Practices for Selecting Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects (2021)

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28 This chapter provides case examples of four state DOTs that represent a diversity of view- points from across the country. The case examples are based on interviews and follow-up with the selected state DOTs, which are, in alphabetical order, (1) Maryland, (2) Minnesota, (3) Oregon, and (4) Utah. Each case example includes a description of the state DOT’s history of pedestrian and bicycle project selection, internal business processes, and near-term future activities under consideration by the state DOT. Maryland Department of Transportation History The Maryland DOT funds active transportation projects through a range of federal, state, and local sources, at both the program and project levels. To inform and strengthen a robust pipe- line of projects related to bicycle access in particular, the state specifically sets aside state trans- portation resources to fund the Bikeways Program. This program provides grants for bicycle transportation projects, with an emphasis on those that provide links between existing bicycle networks. The program was established in 2011, providing $2 million per year in state funding to local jurisdictions and state agencies. The impetus for the program came from an evaluation of the state’s existing trail system, a recognition of gaps in the pipeline for local project comple- tion, and the reality that not enough funding and planning were being allocated toward active transportation. In 2020, the program was renamed as the Kim Lamphier Bikeways Network Program, in honor of one of Maryland’s most ardent bicycle advocates, who died in 2019. In recognition of her legacy, and because of the growing need for bicycle safety, the governor of Maryland also announced that funding for the program would be increased to $3.8 million annually for the next two fiscal years. The Maryland DOT uses federal funding from the TA program to further support active transportation and multimodal connections. The Maryland DOT maintains a separate solicita- tion of roughly $1 million annually for federal Recreational Trails Program funds. In keeping with federal funding mandates, the state apportions the remaining TA monies to reflect popula- tion via percentages assigned to the state’s three largest MPOs. Accordingly, a total of 36 percent of this federal funding is allocated to the three largest MPOs in the state (20 percent to the Baltimore Regional Transportation Board; 15 percent to the Transportation Planning Board of Washington, D.C.; and 1 percent to the Wilmington Area Planning Council). To improve the project delivery outcomes of these programs, the Maryland DOT has become more directly involved in informing the development and delivery of viable projects. Upfront assistance is offered to local jurisdictions and other program applicants, not only through project develop- ment and design reviews, but also by providing data and advising on the adoption of bicycle C H A P T E R 4 Case Examples

Case Examples 29   and pedestrian plans at the local level. Coordinating closely with the MPOs, the Maryland DOT has been helping these organizations become more effective and proactive in supporting active transportation planning and project execution. In addition to its efforts to help local jurisdictions carry out their own active transportation projects, the Maryland DOT has its own Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan, which it updates on a 5-year cycle. The recent update to this document places particular emphasis on developing new data and tools to strengthen the understanding of active transportation needs and opportunities across the state as a whole. One such effort is to build a statewide bicycle and pedestrian database, including a map of infrastructure and a system of counts, to help better quantify project impacts on bicycle safety and accessibility. Another is to facilitate access to vehicular crash data to inform pedestrian and bicycle safety planning while improving network analysis related to level of traffic stress and walkshed access to transit stations. As part of the Bikeways Program, jurisdictions are required to provide photographs of completed projects, and staff is increasing site visits to these projects. Program expansions being made alongside these data and project oversight enhancements can pose staffing challenges for the Maryland DOT. This can occur where effort has also focused on rolling out context classifications to help make the selection and integration of bicycle and pedestrian treatments on the local roadway network more standardized and systematic. Internal Process The Maryland DOT’s internal process for selecting projects involves many factors and varies depending on the funding programs. Within the Maryland DOT State Highway Administration (SHA), some projects are funded on a first-come, first-served basis but still need to meet certain requirements, such as connectivity and safety. For the Bikeways Program, the ultimate decision is made by the Bikeways Program review committee, which determines how much of the allotted budget can accommodate project requests. The Bikeways Program is a year-round process. Immediately following issuance of the previous cycle’s funding, the first phase of screening begins, during which local jurisdictions submit letters of intent for their projects. These juris- dictions are then contacted about their submitted projects so that the review committee might better understand the current project development phase, the requested funding amount, and what elements are proposed to be included in the project. The deadline for submitting a letter of intent is in early spring, official applications are due in June, and the decisions regarding funding allocation are made in September. The Maryland DOT also offers to debrief sponsors whose projects were not selected for funding. Other funding sources available to the Maryland DOT are not as straightforward as the Bike- ways Program and require more interagency coordination. The Federal Lands Access Program, administered by FHWA, has been difficult to use and requires following much more specific parameters before funds can be allocated to projects. By coordinating through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, trail, streetscape, and sidewalk projects can compete for federal and state funding, which in Maryland includes specific set-asides to support revitalization. Outside of funding, the Maryland DOT has been increasing its interagency work to coordinate bicycle and pedestrian project development goals with other state and local agencies. Through collaborative work as part of the Maryland Heritage Area Authority and with the Maryland Department of Commerce’s Office of Tourism, the Maryland DOT works to expand apprecia- tion of the importance of active transportation as an amenity that supports state tourism goals. The Maryland DOT also coordinates with a range of other agencies involved in the state’s Smart

