National Guidance on Street Standards: From AASHTO to
NACTO and Beyond
APA National Planning Conference
Los Angeles
April 15, 2012
Atlanta Baltimore Boston Chicago Detroit Houston Los Angeles Minneapolis New York Philadelphia Phoenix Portland San Francisco Seattle Washington D.C.
National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO)
21 “Innovative” Urban Bikeway Design Treatments
BIKE LANES • Conventional • Left-side • Contra-Flow • Buffered
CYCLE TRACKS • One-way • Two-way • Raised
INTERSECTIONS • Bike Boxes • Intersection Crossing Markings • Two-stage Turn Queue Boxes • Median Refuge Island • Through Bike Lanes • Combined Bike Lane/Turn Lane • Cycle Track Intersection Approach
SIGNALS • Bicycle Signal Heads • Signal Acuation and Detection • Active Warning Beacon for Bike
Route at Unsignalized Intersection • Hybrid Signal for Bike Route
Crossing of Major Street
SIGNING & MARKING • Wayfinding Signage and
Markings System • Colored Bike Facilities • Shared Lane Markings
“The bicycle has become an important element for consideration in the highway design process. Fortunately, the existing street and highway system provides most of the mileage needed for bicycle travel.”
• 900 pages of guidance
• Less than 1 page on bicycles
List of Core Bikeway Design Treatments
BIKE LANES • Conventional • Left-side • Contra-Flow • Buffered
CYCLE TRACKS • One-way • Two-way • Raised
INTERSECTIONS • Bike Boxes • Intersection Crossing Markings • Two-stage Turn Queue Boxes • Median Refuge Island • Through Bike Lanes • Combined Bike Lane/Turn Lane • Cycle Track Intersection Approach
SIGNALS • Bicycle Signal Heads • Signal Acuation and Detection • Active Warning Beacon for Bike
Route at Unsignalized Intersection • Hybrid Signal for Bike Route
Crossing of Major Street
SIGNING & MARKING • Wayfinding Signage and
Markings System • Colored Bike Facilities • Shared Lane Markings
State Federal
MUTCD
Local
Green Book
AASHTO MUTCD Supplement
State Road Design
Manual
City Street
Design
Manual
From Standards to Guidelines
Color
Stencil
Buffer
Signage
Signals
Cycle Track Width
Buffer Width
Orientation
Parking
Context/
Application
MUTCD State/Local Guidance
FHWA Request to Experiment
• Do people
understand what this means?
• Are cyclists complying?
• Are drivers confused?
How we built our case for each treatment
1. It’s been done • List of US Cities currently using a
given treatment
2. It works • Contextual Rendering, Images,
International Standards, Research
3. We can do it too • Is it worth replicating?
Professionals
Federal
State
Local
Advocates
State
Local
Bloggers
City Leaders
Policymakers
Direct Outreach
Webinars
Conferences
Direct Outreach Endorsement Campaign
Using and adopting the NACTO Guide
Level of Government Process
Federal - Changes to MUTCD (Green Color, Bike Box, Bike Signal) - Secretary LaHood endorsement - Federal Policy statement
State - Complete Streets Policy - Adoption through Reference - Legislative Action
Local - Endorsement - Resolution - Ordinance - Administrative Action/Policy - Implementation - Complete streets
“Further research is needed to determine how design guidelines achieve…designation [as a prevailing standard]. If the term simply requires that many cities adopt a standard, it creates a dilemma where no city wants to expose itself to liability by being the first to do so. An agreement between many…cities to adopt new design standards or a state policy encouraging the use of new guidelines could overcome the problem.”
Moving beyond Prevailing Street Design Standards: Assessing Legal and Liability Barriers to More Efficient Street Design and Function -Center for Resource Efficient Communities, UC-Berkeley, 2011
Summer 2011 Endorsement Campaign
Over 40 Official City Endorsements
Outreach to 50 States, including every State DOT
Innovative Bikeway Projects all around the country
Alexandria, VA Ann Arbor, MI Arlington, VA Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Baltimore, MD Boston, MA Boulder, CO Cambridge, MA Charlotte, NC Charleston, SC Cheyenne, WY Chicago, IL Fargo, ND Fort Collins, CO Fort Wayne, IN Hoboken, NJ Indianapolis, IN Los Angeles, CA Manhattan, KS Memphis, TN
Miami, FL Minneapolis, MN New York, NY Norfolk, VA Oakland, CA Orlando, FL Omaha, NE Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA Phoenix, AZ Portland, OR Rochester, NY Salt Lake City, UT San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA Sioux Falls, SD St. Petersburg, FL Tacoma, WA Trenton, NJ Washington, DC
Official endorsements
Bicycle
Path
Sidewalk Buffer &
Pedestrian Island
Parking/
Loading
Dedicated
Bus Lane Travel Lanes
Streets for Buses, Transit, Bikes, and Pedestrians
David Vega-Barachowitz Sustainable Initiatives Program Manager NACTO [email protected] (212) 839-6421
Suggested updates, comments, or questions? Affiliate Membership?
