This section provides an overview of CSS. What it is and how it can help to shape transportation projects around the country. Feel free to browse through the topics below or search for a particular page by entering a keyword in the search box below or clicking on "Advanced Search."
Bicycle facilities include exclusive special lanes or shared street space for bicyclists, along with facilities for bicycle parking.
Excerpt
Cross-Section Elements: Bicycles "Bicycles are...a viable mode of transportation..., both for commuting and recreation." Bicycles can use a shared lane, a wide outside lane, a regular designated bicycle lane, a shoulder or a multi-use path according to the specific context and design requirements. Overall there are six main factors influencing the way bicycles are incorporated in a specific road configuration. The six factors are: traffic volume, average motorvehicle speed, traffic mix or balance, on-street parking, sight distance, number of intersections.
more...
Fair Share for Safety
"...bicyclists and pedestrians are over-represented in traffic fatalities: while 10 percent of trips are made on foot or bicycle, 13 percent of traffic deaths are pedestrians and bicyclists. Yet federal transportation safety dollars are doing little to make it safer for people to walk and bicycle. On average, states are spending less than two percent of their federal safety funds on projects to improve bicycle and pedestrian safety."
-- America Bikes
Article / Paper / Report
Accommodating Bicycle and Pedestrian Travel
"The call for more walkable, livable, and accessible communities, has seen bicycling and walking emerge as an 'indicator species' for the health and well-being of a community. People want to live and work in places where they can safely and conveniently walk and/or bicycle and not always have to deal with worsening traffic congestion, road rage and the fight for a parking space...
...The challenge for transportation planners, highway engineers and bicycle and pedestrian user groups, therefore, is to balance their competing interest in a limited amount of right-of-way, and to develop a transportation infrastructure that provides access for all, a real choice of modes, and safety in equal measure for each mode of travel."
Improving Conditions for Bicycling and Walking
"Encouraging more people to walk and bicycle, and to do so safely involves actions at federal, state, and local levels. The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) provided broad eligibility to use federal funds for these projects."
--
Association of Bicycle and Pedestrian Professionals
Rails to Trails Conservancy
Case Study
Bicycle Facilities in San Francisco San Francisco, CA
Bicycle lane at the Embarcadero. San Francisco has an extensive system of bike lanes that go over bridges, through parks, and at the waterfront. Some say that the Golden Gate Bridge trail is one of the premier walks/biking experiences in the world.
Case Study
Bicycle Facilities in Olympia, WA Olympia, WA
Bicycle lane on a four-lane road with a diverter and a mid-block crosswalk. Olympia has a number of bicycle lanes, traffic calming sensitive adaptations, bridges, and trails.
Case Study
University Place, WA University Place, WA
Bicycle lanes on a two-lane road feature a planted median and sidewalk with a green buffer. In some locations, bike lanes are also located next to parking lanes. In just five years, University Place went from no bike lanes to over 40 miles including a new waterfront trail and six bicycle-friendly roundabouts.
Case Study
Santa Barbara, CA Santa Barbara, CA
Santa Barbara has an excellent waterfront trail system, downtown bike lanes, roadway underpasses and other facilities. The waterfront trail features a two-way bicycle lane and a pedestrian walkway, all separated from the road by a raised concrete border. Bicycle lanes are available on State Street downtown, and bicycle racks are installed on commercial streets downtown. Bicycle lanes can also be found next to bus pull-outs at transit stops.
Case Study
Town Street in Herlev, Denmark Herlev,
"In Herlev a traffic-dominated town street in an area without any special characteristic unity has been converted to a harmonious town space in which the ancient church and the village pond also have been incorporated as significant elements."
Case Study
Coastal Boulevard "Strandvejen" in Hellerup, Denmark Hellerup,
"The coastal boulevard Strandvejen through Hellerup is a textbook example of a heavily trafficked road where light road users have been given better conditions, among other things by the establishment of bicycle tracks and a central reservation."
"To be successful in making multi-modal solutions, we can't think of pedestrian and bike facilities as add-ons, they have to be a part of what we do as transportation professionals. Think inclusive."
"Congress clearly intends for bicyclists and pedestrians to have safe, convenient access to the transportation system and sees every transportation improvement as an opportunity to enhance the safety and convenience of the two modes."