30 Practices for Selecting Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects and Sustainable Growth initiatives to help state and local entities more effectively integrate walkability and bikeability into their strategies for community development and revitalization. In addition, the Maryland DOT consults with other stakeholders that are more directly tied to state initiatives related to transit-oriented development, addressing modal integration while advancing first- and last-mile accessibility near transit. Finally, the Maryland DOT engages a broad range of constituencies and agencies as part of the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. This body was created by state statute and involves such key additional agencies as the state police and the Departments of Health, Education, Disabilities, Planning, and Commerce, as well as advocates and citizen representatives from every region of the state. Looking Forward One issue noted by the Maryland DOT relates to the unequal representation of advocacy groups across the state. Rural areas do not always have the critical mass to form these groups. Advocacy groups in more densely populated areas within the state are better suited to promote their priorities, which results in uneven access across the state to active transportation funding. The Maryland DOT’s incorporation of context classifications into its decision-making process represents just one of many strategies to ensure that needs and opportunities are met in balanced ways across the diverse geography of the state. These classifications aim to better integrate road- ways into their surroundings through complete streets programming, and to ensure that opportunities to increase accessibility for underserved populations also inform the evaluation of projects. Implementing the Maryland DOT SHA’s new guidance, Context Driven: Accessibility and Mobility for All Users, will provide a more consistent framework from which to advance the Maryland DOT’s complete streets policy work. Minnesota Department of Transportation The Minnesota DOT is responsible for statewide pedestrian and bicycle plans that guide its programming of funding to active transportation projects throughout the state. Triggered by state highway maintenance or upgrade projects, Minnesota DOT involvement remains largely a facilitator role. At the decision-making level, Minnesota DOT regional offices and the state’s Area Transportation Partnerships work to develop selection criteria, prioritize projects, and determine how to invest funds received from state and federal sources for active transportation. History The Minnesota DOT was established more than four decades ago by the state legislature with the aim of consolidating agencies responsible for aviation- and highway-related maintenance and operation, as well as to allocate transportation-specific elements of statewide planning and public works groups. As such, the focus remained on automotive needs, despite the state being home to several highly urbanized areas and a robust history of bicycle usage. The creation of the Minnesota DOT came about 50 years after the introduction of the state’s first gas tax, established in the state’s constitution as a source of funds to be used exclusively for the benefit of “highway users.” The constitution further delineates the breakdown of fund dis- bursal, with the state highway system receiving a majority, the counties receiving a significant portion, and municipalities eligible for a percentage of the remaining funds. The gas tax has been progressively increased since the inception of the Minnesota DOT. Today, gas tax revenues constitute approximately 40 percent of the department’s annual project funding. Beyond the gas tax, transportation taxes and fees (primarily, a vehicle sales tax and vehicle registration tax and

