Department of Transportation Policy Statement on Bicycle and Pedestrian Accommodation Regulations and Recommendations. The Policy Statement provides recommended actions that transportation agencies may consider to make walking and bicycling safer and more convenient. The Policy Statement is an expression of DOT leadership's commitment to walking and bicycling. The Policy Statement is posted at http://www.dot.gov/bicycles-pedestrians. See the Secretary's blog about the Policy Statement.

Transportation Authorization
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) expired on September 30, 2009. Extension #4 extended through March 28, 2010. On March 18, 2010, the President signed the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which extended surface transportation programs and Highway Trust Fund expenditure authority through December 31, 2010 (Extension #5). It also included restoration of the $8.7 billion SAFETEA-LU rescission, extension of the availability of Build America Bonds, and incentives for businesses that hire new workers.

Traffic Safety

Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood reported that traffic fatalities dropped in 2009. He reported on his March 11, 2010 blog:

  • A decline in highway deaths of 8.9% from 2008 to 2009
  • The lowest fatality rate--1.16 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles traveled--on record
  • The lowest overall number of deaths--33,963--since 1954
  • 15 straight quarters of decline in the number of overall roadway deaths

He said: "We all have work to do. So please, buckle up, put away your mobile devices, and keep your mind on the road. I want everyone to get home safely."

Secretary LaHood’s blog posts items about Text Messaging. See:

See also www.gocomics.com/closetohome/2010/03/20/.

Program Financial Resources

FY 2010 Apportionments
FHWA issued Notice N 4510.722, Revised Apportionment of Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Funds Under a 179-Day Extension of Surface Transportation Programs Pursuant to Public Law 111-68, as Amended By Public Law 111-144. This was for Extension #4, and will be superseded with the apportionments from Extension #5. Note: If you see CANCELED across a Notice, click on the link at the top of the page where it says "This directive was canceled" for the new Notice.

FHWA has updated the Recreational Trails Program and Transportation Enhancement Activities apportionment and obligation tables, to the extent feasible, pending final FY 2010 apportionments.

FHWA Guidance: Federal Share, Match, and Donations
FHWA issued new official guidance on December 29, 2009 on:

The Recreational Trails Program RTP Federal Share and Matching Requirements and Transportation Enhancement Summary of Requirements for Matching Funds for TE Projects are consistent with this guidance. The RTP and TE guidance pages link to the FHWA guidance.

TIGER grants

Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant Program selections on February 17, 2010. This program was included in the Recovery Act to spur a national competition for innovative, multi-modal, and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects that promise significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, a region, or the nation. Projects funded with the $1.5 billion allocated in the Recovery Act include improvements to roads, bridges, rail, ports, transit, and intermodal facilities.

Grants Available

Funding available for pedestrian workshops
Funding is available to organizations interested in teaching pedestrian safety workshops focused on older adults in their communities. Each selected site will be provided $2,500 as well as technical assistance from pedestrian safety experts. Only government agencies and other not-for-profit organizations are eligible to apply. Completed proposals are due Friday May 7, 2010. Applicants should use the Web-based submission process at www.walkinginfo.org/psw/rfp.

The National Center for Bicycling and Walking's CenterLines newsletter often has announcements about grant opportunities.

Award Programs

Exemplary Human Environment Initiatives (EHEIs)
FHWA's Exemplary Human Environment Initiatives (EHEIs) recognize and publicize transportation initiatives that make our transportation system work better for the people who use it. FHWA posted several descriptions of winning initiatives at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/ehei/. The call for 2010 Initiatives will come out in April 2010.

Recreational Trails Program Achievement Awards

The Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT) each year its Annual Achievement Awards in recognition of the outstanding use of Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funds. The award winners are recognized at a special ceremony in Washington, D.C. during the annual celebration for Great Outdoors Week. See www.americantrails.org/awards/CRTawards.html#awards for award descriptions and prior awards. The 2010 deadline is April 16, 2010.

National Trails Awards
Every two years, American Trails presents the National Trails Awards to recognize the contributions of volunteers, professionals, businesses, and other leaders who are working to create a national system of trails for all Americans. Nominations should cover accomplishments during the period of June 1, 2008 through May 31, 2010.

