What Happened?
The U.S. Department of Transportation has challenged U.S. mayors to take necessary steps to improve the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians in local communities.
The Challenge
The U.S. Department of Transportation will host the Mayor’s Summit for Safer People, Safer Streets to introduce local officials to new strategies for boosting pedestrian and bicyclist safety. The mayor’s challenge encourages city officials to make bicycle and pedestrian safety a top community priority, and form a local action team to advance safety and accessibility goals. From there, the U.S. DOT has outlined some key activities mayors and their local action teams can take to implement sustainable safety improvements including:
- Addressing safety concerns through a complete streets approach
- Identifying and addressing barriers to street safety and convenience for all members of the community
- Gathering and tracking biking and walking data
- Using appropriate designs based on the context of streets
- Creating and completing ped-bike networks through maintenance projects
- Improving walking and biking safety laws and regulations
- Educating and enforcing proper road use behavior
Furthermore, the U.S. DOT underscored the importance of bicycle facilities and walking networks to:
- Accommodate a more multimodal population
- Help meet goals for cleaner air
- Reduce roadway congestion
- Create safer, more cost-efficient communities
Enabling more options for navigating a community – particularly low-cost ones associated with pedestrians and bicyclists – is a key component to an efficient, complete streets design.
Atlanta
In direct response to the U.S. DOT’s Mayor Challenge, Atlanta announced it will join the initiative to improve local pedestrian and bicyclist safety. The city has created a Safer Streets Advisory Committee to join its Bicycle Coalition and the City Council in developing new strategies to integrate non-motorized riders into future transit plans and projects.
In the immediate future, Atlanta has announced a new bike share program to be launched by the end of the year, which will include 500 bicycles and 50 rental stations citywide. Atlanta is also one of six sites across the country to host a Green Lane Project that calls for the installation of protected bike lanes in key neighborhoods. The Green Lane Project is offered by People for Bikes, an organization that provides participating cities with financial, strategic and technical assistance to increase street vitality and urban mobility.
Chattanooga
Chattanooga, Tennessee, has reported a significant uptick in pedestrian and bicyclist activity in recent years. To ensure this population is safe, the city’s police department has launched the Chattanooga Safe Biking Initiative designed to educate cyclists and motorists on existing roadway laws as well as increase safety for all modes of transportation, Times Free Press reported.
The Chattanooga Safe Biking Initiative is broken down into three phases:
- Phase 1: Educate motorists on roadway laws regarding bicyclists
- Phase 2: Educate cyclists on their rights and responsibilities
- Phase 3: Increase enforcement of laws with motorists and cyclists
The Chattanooga Police Department wants to decrease the number of crashes involving motorists and bicyclists, while increasing trust between the cycling community and public safety agencies. The city is considering investing in a bike equipped with cameras and radar to collect first-hand footage of how motorists accommodate bicyclists on roadways currently, and if any laws are being violated on a regular basis. Furthermore, Chattanooga plans to spend $36 million to develop 330 miles of bike facilities citywide over the next four years, Times Free Press reported.
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