Montgomery County, PA

Bicycling Road Map: A Bike Mobility Plan for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Part I: Policies
DRAFT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

Why a Bicycling Road Map?

Bicycling Road Map: A Bike Mobility Plan for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania-Part 1: Policies (hereafter referred to as the "Road Map") is a strategic transportation planning document that answers the question: What needs to be done to increase the use of the bicycle as a travel mode and vehicle in Montgomery County? The Road Map identifies impediments to bicycling transportation and formulates goals, objectives, and recommendations to overcome the impediments.

The Road Map is the first plan for Montgomery County specifically aimed at improving bicycling conditions. In the past, bicyclists' needs have generally been overlooked because bicycling has not been a transportation priority. Recent advances in bicycle planning, including the preparation of the Road Map, have been spurred by the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA). ISTEA mandates that long-range transportation plans incorporate bicycling as a legitimate form of travel.

Policy Making

The Road Map is intended to be officially adopted as part of the Montgomery County Comprehensive Plan, becoming formal county policy regarding bicycling goals, objectives, and strategies. The policies should then be embodied at the local level. They should be endorsed by both public and private sector agencies and organizations with authority or influence over the planning, design, funding, construction, management, and maintenance of roads, transit services, and bicycle destinations throughout the county.

Year 2020 Vision

The Road Map establishes a Year 2020 Vision as a snapshot of what bicycling conditions should be like in the year 2020. In summary, the vision calls for Montgomery County to be a place where:

• The bicycle is embraced and used by residents of all ages and bicycling abilities as a legitimate and viable mode of travel.
• People feel safe and confident to ride a bicycle in their neighborhood, their community, and throughout the county.
• People engage in bicycling as an alternative to the automobile for commuter and utilitarian purposes and to improve air quality as well as relieve traffic congestion.
• An extensive network of on-road bicycle facilities, such as bike lanes and paved shoulders, and separated paths for bicycling, offer direct and convenient access from residential areas to employment, shopping, recreation, school and transit-oriented destinations.
• Road hazards and impediments to bicycling are eliminated, and transit providers have supportive bike-on-bus and bike-on-rail policies.
• Sheltered and secure bicycle parking is available at all bicycle destinations, and key employers provide locker rooms and shower facilities for their employees who commute by bike.

General Policy Goal

To realize the Year 2020 Vision, the Road Map establishes a general policy goal that states what should happen over the next twenty years:

• All levels of government and the private sector will coordinate with each other and support, promote, and implement bicycle facilities and programs to realize the Year 2020 Vision. Motor vehicle trips will be reduced, air quality will be improved, and the percentage of bicycle trips will be doubled by 2020.

General Policy Objective

Since many participants will share responsibility in implementing the recommendations of the Road Map, coordination is important. A coordinated approach to providing bicycle-supportive facilities and programs is required so that all responsible parties strive toward a common goal and use similar strategies.

A bicycle coordinator should be appointed to ensure that the full range of the Road Map's policies are implemented on an everyday basis throughout Montgomery County. Each municipality should also appoint a township or borough bicycle coordinator to oversee bicycle planning and policy implementation at the local level.

Bicyle coordinator positions are essential if bicycle considerations are to become fully vested or "institutionalized" and implemented through routine, day-to-day decisions of agencies and organizations concerned with transportation, education, and law enforcement.

Objectives for the "Four E's"

The Road Map embodies the concept of the "Four E's." It formulates policy objectives for the following components of successful bicycle planning initiatives: 1) Engineering and Planning, 2) Encouragement, 3) Education, and 4) Enforcement.

1) Engineering and Planning Policy Objectives deal with transportation planning and roadway design and construction issues for making the road network bikeable. They also involve providing bike parking facilities at destinations and accommodating bikes on transit.

• 1. Endorse and adopt Road Map policies.
• 2. Retrofit roads to accommodate bicyclists according to Road Map policies.
• 3. Remove hazards and hinderances to make roads safe for bicyclists.
• 4. Develop trails as supplementary facilities to support bicycling transportation.
• 5. Provide bike racks and lockers at bicycling destinations.
• 6. Provide showers and changing facilities at work destinations.
• 7. Establish effective bike-on-transit policies and appropriately equip transit vehicles.
• 8. Include appropriate bike facility projects in road improvement funding programs.
• 9. Adopt guidelines and standards for providing bicycle facilities through municipal land use and development regulations.

2) Encouragement Policy Objectives address the promotion of bicycling as a means of transportation.

