The DOT policy is to incorporate safe and convenient walking and bicycling facilities into transportation projects. Every transportation agency, including DOT, has the responsibility to improve conditions and opportunities for walking and bicycling and to integrate walking and bicycling into their transportation systems. Because of the numerous individual and community benefits that walking and bicycling provide — including health, safety, environmental, transportation, and quality of life — transportation agencies are encouraged to go beyond minimum standards to provide safe and convenient facilities for these modes.
Current FHWA Bicycle and Pedestrian Program guidance
This memorandum expresses the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) support for taking a flexible approach to bicycle and pedestrian facility design. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) bicycle and pedestrian design guides are the primary national resources for planning, designing, and operating bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Urban Bikeway Design Guide and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Designing Urban Walkable Thoroughfares guide builds upon the flexibilities provided in the AASHTO guides, which can help communities plan and design safe and convenient facilities for pedestrian and bicyclists. FHWA supports the use of these resources to further develop non-motorized transportation networks, particularly in urban areas.
– From Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Design Flexibility, August 2013
Sidewalks play a vital role in city life. As conduits for pedestrian movement and access, they enhance connectivity and promote walking. As public spaces, sidewalks serve as the front steps to the city, activating streets socially and economically. Safe, accessible, and well-maintained sidewalks are a fundamental and necessary investment for cities, and have been found to enhance general public health and maximize social capital.
– From NACTO Urban Street Design Guide
Pedestrian crossing islands (or refuge areas)—also known as center islands, refuge islands, pedestrian islands, or median slow points—are raised islands placed on a street at intersections or midblock locations to separate crossing pedestrians from motor vehicles.
There are several types of medians and pedestrian crossing islands, and if designed and applied appropriately, they improve the safety benefits to both pedestrians and vehicles in the following ways:
As traffic speeds and volumes increase, so too does the level of protection desired by pedestrians. Where vehicle speeds and volumes are high and pedestrian access is expected at regular intervals, signalized crossings preserve a safe walking environment. Where anticipated pedestrian traffic is low or intermittent, or where vehicle volumes are lower and pedestrian crossings shorter, designers may consider the use of unsignalized crossing treatments such as medians, hybrid or rapid flash beacons, or raised crossings.
On streets with low volume (<3000 ADT), low speeds (<20 mph), and few lanes (1–2), marked crosswalks are not always necessary at the intersections. At schools, parks, plazas, senior centers, transit stops, hospitals, campuses, and major public buildings, marked crosswalks may be beneficial regardless of traffic conditions.
On streets with higher volume (>3000 ADT), higher speeds (>20 mph), or more lanes (2+), crosswalks should be the norm at intersections.
– From NACTO Urban Street Design Guide
Median refuge islands are protected spaces placed in the center of the street to facilitate bicycle and pedestrian crossings. Crossings of two-way streets are facilitated by allowing bicyclists and pedestrians to navigate only one direction of traffic at a time. Medians configured to protect cycle tracks can both facilitate crossings and also function as two-stage turn queue boxes. See Two-Stage Turn Queue Boxes for guidance details.
For bicycle facility crossings of higher volume or multi-lane streets, increased levels of treatment may be desired including bicycle signals, hybrid beacons, or active warning beacons.
– From NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide
Curb extensions visually and physically narrow the roadway, creating safer and shorter crossings for pedestrians while increasing the available space for street furniture, benches, plantings, and street trees. They may be implemented on downtown, neighborhood, and residential streets, large and small. Curb extensions have multiple applications and may be segmented into various sub-categories, ranging from traffic calming to bus bulbs and midblock crossings.
The NACTO Urban Street Design Guide has good guidance for designers about Pedestrian Safety Islands
USDOT Pedestrian Safety Enforcement Operations: A How-to Guide
The Bicycle Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System is intended to provide practitioners with the latest information available for improving the safety and mobility of those who bike. The online tools provide the user with a list of possible engineering, education, or enforcement treatments to improve bicycle safety and/or mobility based on user input about a specific location.
This Separated Bike Lane Planning and Design Guide outlines planning considerations for separated bike lanes (also sometimes called “cycle tracks” or “protected bike lanes”) and provides a menu of design options covering typical one and two-way scenarios. It highlights different options for providing separation, while also documenting midblock design considerations for driveways, transit stops, accessible parking, and loading zones. It provides detailed intersection design information covering topics such as turning movement operations, signalization, signage, and on-road markings. Case studies highlight best practices and lessons learned throughout the document.
In 2013 FHWA released a memorandum that reinforced the Administration’s support for taking a flexible approach to bicycle and pedestrian facility design, and encouraged designers to use the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide to further develop non-motorized transportation networks, particularly in urban areas.
The NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide provides cities with state-of-the-practice solutions that can help create complete streets that are safe and enjoyable for bicyclists. The guide is based on the experience of the best cycling cities in the world. Most of the treatments discussed in the guide are not in the current version of the AASHTO Guide to Bikeway Facilities, although they are virtually all (with two exceptions) permitted under the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).
To assist communities and designers with what is and what isn’t currently allowed in terms of bicycle infrastructure the Federal Highway Administration receives occasional inquiries about what bicycle facilities, signals, and markings are permitted in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The table below lists various bicycle-related signs, markings, signals, and other treatments and identifies their status (e.g., can be implemented, currently experimental) in the 2009 version of the MUTCD.
– From FHWA Bicycle Facilities and the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
The Massachusetts Department of transportation became the first state to adopt a Separated Bike Lane Planning & Design Guide
So far, two US cities (Davis and Salt Lake City) have installed Dutch-style protected intersections
See Protected Bike Lane videos
ITE Recommended Design Guidelines to Accommodate Pedestrians and Bicycles at Interchanges
Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding Opportunities
Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding, Design, and Environmental Review: Addressing Common Misconceptions
Building Better Communities Through Complete Streets – The Protected Intersection – From ITE Journal (page 40)
Incorporating On-Road Bicycle Networks into Resurfacing Projects – FHWA-HEP-16-025