Research Reports, Resources, and Technical Assistance

Research Reports

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility in Europe
Pedestrian and bicyclist deaths accounted for 14 percent of U.S. highway fatalities in 2008. The Federal Highway Administration, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and National Cooperative Highway Research Program sponsored a scanning study of five European countries to identify and assess effective approaches to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility. See http://www.international.fhwa.dot.gov/pubs/pl10010/pl10010.pdf.

Resources

Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context-Sensitive Approach, An ITE Recommended Practice
The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) has released a manual for context-sensitive urban thoroughfares. A pdf version of the manual is available at no cost; however, individuals must register to use the ITE bookstore before they may download the document.

Development of a Resource Planning Index for Washington's Scenic and Recreational Highways
The Washington State Department of Transportation has released a report that explores a resource planning index for use in benchmarking and tracking the stewardship performance of investments associated with Washington's Scenic and Recreational Highways.

Center for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO
The Center for Environmental Excellence by AASHTO has a series of Practitioners Handbooks, including how to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Section 4(f), stormwater management, and other issues relating to transportation and the environment.

A March 23 webinar was based on AASHTO Practitioner's Handbook 11, Complying with Section 4(f) of the U.S. DOT Act. See the webinar PowerPoint Presentation and download AASHTO Practitioner's Handbook 11, Complying with Section 4(f) of the U.S. DOT Act (pdf).

The 2009 National Recreation Trails photos are at www.americantrails.org/photoGalleries/photocontest2009/index.html. The pictures show a wide variety of trails, a range of trail users and facilities, plus historic and natural features, and some great scenery.

Technical Assistance

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Smart Growth Implementation Assistance (SGIA) Program. EPA provides the assistance through a contractor team – not a grant. Through a multiple-day site visit and a detailed final report, the multi-disciplinary teams provide information to help the community achieve its goal of encouraging growth that fosters economic progress and environmental protection.

American Trails Accessible Trail Photos and Articles. American Trails hosts a "Cool Trail Solutions" website area. American Trails posted information on accessible boardwalks (www.AmericanTrails.org/photoGalleries/cool/15-Boardwalk-ADA-Accessible-Trail-Bridge.html) and accessible trail surfacing considerations and examples (www.AmericanTrails.org/photoGalleries/cool/3-ADA-Accessible-Trail-Surface.html). American Trails is seeking additional photos and articles related to accessibility.

National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse Image Library. The National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse (NTEC) Image Library is a web accessible media archive that features images of Transportation Enhancement projects. See www.enhancements.org/library/index.asp.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center Image Library. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) Pedestrian and Bicycle Image Library is at www.pedbikeimages.org. The Library contains over 1400 images and continues to grow. The PBIC Image Library is a searchable collection of high-quality images relating to walking and bicycling.

Trail Publications. FHWA's trail-related publications at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/publications/ include links to many USDA Forest Service publications and resources.

Training Resources and Webinars

Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals
The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (www.APBP.org) hosts monthly webinars related to walking and bicycling. Future topics will include:

  • April 21: Bicycle Parking Best Practices
  • May 19: Law Enforcement in Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Programs
  • June 16: Policy Promotion
  • July 21: Bicycle Boulevards
  • August 18: Road Diets
  • September 15: Integrating Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities with Transit
  • October 20: Roundabouts
  • November 17: Smart Growth Connection
  • December 15: Bike Boxes

APBP Members may participate in webinars at discounted rates: the discounts are worth the cost of membership. Membership entitles you to participate in the APBP listserve and other services.

Context Sensitive Solutions National Dialog Workshops
Thursday, April 22, 2010. Attend on site or view the webcast. The workshop will include an overview of Context Sensitive Solutions (CSS) plus presentations on exemplary projects, plans and programs from the Northeast region.
Time: 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM (Central)
Location: University of Minnesota, St Paul, MN
The workshop will provide transportation agency employees and managers, government decision makers, community groups and future transportation professionals the opportunity to learn more about CSS and how it can improve transportation processes and outcomes. There is no cost to participate, but advance registration is required. See http://cssnationaldialog.org/schedule.asp.