• 1. Publish and circulate literature that describes the benefits of bicycling
• 2. Publish and circulate literature that describes the logistics of bicycle commuting.
• 3. Publish and circulate maps that show where resources (bikeable roads and trails) go and what they connect to.
• 4. Advertise government plans, policies, and programs that support bicycling transportation.
• 5. Establish employer policies that encourage bicycle commuting and bicycle use for work-related trips.
• 6. Establish bike-to-work days/weeks and other special riding events to introduce people to bicycle commuting.
• 7. Campaign to advance acceptance of the bicycle as a viable transportation vehicle.
• 8. Provide presentations and workshops on bicycling transportation issues.

3) Education Policy Objectives deal with teaching proper bicycling skills and educating bicyclists and motorists about key safety issues (rules of the road).

• 1. Publish and circulate literature that describes bicycle safety tips and guidelines.
• 2. Establish school-based education programs that teach bicycling skills.
• 3. Establish public workshops that address bicycling safety issues.
• 4. Establish school-based driver education classes that teach bicycle-sensitive driving skills.
• 5. Establish private sector driver education courses that incorporate bicycle-sensitive driving skills, including how to drive with bikes on the road and how to bike with cars on the road.
• 6. Incorporate a chapter on bicycle safety issues in the state driver licensing manual.
• 7. Incorporate questions dealing with bicycle safety issues on the State driver licensing examination.
• 8. Install "Share the Road" signs.

4) Enforcement Policy Objectives involve enforcing traffic laws to ensure safe roads for bicyclists and motorists.

• 1. Enact, modify, or repeal unsafe and inconsistent laws dealing with bicycles.
• 2. Train law enforcement officers on bicyclists= characteristics and bicycling violations.
• 3. Publish and circulate applicable traffic laws governing bicyclists so the general public understands the regulations.
• 4. Advertise high-profile bicycling incidents/accidents so the general public understands the consequences of improper behavior.
• 5. Establish "police-on-bike" programs and other bike patrol units to encourage and enforce good bicycling behavior.
• 6. Promote good bicycling behavior through positive and negative reinforcement of road etiquette.
• 7. Issue warnings and citations to bicyclists for traffic violations.
• 8. Issue warnings and citations to motorists for traffic violations that pose hazards to bicyclists.

Policy Action Agenda

The Road Map will be implemented through both short- and long-term actions by various public and private entities. Attachment A is an action agenda that provides an overall coordination strategy. It assigns roles and responsibilities for bringing the policies of the Road Map into effect.

Engineering and Planning Recommendations

The Engineering and Planning component of the Four E's strategy is the backbone of the Road Map because providing a good system of bicycle facilities is critical if bicycling is to have a significant impact on transportation in Montgomery County. The following three pages summarize the recommended physical improvements to the road network.

Recommended Bicycle Routes

The Road Map targets specific roads to be improved and retrofitted to accommodate bicycling transportation (refer to Attachment B). These roads are key bicycling corridors that provide a high degree of connectivity and linkage between bicycling origins and destinations.

Standards for Bikeable Roads

The specific way in which a road should be improved or retrofitted will be determined, in part, using the standards that are presented in Attachment C . These standards have been formulated by the Federal Highway Administration and adopted by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. They are based on practical and professional judgement as to the needs of bicyclists with varied riding skills and biking experience.

Bicyclist Types

The standards for bikeable roads recognize two fundamental groups of bicyclists that have different requirements in order to feel safe and comfortable riding a bike on a road.

• 1. Group A (Advanced) Bicyclists - These are experienced cyclists who can operate under most traffic conditions.
• 2. Group B/C (Basic/Child) Bicyclists - These are casual or new adult, teenage, and preteen cyclists who are less confident of their ability to operate in traffic without special provisions for bicycles.

Road Improvement Types

Four basic types of road improvements (i.e., shared lanes, wide curb lanes, shoulders, and bike lanes) are prescribed by the standards. These are illustrated in Attachment D (pdf).

Montgomery County Strategy

Roads should be improved or retrofitted in accordance with the following approach. When fully implemented, the recommendations will result in a more bikeable county--every key bicycling corridor will be safe for at least Group A bicyclists and most, if not all, primary bicycle routes will be safe for Group B/C bicyclists.

1. Primary Bicycle Routes - Because these roads provide crucial bicycle links in the county, they should comply with B/C standards at a minimum. Only in rare instances where physical constraints or unique circumstances exist should B/C standards not be met.

