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In a new report, Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report, the Alliance ranks all 50 states and the 51 largest U.S. cities on bicycling and walking levels, safety, funding, and other factors.

This report comes at a critical moment, as Congress takes up the imminent passage of the next federal transportation bill, which dictates how billions of tax dollars will be spent over coming years. The Benchmarking Report reveals that, in nearly every city and state, pedestrians and bicyclists are disproportionately at risk of being killed, and currently receive less than a fair share of transportation dollars. While 12 percent of trips in the U.S. are by bike or foot, 14 percent of traffic fatalities are bicyclists and pedestrians. Pedestrian and bicycle projects receive less than 2 percent of federal transportation dollars.

“The Benchmarking Report shows that biking and walking are smart solutions to many of our country’s most pressing challenges when it comes to transportation, job creation and health,” Jeffrey Miller, Alliance President/CEO, says.

Click here to download the report and media fact sheet.

The report compiles persuasive evidence that bicycle and pedestrian projects create more jobs than highway projects, and provide at least three dollars of benefit for every dollar invested. The report also highlights the health benefits of active transportation, showing that states with the highest rates of bicycling and walking are also among those with the lowest rates of obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. “The data points to one conclusion: Investing in biking and walking projects creates jobs, leads to more people biking and walking, and improves safety and public health,” Miller says.

John Pucher, a professor at Rutgers University, emphasizes: “The wide range of environmental, social, and economic benefits of walking and bicycling, so clearly documented in this report, justify greatly increased investment in facilities and programs to encourage more walking and cycling, and to improve the safety of these most sustainable of all transportation modes.”

The 2012 Benchmarking Report compiles important state and city rankings, including:

Other highlights from the report include:

• In 2009, 40% of trips in the United States were shorter than 2 miles, yet 87% of these trips are by car. Twenty-seven percent of trips were shorter than 1 mile. Still, Americans use their cars for 62% of these trips.
• While bicycling and walking fell 66% between 1960 and 2009, obesity levels increased 156%.
• Seniors are the most vulnerable bicyclists and pedestrians. Adults over 65 make up 10% of walking trips, yet comprise 19% of pedestrian fatalities. This age group accounts for 6% of bicycling trips, yet 10% of bicyclist fatalities.
• Bicycling and walking projects create 11-14 jobs per $1 million spent, compared to just 7 jobs created per $1 million spent on highway projects. Cost benefit analysis show that up to $11.80 in benefits can be gained for every $1 invested in bicycling and walking.
• On average, the largest 51 U.S. cities show a 29% increase in bicycle facilities since the 2010 report. Cities report that 20,908 miles of bicycle facilities and 7,079 miles of pedestrian facilities are planned for the coming years (much of this contingent upon funding).

Bicycling and Walking in the United States: 2012 Benchmarking Report was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and made possible through additional support from AARP and Planet Bike. To view rankings of the 50 states and 51 largest U.S. cities, and to download or purchase a hard copy of the report visit http://www.PeoplePoweredMovement.org/benchmarking.

The Alliance is finalizing the last details of the 2012 Benchmarking Report: Bicycling and Walking in the United States and invites you to join us as we prepare for a national release of the report in January.

The report contains data on the state of biking and walking in the 50 states and 51 largest U.S. cities including data on biking and walking levels, safety, funding, policies, advocacy, and programs.

The release of the report is an excellent opportunity for you to engage the media and local decision makers and let them know how your state or city stacks up. This report will reveal where your city or state is leading and where you fall behind. The report contains numbers and illustrations that will provide data in support of your efforts and help you advocate for a greater investment in biking and walking.

The Alliance is inviting advocates interested in working with us on a coordinated national release of the report to sign up for one of two information calls:

• December 13 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. EST
• January 11 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. EST

Those who sign up will receive a sneak-preview of the report. On the call we will review the report highlights, discuss media talking points, and answer questions.

If you can’t make either of these calls but want to get involved, e-mail .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

When I was in Minneapolis for the Safe Routes to School National Conference this summer, I took the opportunity to pedal the area’s extensive trail system. Minneapolis boasts a Gold Level Bicycle Friendly City ranking from the League of American Bicyclists and one of the crown jewels of its bike facilities is the Midtown Greenway, a 5.7-mile rail trail used by commuters and recreationalists alike.