1. Federal Highway Administration (MUTCD) blesses a sign, signal or pavement marking.
2. AASHTO also covers geometric design.
3. AASHTO expands guidance in MUTCD.
4. State DOT’s follow AASHTO and the MUTCD.
5. Other professional associations – ITE, NACTO – also publish guides, state of the practice manuals.
6. New information, ideas, and innovations are vetted, evolve, and are tested over time.
7. Back to number one.
• Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, FHWA – Most dynamic areas of change are
bike and ped guidance
– Updates and interim approvals
• Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines, U.S. Access Board – Public Right-of-Way Accessibility
Guidelines
– Shared Use Path Guidelines
• AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities – Due for publication in 2012
• NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Manual – Published in 2010, update due ?
• Highway Capacity Manual, ITE – Bicycle and Pedestrian LOS Measures
• Highway Safety Manual – Countermeasures for bicycle and pedestrian crashes
• Variety of signs and markings to increase motorist compliance with pedestrian laws.
• Accessible pedestrian signals, countdown signals, signals at uncontrolled locations.
• Bikeway signing and marking:
– Shared lane markings
– Use of green pavement (interim approval)
• Do not use on paved shoulders or bike lanes
• Should not use if the speed limit exceeds 35 mph
• Place marking immediately after an intersection and at intervals not greater than 250 feet
• How to design contra-flow bike lanes • How to design left-side bike lanes • Use of green pavement in bike lanes • Buffers between bike lanes and travel lanes
and/or parking lanes • Bike lanes adjacent to reverse-angled
parking • Allowance for narrower bike lanes in urban
low speed environments
• Min 7’ parking lanes allowed
• Provides options to address safety in locations with high parking turnover:
• Widen parking lane
• Widen bike lane
• Buffer
• Extend parking “Ts”
Arlington, VA
• Retains some previous
• Dotted bike lane lines through intersections allowed to guide through undefined areas
• 4’ wide bike lane allowed through intersection (5’ preferred)
• Narrowing travel lanes to 10’ wide is an acceptable way to gain width for bike lanes.
• Travel lanes can be removed if excess capacity exists
• Deemphasizes bike routes, they are not a facility type
• Guidance on all sign types
• Signs are not a substitute for good geometric design
• D-Series are below
• On long bridges where traffic speeds are higher, consideration should be given to providing a bikeway separated from traffic, preferably on both sides.
• Addresses considerations if bicycles are allowed to operate on the freeway
• Addresses freeway interchange design
– Design junctions as right-angle intersections if possible
• New stand-alone chapter
• Reflects several significant studies:
– Characteristics of Emerging Trail and Roadway Users
– Shared Use Path Level of Service
– Architectural Barriers Act Accessibility Guidelines for Outdoor Developed Areas
– Safety Effects of Marked Versus Unmarked Crosswalks at Uncontrolled Locations
• Fills missing gaps in the old Guide
• Significantly expanded guidance
• Explains the complexities of path-roadway intersections
• Three crossing types:
– Midblock
– Sidepath
– Grade-separated
• Bike boxes
• Advisory Bike Lanes
• Floating Bike Lanes
• Cycle tracks
• Raised bike lanes
• Bicycle signal heads
Washington, DC
Contact information:
Jennifer Toole, ASLA, AICP
Toole Design Group
Organizations
• AARP Public Policy Institute • American Society of Landscape
Architects • Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle
Professionals • California Department of Health
Services • California Strategic Growth Council • City of Long Beach • City of Los Angeles Planning
Department • Council for Watershed Health • Congress for the New Urbanism • Federal Highway Administration
• Green Los Angeles Coalition • Institute of Transportation Engineers • Local Government Commission • Los Angeles Chapter of the American
Institute of Architects • Los Angeles County Department of
Public Health • National Complete Streets Coalition • Project for Public Spaces • Safe Routes to School National
Partnership • Smart Growth America • UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation • Walkable and Livable Communities
Institute
Legal Standing of Street Manuals • AASHTO “Green Book”
• The California Highway Design Manual
• Local manuals or street design standards
• MUTCD
• The California Fire Code
• CA Streets and Highways Code and California Vehicle Code
Living Streets Vision • Equity • For people of all ages and
physical abilities whether they walk, bicycle, ride transit, or drive
• Integrate connectivity and traffic calming with pedestrian-oriented site and building design
• Connect people • Local people design their
streets
• Are inviting places • Foster healthy commerce • Strengthen and enhance
neighborhoods • Encourage active and
healthy lifestyles • Integrate environmental
stewardship • Vary in character by
neighborhood, density, and function
Adoption
• Download www.modelstreetdesignmanual.com
• Manual as a template
• Customize
• Formalize adoption
YOUR CITY’S NAME Date