 NCBW Newsroom - The National & International SceneThe National & International Scene | Regional and Local Actions | The Research Beat | Resources | Jobs, Grants & RFPs NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION UPDATES -> It has been a busy two weeks since issue #296... The "2012 Benchmarking Report" is released by the Alliance for Biking & Walking. The Benchmarking Report answers the question of how walking and bicycling conditions in your community or your state compares with others. Every state and the fifty largest cities are compared on metrics such as per capita advocacy resources; road safety; bike/ped spending at local and state levels; miles of facilities; education programs and much more. Download the report and keep it handy for the next time someone says: 'Don't we already have enough bike lanes in Driversville?' (http://bit.ly/xNmi4G) -> "ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION BEYOND URBAN CENTERS" is released by the Rails to Trails Conservancy (RTC). Perhaps you have heard the argument that biking is a lifestyle choice practiced primarily by lycra-clad males riding bikes worth more than your car, and urban dwellers in far-too-tight jeans riding bikes with no brakes. RTC's new report rebuts many of these myths, assumptions, and stereotypes about walking and biking. For example, small rural cities (2.5k to 10k) have double the bike to work mode share of large urban cores: 1.6 percent versus 0.8 percent. There are also some surprising statistics on walking in mid sized cities: many have a higher percentage of walking trips than our densest urban areas. View the report at: (http://bit.ly/AaDGU4). Be sure to try out the accompanying interactive map, which includes county health data, success stories, bike/ped projects, fatalities, and congressional district boundaries. For city dwellers, be sure to check out RTC's "Active Transportation for America." View that report here: (http://bit.ly/xAO1iK) -> THE HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE released its version of a federal transportation bill. You might want to sit down before you read on. Committee leadership appears to have stopped short of outlawing the bicycle, but not by much: the set aside for Transportation Enhancements is eliminated; the SRTS program is eliminated; state bicycle/pedestrian and SRTS coordinators are eliminated; the information and research clearinghouses for bicycle/pedestrian and SRTS are eliminated; NEPA is gutted; and public involvement in transportation planning occurs at state DOT discretion. Those are just a few of the low points. If you are wondering whether you should take this personally, I recommend it: this bill is a return to a 1960's style happy motoring/shut-up-and-move-aside-for-the-bulldozer mentality. Some reactions from the World Wide Web: -> AMERICA BIKES UPDATES ITS WEBSITE. Just in time for one of the most critical transportation votes in recent memory, America Bikes has talking points for bicycle and pedestrian advocates, and a portal to find your member of Congress so you can take action (http://bit.ly/xxMH4U). If you need further convincing, listen to Andy Clarke's summary of what is currently at stake in the House (http://bit.ly/AvscQL). PRO WALK/PRO BIKE® 2012: CALL FOR PROPOSALS CLOSES! -> Procrastinators rejoice: the eleventh hour is nigh! At the stroke of 8pm Eastern, Wednesday, February 1 we will close the Call for Proposals to Pro Walk/Pro Bike® 2012 in Long Beach--the #3 city in miles of bicycle facilities per square mile!* Thus far, the quality of proposals is exceptional, and we are pleased to report that Invest + Govern has proven a popular category. February will be an eventful month for Pro Walk/Pro Bike® news, so stay tuned to CenterLines for the latest. Questions? Contact Mark Plotz, Conference Director at (202) 223-3621 or <mark@bikewalk.org>. *See page 98 of the "2012 Benchmarking Report." (http://bit.ly/xNmi4G) SECRETARY LAHOOD ANNOUNCES 4TH ROUND OF TIGER PROGRAM $$ -> According to a Jan. 31st news release, "Following President Obama's call in his State of the Union address for greater infrastructure investment as part of 'An America Built to Last,' U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the availability of funding for transportation projects under a fourth round of the popular TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant program. TIGER 2012 will make $500 million available for surface transportation projects having a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area, or region." "The previous three rounds of the TIGER program provided $2.6 billion to 172 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Demand for the program has been overwhelming, and during the previous three rounds, the Department of Transportation received more than 3,348 applications requesting more than $95 billion for transportation projects across the country. 'President Obama made clear in his State of the Union address that investing in transportation means putting people back to work, and that's just what our TIGER program is doing in communities across the country,' said Secretary LaHood. 'Americans are demanding investments in highways, ports, commuter rail, streetcars, buses, and high-speed rail. These kinds of projects not only mean a stronger economic future for the U.S., but jobs for Americans today.'..." Source: http://www.dot.gov/tiger/ AMERICA WALKS RELEASES NEW SIGNALIZED INTERSECTION REPORT -> According to a Jan. 19th announcement, America Walks released a new report entitled "Signalized Intersection Enhancements that Benefit Pedestrians -- Making America a Great Place to Walk." The report, produced by Fehr & Peers, is available for download here: http://bit.ly/zXq8v1 According to Scott Bricker, America Walks Executive Director, "This technical and concise resource has just been released for your use. Fehr & Peers prepared this report for America Walks to educate decision makers, planners, engineers, and citizens on signalized intersection enhancements that can improve pedestrian safety and convenience." For more info, contact Bricker at <sbricker@americawalks.org> COMPLETE STREETS FORUM 2012 COMING APRIL 23RD IN TORONTO -> According to a recent news release, "The 2012 Complete Streets Forum is TCAT's fifth annual active transportation conference taking place on April 23, 2012 at Evergreen Brickworks. The