If Safety Matters, Let’s Measure It: Nationwide Survey Results for Bicycle and Pedestrian Treatment Prioritization

Abstract

Bicycling and walking can provide public health and quality of life benefits to a community, but safety concerns and crash rates for those who choose to bicycle or walk remain high. To better understand how agencies decide which bicycle and pedestrian treatments to install in their regions and where to install them, the team surveyed state, regional, and local agencies regarding current practices in bicycle and pedestrian design policy. Results show that agencies believe a data-driven approach is important for improving safety, but very few collect the data necessary to assess safety implications. Safety was reported as the most important variable in all stages of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure implementation, with 78% of respondents listing safety as a variable in site identification and 97% saying safety was very or somewhat important in site prioritization. However, one third of the responding agencies stated that they did not collect any type of permanent or temporary bicycle or pedestrian counts, which means that it is impossible to know the risk exposure rates in their regions and at specific sites.