Hi everyone,
Wanted to share a few highlights from yesterday's APBP webinar on Best Practices Guides along with the presentation slides and a resource list.
It was a bit surprising to remember that there wasn't a lot of design guidance for pedestrian and cycling infrastructure till about 5 years ago. Since then it's exploded, with new guides coming out regularly to reflect new experience and learnings, or to expand on specific types of infrastructure (such as protected bike lanes https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/DoingBusinessWithUs/ManualsPublicationsForms/SeparatedBikeLanePlanningDesignGuide.aspx ).
Key points that stood out for me:
- It's not a question of one set of design guidelines over another – there is no hierarchy once you get beyond standards that must be met. - Instead, the variety of guidance allows flexibility to make the best facility choice for the specific context (i.e. flexibility is not meant to be a free-for-all to choose a poor or compromised solution). - FHWA partnered with The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center to create a *Design Resource Index http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/planning/facilities_designresourceindex.cfm*. This allows you to quickly scan where to find the relevant section for specific types of infrastructure in a variety of design guidelines (all US-based), so you can compare and find the solution that best fits your context. - It's not an either/or choice for a jurisdiction when deciding whether to use existing guidelines or develop their own. There may be some local context or unique characteristic (e.g. winter maintenance) that justifies expanding or adding to existing guidelines. But, you need to appreciate what a huge undertaking it is to create your own, such as MassDOT did for protected bike lanes.
cheers, Beth