Thanks to the Midtown Greenway Coalition and the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition all users will feel a whole lot safer at a previously dangerous intersection at 28th Street.

That particular stretch of the multi-use path got a big boost in ridership in 2007 with the opening of the Martin Olav Sabo Bridge, a 2,200-foot, cable suspension, bike-ped bridge that carries the Greenway over busy Hiawatha Avenue. But more folks traversing the bridge meant far more cyclists and pedestrians crossing 28th Street, just west of the bridge. And conditions at-grade put those users at risk.

“The City of Minneapolis put in a crosswalk and a light that flashes if a button is pushed — which many bicyclists, unfortunately, do not push,” Soren Jensen, executive director of the Midtown Greenway Coalition, explains. “There were two lanes in both directions, but the outside lanes were striped and cars were not supposed to be in them. The problem was that many cars illegally went down the striped lane, anyway, causing a double threat to bicyclists. Often, one car would stop for the cyclists in the crosswalk, blocking the sight line of the car illegally using the striped lane. That’s how several bikers got hit by cars over the past few years.”

So the Coalition started meeting with officials in the city’s public works department to improve the safety at that crossing. Progress was slow but two major developments helped to tip the scales. The first was getting a larger constituency involved in the campaign. “In particular, the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition took an active interest in making the crossing safer,” Jensen says. ”Together, we represent a large constituency of cyclists and Midtown Greenway users.” Together, they also garnered some political punch, winning the support of Minneapolis City Council Member Gary Schiff.

Then, there was another tragedy.

“Unfortunately, another thing that probably tipped the process was yet another bicyclist getting hit a few months ago,” Jensen says. “I met with public works and let them know that the Coalition had fixing that crossing at the very top of our list — and that we would not sit by quietly and let another cyclist get hurt. I think they finally got the message, and moved to install the medians/islands.”

The medians funnel cars into a single lane, which serves to both slow traffic and eliminate the “double threat” to bicyclists. “They asked us whether they islands should be all concrete or have dirt for plantings,” Jensen adds. “We said plantings, and they said we would then have to be responsible for the landscaping and plantings. We think the plantings will increase safety, as cars will slow down even more when they see a garden in the medians.” So the advocates partnered with Mother Earth Gardens for temporary greenery, in anticipation of rooting some native plants next spring.

The 28th Street crossing isn’t the group’s only recent victory. Click here to read about the success of its Greenway Challenge and the installation of new amenities at the Cepro site.

Last month, the Dangerous by Design report cast a dramatic spotlight on the epidemic of pedestrian deaths across America. Between 2000 and 2009, more than 47,000 people were killed and another 688,000 injured in the simple act of walking in their community. Transportation for America highlighted the role of the U.S. Congress and the federal government in ending these preventable tragedies, by providing funding and passing progressive policies like Complete Streets. But there’s plenty to be done at the local level, too.

One opportunity: The Walk Friendly Communities program. Established in 2010 and administered by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center , the WFC distinguishes cities and towns that are leading the way in walkability. In April, the initiative announced its first round of recipients, including Seattle at the platinum level and Ann Arbor, MI; Arlington, VA; Hoboken, NJ; and Santa Barbara, CA, at the gold level.

The Walk Friendly Community programs aims to model the success and be a pedestrian counterpart to the League of American Bicyclists’ Bicycle Friendly Community program. Just as the League established a rubric of activities that make a city safer and more accessible for bicyclists, the WFC program provides “a comprehensive assessment tool that evaluates community walkability and pedestrian safety through questions related to engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation and planning.”

According to the WFC: “In an effort not only to recognize but to motivate walk friendly communities, applicants learn best practices through participating in the application process. Applicants use a web-based program that asks a comprehensive set of questions and provides communities with feedback and ideas for promoting pedestrian safety and activity. The questions examine engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, evaluation and planning.”

Find out where your community stands by applying for walk friendly status. The next round of applications in due Wednesday, June 15. Learn more here.

In 2009, during the very first round of Advocacy Advance Grant awards, the Alliance bolstered an innovative effort by Transportation Alternatives to bring together stakeholders for safer streets in New York City. The result was a comprehensive, hard-hitting and widely read report that took the media by storm and laid out specific recommendations for improvement. Just last month, that report led to a major victory.

