The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) made official a set of rule changes that overthrow an old way of thinking about street design.
"We probably haven’t seen the last of engineers who insist on designing local streets like surface highways. But at least now they can’t claim their hands are tied by federal regulations," according to an article by Angie Schmitt. That conclusion follows an action by the Federal Highway Administration to remove 11 or 13 existing design rules for national highways, which Schmitt defines as "a 230,000-mile network of roads that includes many urban streets."
Here, Schmitt summarizes the effect of the rule changes:
The rule change eliminates a major obstacle to safe street design around the country. The old rules applied highways design standards — wide lanes, no trees — to streets that function more like main streets, with terrible consequences for safety and walkability.
Schmitt reported on the first hints that the FHWA would change the design rules back in October, but the latest news means the changes are official. May seems to be a productive month for the FHWA, which announced the release of a design guide for separated bike lanes almost exactly a year ago, in May of 2015.
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