Case Examples 31   fees) make up an additional approximately 40 percent of annual project funding. The remainder is generated from personal, business, and other taxes. In recent years, the Minnesota DOT has worked to create dedicated statewide plans focused on both pedestrians and bicyclists. These represent attempts to develop a comprehensive vision for walking and bicycling in the state. By setting goals, laying out standards, and specifying strategies for implementation, the two plans aim to address the needs of people walking and bicycling through improved infrastructure and associated maintenance. In concert with the state’s health department, the Minnesota DOT developed Minnesota Walks, a framework for the first statewide pedestrian system (Minnesota Department of Transportation 2016). The plan for a statewide bicycle system, meanwhile, lays out an approach for integrating bicycle planning into the Minnesota DOT’s 10-year capital improvement plan as well as the statewide transpor- tation improvement program, though not mandated by law or practice. Each DOT district also maintains dedicated pedestrian and bicycle plans. These plans incorporate existing, ongoing, and potential future iterations of projects funded through programs such as Transportation Alternatives. As part of ongoing efforts to further integrate bicycle and pedestrian projects into tradi- tional highway projects, the Minnesota DOT began a statewide pedestrian and bicycle counting program in 2013. The objective is to collect constant and real-time data streams that can then be used at the statewide, county, and local levels in pedestrian and bicycle decision making, specifically in terms of safety and complete streets initiatives. Informed by the design of vehicle counting programs, the Minnesota DOT has installed a network of permanent automated counters and maintains a fleet of portable machines to be used for more targeted pedestrian and bicyclist data collection. The department has also established a methodology for analyzing, validating, and evaluating the data, providing another tool for use in project prioritization and selection. Internal Process The Minnesota DOT, like other state DOTs, maintains a central office in the state’s capital and districts throughout the state. The central office retains responsibility for project solicita- tions and selection of projects to receive funding; its role is largely that of a facilitator, matching project requests with the most appropriate source of funding. District offices largely determine selection criteria and work to prioritize potential projects. Similar to but not contiguous with the various Minnesota DOT districts and composed of city council members and various local and county commissioners, the Area Transportation Partnerships may propose local projects to the Minnesota DOT and provide input into which specific projects are to be funded from the Transportation Alternatives program. Looking Forward Currently, the Minnesota DOT maintains no comprehensive system of postimplementation assessment of pedestrian and bicycle projects. While it is developing a statewide system of pedes- trian and bicycle counters, the Minnesota DOT does not measure project success against an established set of metrics. It does, however, retain past solicitations and collect data. By incor- porating the expected count data into this collection of past solicitations and current data, the Minnesota DOT is positioning itself to develop a more robust method of postimplementation measurement. In addition, though only a small percentage of funds channeled through the Minnesota DOT make their way to pedestrian and bicycle projects, partnerships with other departments, agencies, and community organizations can help expand the reach of such projects. Already, the Minnesota DOT collaborates with the state health department on projects to

32 Practices for Selecting Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects improve active transportation on nonhighway, main street facilities. By pursuing more of these connections, the Minnesota DOT may be able to promote additional pedestrian and bicycle projects. Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon DOT funds and implements pedestrian and bicycle projects as part of other road and highway projects. Various federal and state funding streams are aggregated before being directed into specific program areas, with much of the direction coming from the Oregon DOT’s governing body, the Oregon Transportation Commission, and the state legislature. In prioritizing some projects, the Oregon DOT integrates the completion of its statewide pedestrian and bicycle network amid a variety of other motivations, among them increasing safety and implementing projects equitably. History The Oregon DOT’s pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure efforts began in earnest in 1971 with the passage of what is known as the Bike Bill. The Bike Bill requires that all new highway construction and reconstruction projects incorporate pedestrian and bicycle facilities. It also stipulates that a minimum of 1 percent of revenue from the State Highway Fund (comprising mostly gas taxes) be used to develop pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure. An important and limiting consideration is that the state constitution requires the State Highway Fund to be used within the road right-of-way. Therefore, bicycle and pedestrian facilities are often a component of larger roadway projects because State Highway Funds cannot be applied to trails or pathways outside the road right-of-way. Until 2015, funding was distributed through competitive grant programs administered by the Oregon DOT Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, with local municipalities and organizations having the opportunity to apply for funding for particular projects. In that structure, a large portion of the funding was made available for projects at the local level. This changed when the agency started to pool state and federal funds together to create a multimodal “Enhance” com- petition for local agencies administered by Oregon DOT regions. Then, in 2017, with the passage of House Bill (HB) 2017, flexible funding in the Enhance program was allocated to particular projects by decision of the state legislature. In place of more locally driven projects, HB 2017 applies a statewide perspective to project selection, with the Oregon DOT working to implement a suite of predetermined projects that includes pedestrian and bicycle components. Separate from the HB 2017 projects, the Oregon DOT continues to set aside 1 percent of anticipated State Highway Fund revenues for pedestrian and bicycle improvements. The Oregon Transportation Commission has directed these funds to the completion of the statewide pedestrian and bicycle network through more targeted, strategic investments in line with the statewide transportation improvement program. In keeping with the renewed focus on statewide pedestrian and bicycle projects, the Oregon DOT has taken a number of steps to study needs and opportunities and to articulate a set of guiding principles, actionable plans, and implementation strategies. The Oregon DOT’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan, adopted in 2016, lists nine goals—among them safety, equity, sustain- ability, and health—and a series of policies to support those goals. Policies range from incor- porating design innovations and engaging in public education campaigns to identifying and reaching out to underserved populations and seeking additional funding mechanisms for par- ticular program areas.

