Walkable Streets Guide Gets Federal Endorsement

"Last month, the Federal Highway Administration gave its stamp of approval to two new engineering guides: the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ bikeway design guide, which features street treatments like protected bike lanes, and Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach, designed to help cities build streets that are walkable and safe for all users," reports Angie Schmitt.

"Ian Lockwood, a livable transportation engineer and principal with AECOM, says AASHTO’s Green Book already provides the kind of flexibility that allows engineers to do good projects that benefit urban environments," notes Schmitt. "But this new guide could push a more innovative approach to livable streets."

“Efforts like this are ways to interpret the AASHTO guidelines and related guidelines to make it easier to do something a little more enlightened,” he said. “This raises awareness; it gives people examples. It gives them what we call ‘cover.’ If engineers start to follow them, they can say it’s endorsed, bona fide.”