According to T.A., Executive Order: A Mayoral Strategy for Traffic Safety is a key reason Mayor Michael Bloomberg just signed a new law that will throw open the previously closed doors on vital, actionable traffic data. As T.A. explains in the March edition of Streetbeat, “the best advocates don’t believe in armchairs,” so their 2009 report was “hefty with actionable recommendations to improve the system.” One of the most important suggestions was aimed at the police department: Release all traffic safety data, including crashes, contributing factors and summonses. With support from the Alliance Advocacy Advance Grant, they used that springboard to launch a legislative campaign that included the Saving Lives Through Better Information Bill, a measure that addressed that public data deficiency. Last month, the bill was passed by the City Council and signed by the Mayor.

“The Saving Lives Through Better Information bill was T.A.‘s brainchild because we understand enforcement will only get better with better data,” T.A. explains in Streetbeat. “Because of T.A. advocacy, soon each month every NYPD precinct will publish online:

• Locations of every crash, pinpointing dangerous locations
• Number of crashes, fatalities and injuries of motor vehicle drivers and passengers, cyclists and pedestrians
• Contributing factors (like unsafe speed or red light running) that caused each crash, creating a priority list for summonsing efforts
• Summonses issued, indicating whether precincts are responding to problems

This summer will come with access to a wealth of information that before was hidden—all in real data you can take right to your precinct Community Council and ask what for.”

Click here to read more about T.A.’s innovative campaigns. Learn more about Advocacy Advance grants here. 

A trail of national prominence in the Grand Tetons is poised at an important crossroads — and advocates in Wyoming want to ensure park officials take the path best cycled.

Imagine you’re a future visitor to this stunning expanse in the Cowboy State. Which would you prefer?

Option #1: You and your family take in the magnificent mountain vistas as you pedal along a paved trail, far enough from the highway that the automobile traffic barely registers in your relaxed mindset.

Option #2: You take in the buzz and fumes of other families’ Winnebagos, dodge flying gravel and hope the thousands of motorists speeding by at 55 miles per hour, a mere 20 feet away, save their texting for later and keep their tires on the road.

The Friends of Pathways are fighting for Option #1.

According to Tim Young, the group’s executive director, the proposed path from Gros Ventre River to the small town of Moose will be a critical link in the evolving network threading through Grand Teton National Park. But the design for the six-mile stretch leaves much to be desired. Current plans peg the path a mere 20 feet from the highway (pictured below). The advocates from Jackson Hole are urging officials to push the path back to at least 50 feet, to serve the safety and comfort of visitors.

“The first eight miles of pathways from Moose to Jenny Lake opened in 2009 to rave reviews,” Young says. “Park visitors love the pathways — all kinds of people are cycling, walking, and rolling in wheelchairs and trailers that would clearly never be out on the road. When we hosted an event this summer with U.S. Senator John Barrasso and Congressman Cynthia Lummis, they proudly called this a world-class pathways system.”

To expand this vital resource, Teton County and the Town of Jackson secured $5 million in federal and local-voter-approved funds to construct additional miles. “This US 26/89 pathway is a key corridor,” Young explains. “It links the Town of Jackson, the regional population center, with Moose, the park headquarters. It also connects to numerous other destinations, like the National Wildlife Art Museum, resorts with visitor lodging, and park campgrounds.”

Because it’s flat, open sagebrush, shifting the path to a safer distance wouldn’t complicate construction or hike the cost. To make sure officials do the right thing, Friends of Pathways has started an online petition to show national support for the 50-foot separation.

“Speaking up for quality design in national park pathway projects is critical,” Young says. “This is a precedent-setting, nationally visible project and it’s important for all of us.”

Click here to add your name to the petition.

Blog contributed by Alliance intern Adam Levine

Pedestrians in Ann Arbor will no longer have to “play frogger” when crossing the street.

With considerable help and encouragement from the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition, Ann Arbor’s city council unanimously passed an ordinance that will require motorists to stop and yield the right of way to pedestrians at crosswalks.

The WBWC released an accompanying video demonstrating the perils that pedestrians face due to Michigan’s culture of not stopping at crosswalks.

Watch the video below or read more about WBWC here.