National Transit Institute (NTI)
Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments
April 15, 2010: 2:00pm - 3:30pm Eastern Time
NTI, in cooperation with the Transit Cooperation Research Program (TCRP) and the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), offers Webinars that highlight specific TCRP reports. The webinar is free, but you must register at www.NTIONLINE.com to receive log-in information. From the home page, click on T-Classes and Webinars, and then Improving Pedestrian and Motorist Safety Along Light Rail Alignments.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) has free, public webinars every other month to encourage safe walking and bicycling as a viable means of transportation and physical activity. To register for upcoming webinars and to access archived presentations, see www.walkinginfo.org/webinars/.

The National Trails Training Partnership is an effort by trails advocates to improve opportunities for training for the nationwide trails community. The vision of the Partnership is "to ensure that the full range of skills, training, and resource information is available to trail groups, communities, tribal governments, and State and Federal agencies." See more resources for training and education, including the Online Training Calendar.

Newsletters, News Magazines, and Websites

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Blog: Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood posts a Blog called Welcome to the Fastlane. There are frequent postings relating to livability issues and other issues affecting transportation enhancement activities and trails. See http://fastlane.dot.gov/.

FHWA's Environmental Quarterly Newsletter has useful information related to transportation and the environment. See www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/environment/publications.cfm.

FHWA's Pedestrian Forum Newsletter has useful information related to pedestrian safety. See http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/pedforum/. There are links to training and safety materials.

FHWA Resource Center's Centered on Service Newsletter has useful articles on a variety of transportation topics.

FHWA's Transportation Planning Newsletter has a variety of transportation planning news items. See www.fhwa.dot.gov/resourcecenter/teams/planning/publications.cfm.

America's Byways Bulletin, www.bywaysonline.org/program/bulletin/, has information related to the National Scenic Byways Program, including conferences and training resources.

America's Byways Vistas, is a bimonthly news magazine with stories about America's Byways.

Disclaimer: The links below reflect the views of these organizations. Providing links to these resources does not represent endorsement by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse TE Corner
The National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse issues its newsletter, TE Corner. It has stories about interesting Transportation Enhancement (TE) projects and broader news concerning the TE program. Additional NTEC publications are at www.enhancements.org/publications.asp.

National Park Service Conservation and Recreation Newsletter.
The National Park Service has a monthly Conservation and Recreation Newsletter.

AASHTO Center for Environmental Excellence Website
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Center for Environmental Excellence posts many resources related to transportation and the environment. See http://environment.transportation.org. See the Recent Developments page.

The American Council of Snowmobile Associations newsletter represents snowmobile associations.

American Trails publishes the American Trails Magazine and the Trail Tracks newsletter. American Trails Magazine covers trail-related news, legislation, action items, trainings, success stories, events, people making a difference, creative funding ideas, resources, and information on products and services. Trail Tracks is a more typical monthly newsletter with current trail information and "Action Alerts". The Magazine and Trail Tracks archives share the same webpage: www.americantrails.org/trailtracks/.

Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals represents professionals and advocates whose work relates to walking and bicycling. APBP's newsletter provides valuable information on professional development webinars, transportation policy, conferences, member collaboration groups, and more. See www.apbp.org.

Equestrian Trails and Conservation Awareness is a website addressing natural resource conservation issues for recreational horse trail riders. See www.etaca.info.

Equine Land Conservation Resource news is at www.elcr.org/index_newsletters.php. ELCR advances the conservation of land for equine-related activity.

League of American Bicyclists: American Bicyclist Update is at www.bikeleague.org/members/e-newsletter_archive.php. The newsletters have many articles of interest to TE managers and trail interests, including national resources and State and local news related to bicycling. From March 15, 2010: Google Announces Google Biking Directions at the League of American Bicyclists' 2010 National Bike Summit. See http://maps.google.com/biking to try this new feature.

National Center for Bicycling and Walking: Centerlines is at http://www.bikewalk.org/newsletter.php. The newsletters have many articles of interest to TE managers and trail interests, especially on planning, policy, funding sources, health, and research, plus links to webinars and other training.