Complete Streets Forum represents a holistic approach to active transportation policy and planning with a focus on cycling and walking while maintaining the interests of other road users. The Forum continues to develop the program of sharing research, best practices, and creative solutions for designing and implementing safe and inviting streets for everyone." "The themes and program for the upcoming conference have incorporated feedback from 2011 attendees and is focusing on providing direct experience with implementing Complete Streets, including policy, tools, and examples. The conference will provide numerous opportunities to learn from, consult with, and network with professionals with Complete Streets experience across North America. The goal of the 2012 Complete Streets Forum is to accelerate the implementation of Complete Streets across Canada..." Source: http://bit.ly/xvoQyx COMPLETE STREETS COALITION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RECEIVES ITE AWARD -> According to the Jan, 19th National Complete Streets Coalition e-newsletter, "Barbara McCann, the National Complete Streets Coalition's Executive Director, will receive the Transportation Advancement Award tonight from the Institute of Transportation Engineers Metropolitan Section of New York and New Jersey. The Section uses this award to recognize individuals who have made continuing non-engineering contributions to the field..." Congratulations Barbara! Well-deserved! Check out the details here: http://bit.ly/yJIvA9 NCSRTS ANNOUNCES FIRST NAT'L BIKE TO SCHOOL DAY: MAY 9, 2012 -> According to a Jan. 19th National Center for Safe Routes to School news release, "Bike to School Day builds on the popularity and success of International Walk to School Day, which is celebrated across the country--and the world--each October, and encourages a bike-focused celebration in the month of May. The National Center, which serves as the information clearinghouse for the federal Safe Routes to School program, is planning the inaugural event in partnership with the League of American Bicyclists, the organization that leads the celebration of National Bike Month." "'Communities and schools have been holding spring walk and bicycle to school days for years,' said Lauren Marchetti, director of the National Center for Safe Routes to School. 'This inaugural celebration not only provides an opportunity for schools across the country to join together to celebrate National Bike to School Day but also to build off of the energy of National Bike Month.' 'Celebrating Bike to School Day will increase the excitement surrounding 2012 National Bike Month,' said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. 'Bike Month-- including Bike to Work Week and Bike to Work Day--has grown year after year and we're pleased to add a school- and kid-focused event to the celebration this year.'..." Source: http://bit.ly/wBAJ7x ROAD TO PROFITABILITY IN TODAY'S NEW-HOME MARKET MAY BE A FOOT PATH. -> According to a Jan. 5th Builder article, "The ancient Greek physician Hippocrates once said that 'walking is man's best medicine.' Some 1,400 years later, it looks like the same prescription may be just what the doctor ordered for the housing industry as well. According to 'The 2011 Community Preference Survey,' a poll of 2,071 American adults conducted on behalf of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 77% of those polled considered having sidewalks and places to take a walk one of their top priorities when deciding where they'd like to live. Six in 10 adults said they would rather live in a neighborhood that featured a mix of houses, stores, and businesses within an easy walk, than a community of only houses that required driving to get to businesses." "'What we see overall in the consumer preference surveys...is that households are overwhelmingly looking for places to live where they can walk to stuff. It's as simple as that,' says Ilana Preuss, chief of staff at Washington, D.C.-based Smart Growth America. Pointing to the NAR's survey she adds, 'People made a tradeoff on a large house on a large lot with lots of parking where you have a 30 minute commute and have to drive to stores, or a small house on a small lot where they don't have ample parking but they had a commute of 20 minutes or less. Fifty-nine percent said they would pick the smaller house on the smaller lot. When they looked at households that were interested in moving in the next couple of years, it was 54%. That's a huge proportion of the market. So we see this enormous demand and a very low supply.'..." Source: http://bit.ly/w3ZtHw RETROFITTING THE SUBURBS TO INCREASE WALKING -> According to an article in the Fall issue of the University of California Transportation Center Access (#39), "During the last half of the 20th century, cities and towns across America were built primarily for one transportation mode: the automobile. Much of this development occurred on the urban periphery, creating the suburbs that are now home to more Americans than either traditional central cities or small towns. Today, while federal transportation policies and urban planners have shifted toward promoting a more multimodal form of development, the legacy of the postwar era remains: thousands of suburban neighborhoods poorly served by any mode of transportation other than the automobile." "Researchers have spilled much ink debating the feasibility of alternatives to car travel, but have focused less on how suburbs built for the car might be transformed to accommodate other modes. Seven years ago, communities in the South Bay area of Los Angeles County decided to focus on this question. They found that walking is the gateway mode for alternative transportation. The 2009 National Household Travel Survey shows that 10 percent of all trips in the US are taken on foot. Relatedly, an American Public Transportation Association analysis of over 150 on-board transit surveys from 2000 to 2005 showed that walking is the access mode for about 60 percent of all transit trips. Walking travel and land use patterns vary substantially within the South Bay. Analyzing the correlates of walking in that area provides insight into ways to retrofit auto-oriented suburbs for more pedestrian travel..." Source: http://bit.ly/xHP3Ph Get a jump start on this news by subscribing to CenterLines. |
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