Last week, while in Washington, D.C., for the
National Bike Summit, I had the great pleasure of hosting representatives of 9 states plus Washington D.C. in a discussion about U.S. Bicycle Route 1 (USBR 1). The meeting was held at AASHTO headquarters (see above), with about 25 people attending either in person or calling in via web conferencing.
Attendees included AASHTO staff, staff from State Departments of Transportation and other state agencies, such as the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Bicycle and trail advocates were also represented.
You see, this corridor is a prime route, ready for implementation for several reasons.
1) Maine and New Hampshire are prepping their USBR Applications for AASHTO as I write this.
2) Delaware, Maryland and D.C. have routes for USBR 1 in mind and are preparing strategies and adjoining state coordination in order to get the implementation process started.
3) Virginia already has USBR 1 established and the State DOT is preparing changes to the northern sections of the route that need upgrades due to road closures and other challenges.
4) North Carolina has USBR 1 but could improve this route that was originially designated back in 1982.
5) Georgia and Florida are already at work on their own implementation processes, and shared their methods as a potential for others to emmulate.
And finally, we have assistance and support from the
East Coast Greenway Alliance. They've done a great deal of work developing relationships with local and state transportation agencies, trail managers and bicycle and trail volunteers. They have also established road and trail routes that lie withing the USBR 1 Corridor. With over 20 years of ground work done, we see coordination with their efforts to be a win for bike travelers.
Outcomes from this meeting included:
* A greater understanding by state agencies of the AASHTO USBR application; specifically, the level of detail for maps;
* Release of the revised
AASHTO Guide on the Development of Bicycle Facilities is expected at the end of 2011 (the AASHTO consultant and the national committee must resolve 1,600 comments on the Guide before the AASHTO committees can vote);
* States reported on in-state work that will benefit USBR planning and implementation, such as Connecticut's efforts to "close the gaps" in its greenways and transit network, and Massachusetts bicycle routes that are clearly great candidates for USBR 1 routing;
*
Rhode Island Bicycle Coalition is backing adoption of the East Coast Greenway route as their USBR 1 route;
* South Carolina has the
Coastal Bike Route that lies within the USBR 1 Corridor;
* Finally, the group discussed the
USBR signs; including costs, gaining local agency agreements, maintenance over time, how to address sign clutter, and efforts to develop a more unified approach to bike signs. This is definitely an area that I will be focusing on and building resources for over the coming year.
Attendees of the meeting walked away with a greater understanding of what their state partners are working on, including expected timelines for USBR 1 applications. A big thanks goes out to Jim, Keith, and Marty from AASHTO for hosting and speaking at the meeting, the East Coast Greenway's Eric Weis for helping coordinate invites, and members of the
Virginia Bicycling Federation for their conitnued support.
---
BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM (USBRS) is posted by Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, and features news and updates related to the emerging
U.S. Bicycle Route System. The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the
East Coast Greenway Alliance, and
Mississippi River Trail, Inc.
GEOPOINTS BULLETIN is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures and persons from Adventure Cycling's Route Network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure. She also wants to remind you that map corrections and comments are always welcome via the online Map Correction Form.
Posts