The National Off Highway Vehicle Conservation Council newsletter has articles relating to off highway vehicle issues. See www.nohvcc.org.

Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center: PBIC Messenger. The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) is maintained by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center with funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. PBIC has resources for training, research, and technical assistance related to walking and bicycling. Sign up for this newsletter at www.pedbikeinfo.org.

Conferences and Calendars

May 5-8, 2010. International Mountain Bicycling Association: 2010 IMBA World Summit, Augusta GA. http://imba.com/summit/2010_World_Summit.html.

May 11-14, 2010. Partnership for the National Trails System: 2010 National Historic Trails Workshop, San Antonio TX. The theme is Cultural and Heritage Tourism: Trails As Destinations. Hosted by El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Association. www.PNTS.org.

May 18-20, 2010. Bridging Conservation and Recreation: 2010 River Management Society (RMS) and National Association of Recreation Resource Planners (NARRP) Symposium, Portland OR. See www.river-management.org/symposium-2010/home.htm.

May 24-28, 2010. Bureau of Land Management National Landscape Conservation System 2010 Science Symposium, Albuquerque NM. www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/NLCS.html.

June 5, 2010. National Trails Day. The American Hiking Society's National Trails Day® (NTD) inspires the public and trail enthusiasts nationwide to seek out their favorite trails to discover, learn about, and celebrate trails while participating in educational exhibits, trail dedications, gear demonstrations, instructional workshops, and trail work projects. Register your event.

June 10-12, 2010. International Snowmobile Congress: 42nd International Snowmobile Congress, Coralville IA (near Iowa City). www.iowasnowmobiler.com/isc2010/index.html. The International Association of Snowmobile Administrators will meet as part of the Congress, see www.snowiasa.org.

July 15-17, 2010. Southeastern Equestrian Trails Conference, Norcross, GA. Organized by the Chattahoochee Trail Horse Association. SETC brings together people concerned about the future of the natural and cultural heritage of the equestrian trail experience. The theme for the 2010 conference is The Art and Heart of Keeping Our Trails - Ride Smart and Do Your Part. This conference is open to anybody with an interest in equestrian trails. www.southeasternequestriantrails.com.

August 26-27, 2010. National Off Highway Vehicle Conservation Council: National OHV Program Managers Workshop, Great Falls MT. This workshop is especially for government agency staff with off highway vehicle responsibilities. The NOHVCC Annual Conference on August 28-29 is primarily intended for NOHVCC State Contacts. www.nohvcc.org.

September 9-12, 2010. Preserving the Historic Road 2010, Washington, DC. www.historicroads.org.

September 13-17, 2010. National Center for Bicycling and Walking: The 16th Pro Walk / Pro Bike® 2010, Chattanooga TN. The conference theme is Bringing Livable Communities and Regions to Scale. www.bikewalk.org/2010conference/index.html.

September 17-18, 2010. Transportation Enhancement Professional Seminar, Chattanooga TN (immediately after Pro Walk / Pro Bike®). This seminar is for State and Federal program managers responsible for administering Transportation Enhancement Activities. www.enhancements.org/TE_seminar.asp.

November 14-17, 2010. American Trails: 20th National Trails Symposium, Chattanooga TN. www.americantrails.org/2010/. The theme is Trails: The Green Way for America. See the Call for Presentations. Proposals are due April 9, 2010.
The State Trail Administrator Training Meeting will be November 13-14, 2010. This training is for State and Federal program managers responsible for administering the Recreational Trails Program.
www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/events/stam_2010/. See notes from previous meetings from 1993 through 2009 at www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/events/.

The National Trails Training Partnership will meet November 17-18, 2010.

With both Pro Walk / Pro Bike® and the National Trails Symposium, you have good reasons to visit Chattanooga in 2010.

See more events at:

  • Trail-related events: American Trails Calendar.
  • Bicycle and pedestrian events: National Center for Bicycling and Walking Calendar with each CenterLines newsletter
  • Events posted on FHWA's Recreational Trails Program Events
  • Events posted on FHWA's Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty Calendar
Updated: 04/18/2013
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