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Reston, Va. residents battle traffic just like the rest of the D.C. metro area but they decided to actually find out which method of transportation is quicker during rush hour…

Bike Month is off to a great start. Follow #BikeMonth on Twitter to see just how excited people are. Here’s what the internet is saying about National Bike Month: Twenty-one…

The Minnesota winter can’t stop them: Minneapolis receives the Gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community designation

The best biking cities of the East race toward Gold: Boston, New York City and Washington, D.C. all receive Silver-level designations

The League of American Bicyclists announced the latest round of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designations today to kick off May as National Bike Month. This was one of the strongest groups of applicants we’ve seen with a lot of solid projects and programs from communities all across the country – from 1,200 people in Sisters, Ore. to more than 8 million in New York City. Twenty-one communities received awards, out of 45 new applicants. Minneapolis, Minn. earned a gold-level award, the highest award of this round. “We are thrilled to see Minneapolis reach a gold-level Bicycle Friendly Community designation,” said Bill Nesper, director of the League’s Bicycle Friendly America Program. “The city’s great investments in bike lanes, bicycling safety education, and encouragement programs have paid off for its residents. In fact, communities across the country are now looking at Minneapolis as a model.”
Under the leadership of Mayor R.T. Rybak, Minneapolis was first designated as silver-level BFC in May 2008. “We’ve made a deliberate effort to be one of the nation’s top bicycling cities, and those investments mean we have more and more ways for people to commute and experience the city on two wheels,” said Mayor Rybak. Thanks to the city’s efforts, Minneapolis has doubled its number of bicycle commuters over the last nine years, placing it behind only Portland, Ore. among the largest cities in the U.S.-no small feat for a city with a notoriously harsh winter.

East Coast Cities Earn Silver Designations and Race to Gold
To date the Eastern United states has had very few silver-level Bicycle Friendly Communities and no gold-level BFCs. That’s beginning to change. Today, the League of American Bicyclists gave Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C. silver- BFC designations. The cities are now competing to be the first to earn gold.

With Bike Month, AASHTO, and rescissions shenanigans, it’s a busy time here at the League. But our friends have been busy, too. Here’s some of what they’ve been up to: So,…

May is National Bike Month. To find out what is happening in your area, check out the 150 Bike Month Special Events that have already been posted. And it’s not too late…

In a video response to questions from Twitter, Facebook, and his blog, the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, reminds us that April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The League has…

Would you like to see your face on the League’s staff page? Apply for one of these exciting jobs at the League of American Bicyclists. Education director: The League of…

Thousands of you acted on the AASHTO alert — and it worked!

BikePortland posted this letter from AASHTO this afternoon:
WITHDRAWAL OF AASHTO REGULATORY RECOMMENDATION REGARDING USDOT BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN GUIDANCE

In response to the concerns expressed by several members of AASHTO’s Board of Directors, President Martinovich has directed AASHTO for the time being to withdraw its request that FHWA rescind its guidance on the meaning of “due consideration” of bicycle and pedestrian needs. This will give AASHTO an opportunity to meet with bicycle and pedestrian advocacy groups on May 19 to discuss this issue. It will also allow time for AASHTO’s Board of Directors at our annual meeting in October to discuss this issue and provide policy direction on how best to deal with it. Several state DOT CEOs have expressed the concern that this issue is not one that the Board was briefed on, or one on which they were asked to take a position. We will brief the Board more fully on this matter at our meeting May 6.

Background. April 1, 2011, I responded to a U.S.DOT notice asking for a review of regulations to identify those we found to be outmoded, ineffective, or excessively burdensome. After consultation and input from the states, AASHTO submitted a list of approximately 30 regulations that States wanted improved.

One of the recommendations states submitted was for a change to FHWA’s guidance on implementing the statutory requirements related to bicycle and pedestrian facilities in the planning and design of highway projects. Our intent in making the request that the guidance be changed is to streamline the effort and paperwork required to justify why bicycle or pedestrian facilities may or may not be appropriate on a given federal aid project.

The statutory language calls for bicyclists and pedestrians to be given “due consideration” in the development of comprehensive transportation plans, and to “be considered, where appropriate, in conjunction with all new construction and reconstruction of transportation facilities.” We have no problem with this requirement.

What we have objected to is FHWA guidance which increases the level of requirement from “consideration” to “accommodation.” The guidance says “that bicyclists and pedestrians will be accommodated” which is a much more expansive requirement in that states must prove exceptional circumstances when not providing for bicyclists and pedestrians as part of a federal aid highway project.

We reported on AASHTO’s recommendations regarding regulatory change in the AASHTO Journal April 8. The article contained links to AASHTO’s submittal letter and to a 15-page supplemental document which contained the text of our recommendations regarding the bicycle and pedestrian guidance.

Our comment on FHWA’s guidance has apparently caused concern in the bicycle community. When contacted in this regard by the League of American Bicyclists and the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, I offered to meet with them and others to hear their concerns and to explain what we recommended and why. A meeting has been scheduled for May 19 here at AASHTO.

You may receive similar contacts from bicycling and pedestrian interests in your state or community. We hope you will share with them our support for bicycling and pedestrian facilities, as well as our interest in limiting FHWA’s guidance to what was defined in the law.

Here is a link to the full explanation as submitted to USDOT, http://bit.ly/RegulatoryReviewRequest.
Transportation Issues Daily also helped break the story.

UPDATE: In an interview with BikePortland back on Tuesday (before the request was withdrawn,) AASHTO Director John Horsley defended AASHTO’s initial request:

Oh, third grade school days. Mine were mostly carefree and were comprised of counting down the minutes to recess, mastering my multiplication tables, remembering how to write the cursive Z…

In the latest budget deal between the Republicans and Democrats, the two parties agreed to rescind (read: take back) $2.5 billion in unspent federal transportation funds. Your state DOT has…