BICYCLING AND WALKING IN THE UNITED STATES 2 014 BENCHMARKING REPORT BICYCLING AND WALKING IN THE UNITED STATES 2014 BENCHMARKING REPORT Funding for this report was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. This project was also made possible with support from AARP and the American Public Transportation Association. Copyright © 2014 by Alliance for Biking & Walking The Library of Congress, United States Copyright Office All rights reserved. This report may be reproduced or transmitted with the written permission of the Alliance. Requests should be sent to Alliance for Biking & Walking P.O. Box 65150 Washington, DC 20035 Phone: 202-449-9692 [email protected] www.BikeWalkAlliance.org/Benchmarking.org Cover photo by Bruce Bodjack. Traverse City, MI. Photo by Gabriella Salary. Courtesy of Alliance for Biking & Walking REPORT CREDITS Author, Project Manager: Andrea Milne, Alliance for Biking & Walking Co-Author, Research Assistant: Maggie Melin, Alliance for Biking & Walking Copy Editor: Michelle Milne Data Quality Control: Yolonda Weins Research Consultants: Ralph Buehler, PhD, Virginia Tech John Pucher, PhD, Rutgers University Contributing Writers: Evan Bontrager, Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail Ralph Buehler, PhD, Virginia Tech Tijs Buskermolen, Goshen College Clarrissa Cabansagan, TransForm Brian Caulfield, Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering; Trinity College, Dublin Alison Dewey, League of American Bicyclists Darren Flusche, Advocacy Advance / League of American Bicyclists Andrea Hamre, Virginia Tech Colin Hughes, Institute for Transportation and Development Policy Mary Lauran Hall, Alliance for Biking & Walking Ken McLeod, Advocacy Advance / League of American Bicyclists John Pucher, PhD, Rutgers University Eloisa Raynault, American Public Health Association Michael Samuelson, Alliance for Biking & Walking, Open Streets Project Hamzat Sani, Red, Bike and Green David Vega-Barachowitz, National Association of City Transportation Officials Kathryn Werntz, The Sahel Calling Project Liz Whiteley, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Susan Wilcox, BikeTexas Benchmarking Review Team: Laurie Beck, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Christopher Douwes, Federal Highway Administration Darren Flusche, Advocacy Advance / League of American Bicyclists Darnell Grisby, American Public Transportation Association Deb Hubsmith, Safe Routes to School National Partnership Jeffrey Miller, Alliance for Biking & Walking Gaya Myers, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Robert Ping, Safe Routes to School National Partnership Gabe Rousseau, PhD, Federal Highway Administration Stephen Skowronski, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Arthur M. Wendel, MD, MPH, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Review Committee: Philip J. Caruso, PE, ITE Mike Cyneki, Lee Engineering, LLC Jennifer Donlon Wyant, Alta Planning + Design Yung Koprowski, Lee Engineering, LLC Jina Mahmoudi, PE, ITE Monica Munowitch, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Matthew D. Ridgway, AICP, PTP, Fehr & Peers Edward R. Stollof, AICP, ITE Shawn M. Turner, PE, Texas Transportation Institute ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report is the result of hundreds of people working together. The Alliance for Biking & Walking extends special thanks to our partners at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AARP, and the American Public Transportation Association, whose generous funding ensures the continuation and growth of the Benchmarking Project. In particular, we would like to thank Arthur Wendel and Stephen Skowronski of the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health for their guidance throughout the report development and for their continued support of the project vision. Additionally, the following agencies and organizations provided funds for the midsized cities pilot benchmarking effort included in this report for the first time: Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage City of Burlington Bike Chattanooga Great Rivers Greenway Bike/Walk Alliance for Missoula Missoula in Motion City of Albany PittsburghTODAY Many thanks to Dr. John Pucher of Rutgers University and Dr. Ralph Buehler of Virginia Tech for contributing their expertise to the research and analysis contained in this report. Thank you to Maggie Melin for her diligent work researching, collecting, and analyzing the mounds of raw data, as well as her contributions to writing and editing text throughout the report. We thank Nicole Wynands and Bill Nesper of the League of American Bicyclists for their collaboration on integrating the benchmarking state survey with the Bicycle Friendly States survey. Additional