FHWA SPOTLIGHT ON PROVEN COUNTERMEASURES: ROAD DIET


-> According to the Fall 2012 FHWA Pedestrian Forum, "The FHWA strongly encourages the use of 'road diets' (roadway reconfiguration) where appropriate. The classic 'road diet,' involves converting an undivided four lane roadway into three lanes made up of two through lanes and a center two-way left turn lane. The reduction of lanes allows the roadway to be reallocated for other uses such as bike lanes, pedestrian crossing islands, and/or parking. Road diets have multiple safety and operational benefits for vehicles as well as pedestrians, such as:"
Decreasing vehicle travel lanes for pedestrians to cross,
Providing room for a pedestrian crossing island,
Improving safety for bicyclists when bike lanes are added,
Providing the opportunity for on-street parking,
Reducing rear-end and sideswipe crashes, and
Improving speed limit compliance and decreasing crash severity when crashes do occur.
"Roadways with Average Daily Traffic (ADT) of 20,000 or less may be good candidates for a road diet and should be evaluated for feasibility. It has been shown that roads with 15,000 ADT or less had very good results in the areas of safety, operations, and livability."
"Driveway density, transit routes, the number and design of intersections along the corridor, as well as operational characteristics are some considerations to be evaluated before deciding to implement a road diet. Road diets can be low cost if planned in conjunction with reconstruction or simple overlay projects, since a road diet mostly consists of restriping."
<a href="http://1.usa.gov/T0ZvA8">http://1.usa.gov/T0ZvA8</a>;

from CenterLines, the e-newsletter of the National Center for Bicycling &amp; Walking.

by B' Spokes

Like most people I live a hectic life and who has the time for much exercise? Thanks to xtracycle now I do. By using my bike for daily activities I can get things done and get an hour plus work out in 15 minutes extra of my time, not a bad deal and beats taking the extra time going to the gym. In case you are still having trouble being motivated; the National Center of Disease Control says that inactivity is the #2 killer in the United States just behind smoking. ( http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/bb_nutrition/ ) Get out there and start living life! I can carry home a full shopping cart of groceries, car pool two kids or just get lost in the great outdoors camping for a week. Well I got go, another outing this weekend.
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