Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Human Environment // Human Environment Digest 11/09/23 !!!

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November 9, 2023 Human Environment Digest

Welcome to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Office of Human Environment monthly email digest. This digest shares the latest information from a range of Federal and non-Federal sources, addressing transportation and its relationship to the human environment that support a connected multimodal transportation system for all users. Through this information exchange, FHWA hopes to foster dialogue at all levels and continue to further the state of the practice on important topics such as: safety, infrastructure, accessibility, multimodal network resiliency, economic revitalization, and mobility innovation, including technologies to achieve complete trips, and accountability that includes equitable access to convenient transportation options for underserved communities. For more information on any of these topics, see the FHWA Related Links on the sidebar. Manage your subscriptions. *The information provided in this mailing does not necessarily reflect the view of the Federal Highway Administration or the U.S. Department of Transportation. FHWA’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) website serves as a one-stop shop for FHWA’s implementation of the law, including information on funding, assistance, education, and guidance. U.S. DOT’s Equity website provides plans and resources for delivering a more equitable transportation system. DOT Navigator helps communities understand the best ways to apply for grants, and plan for and deliver transformative infrastructure projects and services. SPOTLIGHT World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims (November 19, 2023) White House Technical Assistance Guide (U.S. DOT Programs begin on page 17) U.S. DOT FY 2023 Thriving Communities Letter of Interest Web-based Form U.S. DOT Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision Making (updated) FHWA Improving Safety on Urban Arterials: Learning from Australasia Poster FHWA Federal Policy, Research, & Funding Opportunities for Shared Micromobility Projects FHWA Complete Streets Poster Funding Safety for All FHWA Micromobility Regulations and Permitting Equity Synthesis FHWA Sidewalk Mapping for Pedestrian Navigation Workshop Summary Report FHWA Environmental Excellence Award Nominations (deadline extended to November 17, 2023) FHWA Fostering Multimodal Connectivity Newsletter (Summer 2023) The PBIC Messenger October 2023 Newsletter