Case Examples 33   At present, the Oregon DOT is undertaking a statewide Active Transportation Needs Inven- tory, having piloted the approach in the state’s largest metropolitan area. Specifically, the inven- tory examines the presence or condition of sidewalks, bike lanes, and curb ramps that meet standards established for the state’s pedestrian and bicycle network. The inventory also applies a set of evaluation criteria to identify areas where investments should be prioritized. Among the evaluation criteria are pedestrian and bicycle crash history and crash risk factors, access to transit and essential destinations, benefits to disadvantaged communities, and level of traffic stress. The inventory will be used to identify gaps in the statewide network to determine future project allocations. The Oregon DOT is also partnering with other institutions to initiate a data and performance measures effort, which will serve to further inform where to focus improve- ment efforts. In addition, the Blueprint for Urban Design was published at the beginning of 2020; this document outlines a framework for the performance-based design and land use context that is to inform all Oregon DOT projects (Oregon Department of Transportation 2020b, 2020c). This framework requires that all urban projects on state highways integrate a target speed, pedestrian crossing spacing guidelines, and a bicycle facility selection process to expand beyond the minimum bicycle and pedestrian facility requirements that have tra- ditionally been included in projects. Internal Process The Oregon DOT’s structure consists of a headquarters and five regions. The headquarters houses the state’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Program manager as well as the managers of the state’s various project funding programs. These managers largely play a coordinating role within the Oregon DOT. Each region has its own active transportation liaison, who is responsible for on-the-ground scoping, engagement, and project delivery. In addition, the Operations Division has several engineers and urban designers dedicated to pedestrian and bicycle projects. Generally, the Oregon DOT divides projects into two main categories: Fix-It and Enhance. Fix-It projects aim to repair and maintain existing infrastructure and resources. Officials at Oregon DOT headquarters maintain asset management systems and monitor key perfor- mance metrics to develop a list of Fix-It program needs for each region. Enhance projects seek to improve or expand the transportation system on a jurisdictionally blind basis. As a result of the reframing of the Oregon DOT’s funding priorities described earlier, fewer Enhance proj- ects have been financed in recent years, though there have been attempts to leverage Enhance funds and add pedestrian and bicycle project elements to Fix-It projects. Within the frame- work of these two categories and as a result of the recent changes, total funding for pedestrian and bicycle improvements in the 2021–2024 statewide transportation improvement program has increased from the 2019–2021 level; the amount available for local projects, however, has decreased because less funding is available through competitive grant programs. As previously mentioned, a large percentage of project funding was previously allocated in response to applications to competitive grant programs. As a result of the legislation passed in 2017, funding is now largely allocated according to priorities identified by the state legislature. Funds from a variety of sources—including the Federal Highway Administration—are, in effect, aggregated into a single stream, which is then designated for particular projects by Oregon DOT headquarters. The state’s Active Transportation Leverage fund is one example: the fund uses flexible federal dollars to add active transportation features to Fix-It projects. Active Trans- portation Leverage funds are allocated to the regions by formula; the active transportation liaisons participate in scoping teams and use the Active Transportation Needs Inventory to identify priority opportunities for leveraging pavement preservation and other Fix-It projects. An exception to this process is funding from the Transportation Alternatives program, which is targeted to the Community Paths program to maintain and expand multiuse paths.

34 Practices for Selecting Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects State funding comes from a variety of sources and is allocated to a number of diverse pro- gram areas. Primary among the revenue sources is the state gas tax, the nation’s first. A sum of $10 million (to increase to $15 million in 2023) is allocated off the top from the collected revenue to the Safe Routes to School infrastructure program, which prioritizes the safety of school children and employs equity as a main criterion. Of the remainder, 50 percent is directed to the Oregon DOT, 30 percent goes to counties, and the remaining 20 percent goes to cities. The Oregon DOT, counties, and cities must spend the legislatively mandated 1 percent of these funds for pedestrian and bike infrastructure each year. In practice, the Oregon DOT allocates this 1 percent for the Sidewalk Improvements program, targeting efforts in line with the Active Transportation Needs Inventory and focusing on safety improvements and network completion. Additional taxes form the basis of the Oregon DOT’s other state revenue streams. A new vehicle privilege tax, assessed at 0.5 percent of the value of the vehicle sold, is collected from all automobile dealerships in the state. A tax of $15 is assessed on the sale of all new bicycles above $200. The Oregon DOT uses the money collected from these streams, as well as state lottery bonds, specifically for the Community Paths program to supplement Transportation Alternatives program funding. Even with the multitude of funding sources and program allocations, a coordinated post- project completion evaluation effort is missing from the Oregon DOT’s institutional process. Although the department uses a variety of metrics—including safety, equity, and access—in selecting projects to fund, it has no agencywide mechanism in place to measure impact after project implementation. The primary indicator used is the level of completion of the statewide pedestrian and bicycle network. A project is deemed successful if it has an additive effect on the network. Looking Forward The Oregon DOT benefits from a diversity of funding for pedestrian and bicycle projects, as well as a variety of programs toward which to direct that funding. Even with the significant recent change in the way projects are selected for funding, the amount of money programmed to pedestrian and bicycle projects has increased statewide. A major challenge facing the Oregon DOT is the lack of a more robust project evaluation process, though the Oregon DOT is devel- oping programs that may help address this issue. One, as previously mentioned, is the develop- ment of methods and tools for a statewide data and performance measures program to collect data on ridership, risk, and safety. Other efforts include partnerships with a number of depart- ments, universities, and organizations. Aside from a long-standing gubernatorially appointed Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (which meets throughout the state and liaises with state government and the Oregon DOT), the Oregon DOT works closely with the state health authority and the state department of education. Furthermore, the department is part of a multiagency working group for climate-change response, which will have tangible effects on the content of a future statewide transportation improvement program. Utah Department of Transportation The Utah DOT funds its bicycle and pedestrian projects through its Transportation Investment Fund. Efforts within the state to pursue more active transportation projects have been initiated internally by Utah DOT leadership. This has been accomplished by expanding the criteria by which transportation projects are evaluated to include goals such as safety, environmental sustainability,