thanks are due to Michelle Milne (primary content editor) and Yolonda Weins (data quality control) for their meticulous review of the report text and data, ensuring a high quality report. The Benchmarking Report undergoes a rigorous review by a team of researchers and professionals who work with these topics daily in various fields of study. Our review team deserves much appreciation for the time and attention they give to each draft they receive. Their technical critique brings a much-needed multidisciplinary approach to the report. The team includes representatives from the Federal Highway Administration, Institute of Transportation Engineers, League of American Bicyclists, Advocacy Advance, Safe Routes to School National Partnership, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and American Public Transportation Association. Lastly, but most importantly, we thank the leaders of Alliance member organizations and the many state and local officials who supported this project by tracking down data for the benchmarking surveys. This project would not have been possible without them, and it is in support of their vital work that this report has been produced. 2 Alliance for Biking & Walking The following people were directly involved in providing the data contained in this report. Thank you! Activate Omaha, Julie Harris Caltrans, April Nitsos and Paul Moore Active Transportation Alliance / Chicago Department of California Bicycle Coalition, Dave Snyder Transportation, Charlie Short Central Dakota Cyclists, Mark Liebig Ada County Highway District, Matt Edmonds Charleston Moves, Tom Bradford and Pat Sullivan Alabama Department of Transportation, Mary Crenshaw Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency, Alabama Bicycle Coalition, Stan Palla Tim Moreland Alaska Department of Transportation, Bob Laurie Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, Alaska Trails, Steve Cleary Bryan Davis Arizona Department of Transportation, Michael Sanders City and County of Honolulu, Chris Sayers and Brian Fellows City of Albany, Douglas Melnick, Kate Lawrence, and Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department, William Trudeau, Jr. Kim Sanders, Paul Simms, and The Governor's Bicycle City of Arlington Texas, Christina Sebastian and Advisory Group Alicia Winkelblech Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, Rebecca Serna and Leslie Caceda City of Atlanta, Joshuah Mello Baltimore City Department of Transportation, Nate Evans City of Austin, Annick Beaudet and Nadia Barrera Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, Dorian Grilley City of Baton Rogue/City-Parish of East Baton Rouge Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Diana Owens Steif Planning Commission, Warren Kron and Amanda LaGrange Bicycle Coalition of Maine, Nancy Grant City of Bellingham Public Works, Kim Brown Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico, Diane Albert City of Boston, Kristopher Carter Bicycle Colorado, Dan Grunig City of Boulder Public Works for Transportation, Bicycle Commuters of Anchorage, Brian Litmans Marni Ratzel Bicycle Indiana, Nancy Tibbett City of Charleston, Philip Overcash Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Susan Peithman, City of Charlotte Department of Transportation, Rob Sadowksy, and Gerik Kransky Malisa Mccreedy Bike Baton Rouge / Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets, City of Chattanooga / Outdoor Chattanooga and Mark E. Martin Bike Chattanooga, Philip Pugliese Bike Cleveland, Jacob VanSickle City of Chattanooga, Ben Taylor Bike Delaware, John Bare and James Wilson City of Colorado Springs, Kristin Bennett, Anthony Pratt, Bike Denver, Piep Van Heuven and Tim Roberts Bike Easy, Jamie Wine City of Columbus, Leslie Strader Bike Maryland, Carol Silldorff City of Dallas, Max Kalhammer, Keith Manoy, and Jared White Bike Utah, Scott Lyttle City of Davis, Dave Kemp and Jimmy Fong Bike Virginia, Kimberly Likens Perry City of El Paso, Shamori Whitt, David Coronado, and Bike Walk Alliance of NH, Dave Topham Elizabeth Gibson Bike Walk Arkansas, Paxton Roberts City of Eugene, Reed Dunbar, Lee Shoemaker, and Bike Walk Connecticut, Kelly Kennedy Lindsay Selser Bike Walk Mississippi, Melody Moody City of Fort Collins, Tessa Greegor Bike Walk Montana, Melinda Barnes City of Fort Worth, Julia McCleeary Bike Walk Tennessee, Anthony Siracusa City of Fresno, Scott Tyler Bike/Walk Alliance-Wichita, Barry L. Carroll City of Houston Department of Public Works and BikeABQ, Heather Wess Arnold Engineering, Dan Raine Bikemore, Chris Merriam City of Jacksonville Planning and Development Department, James Reed BikePGH, Eric Boerer City of Kansas City, MO, Deb Ridgway BikeTexas, Robin Stallings City of Las Vegas, Connie Diso, Diane Phomninh, and Boston