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Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations

Report
This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information
Publication Number: FHWA-HRT-05-133
Date: July 2006

Federal Highway Administration University Course on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation

PDF Version (8.16 MB)

PDF files can be viewed with the Acrobat® Reader®

 

COURSE OVERVIEW

 

For Students:

What is in this Student Workbook?

This Student Workbook contains resource material that is intended for use in university courses on bicycle and pedestrian transportation. The Workbook consists of 24 lessons that can serve as background reading for students. The lessons span a wide range of topics including an introduction to bicycling and walking issues, planning and designing for bicycle and pedestrian facilities, supporting elements and programs, and international approaches to bicycle and pedestrian transportation. This is the second edition of the Student Workbook; the first edition was published as Report No. FHWA-RD-99-198.

Aside from this Student Workbook, where should I start looking to find key resources on bicycle and pedestrian transportation?

Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, FHWA Office of Planning, Environment, and Realty:

Useful resources for State and local government program managers and practitioners.
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/index.htm

Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety Program, FHWA Office of Safety: Information and resources aimed to improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety. http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/

Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Research, FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center: Information on issues and research related to improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety.
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pedbike/

The Access Board: Resources for accessible pedestrian design and public rights-of-way rulemaking.
http://www.access-board.gov/

Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Information, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Bicycle and pedestrian safety information, research, and promotion. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/pedbimot/ped/pedbike.html

Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center: Clearinghouse for information about health and safety, engineering, advocacy, education, enforcement and access and mobility.
http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/

National Center for Bicycling and Walking: Resources to create bicycle-friendly and walkable communities.
http://www.bikewalk.org/

National Transportation Library, Bureau of Transportation Statistics: Repository of materials from public and private organizations around the country. http://ntl.bts.gov/

For Instructors:

Who is the audience for this course material?

The material in this Student Workbook is oriented toward a full course at the graduate level. As such, the lessons span a wide range of topics including an introduction to bicycling and walking issues, planning and designing for bicycle and pedestrian facilities, supporting elements and programs, and international approaches to bicycle and pedestrian transportation. The technical material in this Workbook is primarily intended to support classes offered in civil engineering and urban/regional planning departments. Nonetheless, the first edition material (in whole or in part) has also been incorporated into classes in public health, public policy and administration, and environmental design.

An overview lecture is available (at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/education/) for instructors who would like a succinct overview that can be incorporated into one or two lectures of an existing undergraduate or graduate course.

What other course development resources are available besides this Student Workbook?

The Student Workbook is one of three resources produced in an effort to stimulate the development of bicycle and pedestrian courses in universities nationwide:

  • Student Workbook (this document): contains resource material and background reading for students, divided into 24 lessons.
  • Lesson-based Slideshows: contains scripted slideshows with lesson objectives (in Microsoft PowerPoint®) that correspond to the 24 Student Workbook lessons (available at http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/ped_bike/education/).
  • Overview Lecture: contains a scripted slideshow (in Microsoft PowerPoint®) that can be incorporated as a one- or two-lecture overview in existing undergraduate or graduate transportation courses.

How should I use these resources to develop a bicycle and pedestrian course?

The Student Workbook and the corresponding slideshows can be adopted in their current form, with a minimum level of effort, as the basis of a graduate course. Similarly, the overview lecture can be easily incorporated as one or two lectures in existing undergraduate courses.

Instructors are also encouraged to use any part of this material to form a curriculum that meets their needs. Most of the lessons are standalone in nature, with lessons of similar topics grouped into modules. A majority of the instructors using the first edition of these course materials have "personalized" the lessons for their courses by removing some lessons, adding supplemental material, reorganizing the lessons, and adding exercises and local activities to encourage student participation. For these reasons, a detailed syllabus or course outline has not been provided.

What are the key learning outcomes in this course material?

At the risk of oversimplifying a significant amount of course material, there are key learning outcomes for all students using this bicycle and pedestrian course material. For the Student Workbook, which targets a full graduate course:

  • Students should recognize the legitimacy of the bicycle and pedestrian modes in a balanced transportation system.
  • Students should understand how policy, planning, and engineering practices can be improved to create a more balanced transportation system.
  • Students should be familiar with basic policies, practices, tools, and design principles and know how to use them to create bicycle and pedestrian-friendly communities.

The overview lecture, which targets one or two lectures in an undergraduate course, should address the first two learning outcomes listed above.

 

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