Case Examples 35   public health, pedestrian and bicycle network connectivity, and equity. It also results from the Utah DOT’s efforts to engage more with organizations that work on and measure outcomes focused on public health. History The statewide shift to a greater focus on active transportation began around 2011 and was motivated by a prominent local MPO advocating for the shift in its own area, as well as leader- ship changes within the Utah DOT. Efforts to work with local municipalities initially resulted in some challenges for the Utah DOT—for example, when MPOs and local jurisdictions developed plans without involving the Utah DOT. Subsequently, as part of the increased attention to active transportation, the Utah DOT has been working more collaboratively with MPOs, helping local governments fund local plans and studies that could grow into state projects. While parameters focused more on health and safety have resulted in more opportunities to fund active transportation projects, choosing which projects to advance has become even more complex for the Utah DOT. Some of the criteria used include regional rates of physical inactivity evaluated in conjunction with the Utah Department of Health, proximity to desig- nated air quality nonattainment areas, economic activity index (which shows access to edu- cational and tourism indicators), population of primary residents (residents whose primary residence is in an area—i.e., not a vacation house), employment rates within a half-mile radius, presence of transportation reinvestment zone within the area, and a redundancy index (which shows how a project would fill in gaps within the existing bike and transit networks). Obtaining sufficient data has been an obstacle to making the case for active transportation projects, includ- ing knowing exactly what data sets are available and how they are managed and maintained. In Utah, cities and counties generally purchase and manage these data. To address this gap, the Utah DOT has begun purchasing data from Strava, a pedestrian and cycling tracking and social media app. Internal Process Previously, when evaluating projects for funding, Utah DOT program managers largely emphasized moving vehicles. As a result, active transportation projects were regularly cut when the Utah DOT faced budgetary restrictions. This reflected a lack of understanding within the organization as to the benefits of active transportation and a lack of capacity in analysis and engineering for active transportation projects. The availability of Strava data and the changes in Utah DOT leadership have led to a greater understanding and promotion of the benefits of active transportation projects. The State Transportation Commission has been making more funding resources available for these projects. A 2018 amendment to state law, S.B. 136, created the Transit Transportation Investment Fund within the already established Transportation Investment Fund. The original fund, which was previously used solely for highway projects, was amended in 2019 through S.B. 72, to mandate funding to active transportation projects. In addition, state policies have been instituted to require projects to include pedestrian and bike infrastructure, and roadway prioritization now factors in active transportation. State funding awarded to local projects requires a 40 percent local match, projects must be nominated for funding, projects must be included in an approved plan, and project sponsors must explain how their project reduces congestion on state facilities. Each Utah DOT region coordinates with its respective local governments.

36 Practices for Selecting Pedestrian and Bicycle Projects Looking Forward Utah DOT leadership has developed strategic partnerships, specifically at the local level, to better plan for active transportation and prioritize projects. Expanded evaluation criteria for these projects include real-time data evaluation, health indicators, greater understanding of the relationship between active transportation and tourism, and opportunities to connect existing active transportation infrastructure to build networks. The Utah DOT is making an effort to be more attuned to local community visions, work more with local planning departments, and prioritize a more robust public engagement process. Strategic partnerships with the state health department, MPOs, nonprofit organizations involved in active transportation, Utah office of tourism, and local governments are a part this effort.