The National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse has posted an update to its website detailing provisions for transportation enhancements (TE) in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The website includes an overview of provisions of the bill, which allocated three percent of the total of $27.5 billion in funds made available to FHWA for TE projects. Recent updates to the website address guidance from FHWA and the list of known state TE stimulus projects. For more information, link to TE and the ARRA. (7-21-09)

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The Transportation Research Board has published the May-June 2009 issue of its TR News magazine, which covers innovative and state-of-the-art research and practice in all modes of transportation, news of interest to the transportation community, the Research Pays Off article series, workshop and conference announcements, and more. The theme of the current edition is “Transportation and the Environment: Mutual Enhancements,” featuring articles on the topics of Collaboration, Contexts, and Sustainability; Air Quality Successes and Challenges; Safe Road Passages for Wildlife; Public Outreach on Transportation Noise; and Preserving History, Building Infrastructure. For more information, link to TR News, May-June 2009 (available for purchase or subscription). (7-20-09)

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The Federal Highway Administration has issued the Summer 2009 issue of its Pedestrian Forum newsletter. The issue features updates on an international scan on pedestrian and bicycle safety and mobility; free pedestrian safety webinars; pedestrian and bicycle safety interactive CDs; a guide on developing a pedestrian safety action plan; pedestrian road safety audit programs; revisions to the AASHTO Guide for the Planning, Design and Operation of Pedestrian Facilities; launch of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center's updated and redesigned pedestrian and bicycle image library at www.pedbikeimages.org; and other information. To access the publication, link to Summer 2009 Pedestrian Forum newsletter. (7-7-09)

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A new report summarizes a recent international scan tour on pedestrian and bicycle safety and mobility sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration’s International Technology Scanning Program, AASHTO, and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program. The May 2009 scan tour featured a team of 12 transportation professionals from the United States with expertise in bicycling and walking who visited five European countries to identify innovative approaches to nonmotorized transportation. The scan team considered several topics: improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety, Safe Routes to School programs, monitoring usage levels and exposures, and safety research and evaluation. The report provides an overview of the team’s findings and recommendations and includes a series of implementation items to be pursued in the United States. A final report is expected to be completed in early 2010. For more information, link to the International Scan Summary Report on Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety and Mobility. (6-24-09)

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The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center recently updated its compendium of case studies of pedestrian and bicycle projects and programs implemented by communities in the United States and abroad. The collection of brief case studies, or success stories, are categorized by the main activity involved in the community initiative: engineering, education, enforcement, encouragement, planning, health promotion, and comprehensive safety initiatives. For more information, link to the PBIC Case Study Compendium. (6-10-09)

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The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals and the National Center for Bicycling and Walking will conduct a professional development webinar on June 17, 2009, on creating successful bicycle master plans for developing bicycle infrastructure in a city. The webinar will focus on promoting bicycling as a viable transportation option and providing a safe environment for bicycling. For more information, link to Creating the Bicycle Master Plan Webinar. (5-29-09)

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The latest in a series of annual reports published by the National Transportation Enhancements Clearinghouse summarizes how states have spent their transportation enhancements (TE) funds. The report covers TE spending for the period from fiscal year 1992 through the end of FY 2008, including the distribution of funds across the 12 eligible TE activities. For more information, link to Transportation Enhancements: Summary of Nationwide Spending as of FY 2008. (5-26-09)

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A new report provides guidance for state departments of transportation and other highway agencies on improving the safety of digital billboards that increasingly are being used for outdoor advertising. The report includes a review of existing human factors research and guidelines in the area of outdoor advertising signs conducted under the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP Project 20-7, Task 256). The report also offers recommendations for reducing the distracting effects of digital billboards, including prohibiting their placement in locations that demand a high level of driver attention and establishing new criteria for the behavior of digital signs, such as the frequency of messages changes and illumination levels. For more information, link to Safety Impacts of the Emergency Digital Display Technology for Outdoor Advertising Signs(NCHRP 20-27, Task 256) or the NCHRP summary page. (4-28-09)

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The National Center for Bicycling and Walking hosts a professional development webinar on May 20, 2009, on “Sunday Parkways,” or street closings modeled on Latin American 'ciclovias,' that have recently received attention in the United States. The one-hour webinar will feature presenters from Chicago, Miami, and New York City who will describe how they tailored ciclovia events to their cities and implemented the projects. For more information, link to Bikewalk.org’s Sunday Parkways webinar. (4-20-09)

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America Bikes has released a platform describing the bicycling community’s priorities for the upcoming federal transportation authorization. The document maintains that an investment of 3 percent of the next transportation bill in bicycling and walking would help increase the share of trips taken by those modes from the current 10 percent to 20 percent. The platform urges Congress to adopt several measures, including enacting a Complete Streets policy requiring all projects using federal funds to include provisions that accommodate bicyclists, pedestrians, and disabled travelers. The platform also recommends that Congress increase funding for completing bicycling and walking networks, add funding for safety improvements to roads and intersections, and raise the profile of bicycling and walking within the U.S. Department of Transportation. For more information, link to When America Bikes America Benefits. (3-17-09)

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