2. Secondary Bicycle Routes - These roads should optimally be retrofitted to comply with B/C standards. If B/C standards cannot be met, or if the agency having jurisdiction over the road decides that a B/C facility is not necessary, then secondary routes should be retrofitted to comply with A standards at a minimum. New Road Construction - There are proposed road projects in the county in various stages of planning, design and funding. New roads should be designed to accommodate bicyclists. Whether the roads comply with A or B/C standards will be decided using the following guidelines:

If a new limited-access highway is constructed, a path separated from the cartway by an open space or barrier should optimally be constructed as part of the expressway design.

• All proposed roads of a lower order than limited-access highways should include bicycle facilities according to functional classification. Generally, this means roads intended to function as arterials should comply with the recommendations for primary bicycle routes. New collector roads should be designed according to secondary bicycle route recommendations.

• For proposed bypasses, required bicycle facilities on new segments of roadway should be determined by projected functional classification and operational characteristics. Altered traffic conditions resulting from a bypass project may necessitate that the bicycle facility be upgraded from what would otherwise be appropriate for the original road segment. Conversely, a downgraded facility for bicyclists may be permitted on the original through route depending on changed traffic conditions. Additionally, bicycle facilities should not be replaced or shifted from one location to the otherCboth the original and new road segments will likely still need to accommodate bicyclists, but perhaps in different ways.

• New road improvements made by private parties, such as developers, should conform with standards from Figure 2 using projected operational road characteristics as a basis for decision-making. It is the responsibility of the agency with jurisdiction over the roadway to ensure adequate provisions for bicyclists when constructing new roads within a development, widening roads adjacent to a development, providing new accesses from a public road, and reconstructing intersections$4. Functional Classification Changes - The transportation network of the county is dynamic. The operational characteristics and functional classification of roads change with the advent of new developments, different land uses, new roads, and new traffic patterns. Subsequently, the type of bicycle facility appropriate for any given road may also change over time. The primary and secondary bicycle route designations presented in Attachment C should be viewed as flexible and should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis using actual roadway characteristics present when roadway design engineering takes place.

Retrofitting the Roads

Making the designated roads bikeable will be a step-by-step process. Roads can be retrofitted gradually as they come up for maintenance (operation budget) projects or 3R (large capital-oriented) projects. A basic principle is to integrate bicycle elements into all road projects. Whenever road work is being planned, designed, funded, and constructed, bicyclists= needs should be considered and incorporated to the highest degree possible and practical.

Maintenance projects, such as overlays, offer prime opportunities for roads to be made bikeable. Overlays simply involve laying new pavements on a road. They should ideally extend from curb-to-curb or out-to-out so the entire width of the road is a smooth, seamless surface. If a road has a shoulder with adequate grade and base, some useable roadway width can be gained by paving the shoulder when the cartway is repaved. This extra space can be used as operating space for bicyclists. Restriping the travel lanes also is a chance to set aside sufficient area, such as a wide shoulder or bike lane, for bicycles.

There are three basic ways to retrofit a road for bicycles:

• 1. Widen the road to provide a wide curb lane, shoulder, or bike lane of adequate width. This measure could be used if a roadway is not wide enough to accommodate the motor vehicle travel lanes and the bicycle facility prescribed by standards. This is the most expensive method, especially if right-of-way, drainage improvements, and utility relocation are needed.

• 2. Restripe the roadway. It might be possible for a road to satisfy bicycle standards without being widened. This can be done by reconfiguring the travel lanes for bicycle transportation. For example, extra operating space for bicyclists could be provided by moving stripes and pavement markings where it is possible to narrow motor vehicle lanes, reduce the number of travel lanes, remove a middle turn lane, and narrow or eliminate the onstreet parking lane. This is a relatively low-cost method of improving roads for bicyclists, especially if the work is combined as part of a larger project, such as an overlay.

• 3. Install pavement markings (i.e., painted lines and/or symbols) or signage along the road. Extra wide roads without painted lines designating the outer edges of the motor vehicle lanes can be marked for bicycle use. For example, shoulders could be striped or bike lanes could be designated by painted bicycle symbols and directional arrows. In cases where the roads are significant travel routes for bicyclists, signs could be installed to identify the corridor. On roads where standard minimum bicycle facilities cannot be provided, warning signs to alert motorists of the presence of bicyclists should be installed. An example is the "share the road" sign. The installation of pavement markings and signs is a very inexpensive way to better accommodate bicyclists on roads.