CONFERENCES Please check with event organizers on if/how events are being adjusted to accommodate remote participation.  November 13-15, 2023: Transportation Research Board’s Transportation Resilience 2023: International Conference on Extreme Weather and Climate Change Challenges. Washington, DC. (There is a fee) November 13-16, 2023: AASHTO’s 2023 Annual Meeting and Expo. Indianapolis, IN. (There is a fee) January 7-11, 2024: Transportation Research Board’s 103rd Annual Meeting. Washington, DC. (There is a fee). WEBINARS November 14, 9:00-10:00 AM ET: Institute for Transportation and Development Policy and Volvo Research and Educational Foundations’ The Future of Public Transport – Conclusions and Best Practices from the Field. November 14, 1:00-3:00 PM ET: FHWA’s Value Capture and Debt Financing Strategies: Tax-Exempt Debt Financing. November 14, 2:00-3:30 PM ET: U.S. DOT’s It’s Transportation for All of Us (ITS4US) Deployment Program Phase 2 Webinar: Hybrid System Development with Stakeholder Support. November 14, 3:30-4:30 PM ET: University Transportation Center Program’s Auditory Situational Awareness for Vehicle-Pedestrian Communication Systems: Tesseract Crosswalk Module. November 15, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: U.S. DOT’s Equity in Roadway Safety Webinar Series: Elevating Equity and Safety in Project Prioritization. November 15, 1:00-2:30 PM ET: Transportation Research Board Transit Cooperative Research Program’s Alternative Services for ADA Paratransit Riders.    November 15, 3:00-4:00 PM ET: Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals’ How to Keep a Statewide Plan Off the Shelf: Pedestrian Planning in Minnesota. (Fee may apply) November 28, 12:00-1:00 PM ET: Smart Growth America’s Complete Streets Power Hour. November 28, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s TrailNation Playbook in Action: Mapping and Gap-Filling Strategies to Accelerate Network Development. November 29, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s How to Advocate for Biking, Walking and Trail Funding: Best Practices for 2024 State Legislative Sessions. November 30, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: American Trails’ Digital Transformation of Trail Management and Monitoring. (Donations accepted) December 1, 1:00-2:30 PM ET: Transportation Research Board’s National Digital Infrastructure Strategy and Roadway Operations Data Exchanges. (Fee may apply) December 5, 3:00-4:00 PM ET: U.S. DOT’s Navigator December Webinar. December 6, 1:00-3:00 PM ET: FHWA’s Value Capture: Advertising, Naming Rights, and Sponsorships. December 7, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: American Trails’ Trail Planning and Design: Foundations of Success. (Donations accepted) December 14, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: American Trails’ Encouraging Indigenous Participation in Trail Management and Interpretation. (Donations accepted) December 20, 1:00-3:00 PM ET: FHWA’s Value Capture Strategies Toolkit for Practitioners: An Overview. December 20, 3:00-4:00 PM ET: Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals’ Lighter, Faster, Drier: Beyond Quick-Build Towards Resilient Treatments for High-Quality Active Transportation Infrastructure. (Fee may apply) December 21, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: American Trails’ Outdoor Electric Assist Devices: Opportunity or Opposition. (Donations accepted) January 18, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: American Trail’s The Third Mode: Bonus Chapters. (Donations accepted) January 25, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: American Trail’s The Path to Mental Health. (Donations accepted) February 8, 1:00-2:00 PM ET: American Trail’s Systemic Condition Analysis and Management for Multi-Use Trails. (Donations accepted) EVENTS November 13-17, 2023: FHWA’s Crash Responder Safety Week. November 19, 2023: Safe Streets for People’s World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims in the U.S. Virtual events. November 26, 2023: United Nations’ World Sustainable Transport Day. FHWA RELATED LINKS Environment Homepage Bicycle/Pedestrian Environmental Justice Transportation Alternatives Recreational Trails Program Digest Input: Submit comments or information for inclusion in the next HE Digest. Submissions must be made by the first Friday of the month. Newsletter Input: The Federal Highway Administration’s Fostering Multimodal Connectivity Newsletter provides transportation professionals real-world examples showcasing how States, MPOs, and localities are improving connectivity, accessibility, equity, safety, and convenience for all transportation users, including equitable transportation options for underserved communities. Interested in submitting an article for future Newsletters? Please reach out to Bernadette.Dupont@dot.gov.   U.S. DOT Announces First Round of FY 2023 Safe Streets and Roads for All Grant Awardees The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the awardees of $82.6 million in planning and demonstration grants for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program. SS4A is a competitive grant program that funds regional, local, and Tribal initiatives to prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. The program supports two grant types: (1) planning and demonstration grants and (2) implementation grants. The planning and demonstration grants were awarded to 235 projects to help communities develop safety action plans, inform improvements along corridors with safety issues, use strategies to test out safety features such as separated bicycle lanes or curb extensions at intersections, and more. Details on awarded projects are available, including a list of awards by State and an interactive map. A second announcement is expected later this year for awardees of the implementation grants. FHWA Releases Poster Highlighting Complete Streets Federal Funding Programs Available The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) released a one-page poster listing the wide range of Federal funding opportunities available for Complete Streets projects and programs that encourage safety, equity, and accessibility for all road users. The opportunities listed in the poster are hyperlinked to each program website for reference, along with a link to learn more about the FHWA Complete Streets Funding site. General information on FHWA Complete Streets initiatives and resources are available. FHWA Calls for Greater Push Toward Zero Fatalities at AASHTO 2023 Safety Summit The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) released an article highlighting Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Administrator Shailen Bhatt’s presentation at the 2023 AASHTO Safety Summit held in Kansas City, MO. The FHWA Administrator encouraged State leadership to push further toward the goal of zero fatalities and promoted the implementation of proven safety countermeasures in States. Proven safety countermeasures include roundabouts, sidewalks, and protected bicycle lanes, among many others. More information on Proven Safety Countermeasures is available through the FHWA Highway Safety Programs website. Additional Federal transportation leaders presented at the AASHTO Safety Summit, encouraging partnership at the Federal, State, and local levels, as well as across modes and disciplines, to collectively achieve effective safety results across the nation.  FHWA Presents Poster Featuring Global Benchmarking Study on Pedestrian Safety on Urban Arterials in Australasia The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center published a poster on the FHWA Global Benchmarking Program report, “Improving Safety on Urban Arterials: Learning from Australasia.” The poster was developed to share findings from the report on approaches to reduce pedestrian fatalities and highlight how learnings from Australia and New Zealand may be applied to policies and practices in the United States. The poster was presented at the 2023 AASHTO Safety Summit in Kansas City, MO. Resources from a four-part webinar series on the report are also available, along with a summary brief to learn more about the study and findings. FHWA Publishes Resources for Two Proven Safety Countermeasures Toward Zero Fatalities The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published a video on the benefits of using speed safety cameras in school zones to reduce fatalities and injuries for all road users, particularly walking children. Speed safety cameras have shown to reduce fatalities and injuries by 47 percent and are part of the FHWA list of Proven Safety Countermeasures and strategies to achieve national safety goals. Another resource released as part of the Proven Safety Countermeasures initiative is a fact sheet on the safety benefits, applications, and considerations of bicycle lanes, which have shown to significantly reduce crashes. Vision Zero for Youth Opens Applications for Leadership Award in Child and Youth Pedestrian Safety Vision Zero for Youth opened the application period for the seventh annual Vision Zero for Youth U.S. Leadership Award presented by the National Center for Safe Routes to School, FIA Foundation, and the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center. The award is open to cities, counties, and local Tribal governments across the nation that have demonstrated progress in improving outcomes for child and youth pedestrian and bicycle safety. Aligning with the Justice40 Initiative, applicants must indicate how their programs benefit one or more underserved communities. Applications are due by December 16, 2023. Smart Growth America Seeks Participants for Technical Assistance Program to Improve Pedestrian Safety Smart Growth America is seeking participants for a technical assistance program to enhance data and storytelling skills with the goal of improving pedestrian safety. The program seeks individuals from local, State, or community organizations interested in learning current trends and data in traffic safety and how they relate to the health of a community; understanding the systems that inform traffic safety; learning highlights of recent successful traffic safety efforts; messaging and storytelling; and navigating barriers to achieving communities with safe, active transportation options. Participants will also have the opportunity to contribute to the Dangerous by Design 2024 report, which will be released in mid-2024. The deadline to apply is November 15, 2023. Study Compares Present Day School Travel Safety Risk with Data from Twenty Years Ago The Center for Safety Equity in Transportation, a U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) University Transportation Center, in cooperation with the U.S. DOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration and the University of Idaho, published the report, “Assessing the Relative Risks of School Travel in Rural Communities.” The study examined how experts viewed differences in school travel safety risk for various modes, including walking and bicycling, over twenty years based on existing data and interviews with thirty transportation professionals. Results showed some concerns remain unchanged over the two decades; however, safety education programs, vehicle centric travel, community planning, and pick up and drop off safety, have shifted. Report Explores Perceptions of Safety and Comfort in Interactions between Pedestrians and Self-Driving Vehicles The University of British Columbia and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology jointly published the report, “Perceived Safety and Comfort of Pedestrian Interactions with Self-Driving Vehicles: Recommendations for Responsible Introduction of Self-Driving Vehicles.” The report examines how pedestrian and self-driving vehicle (SDV) interactions are perceived by local Canadian residents, in terms of safety, comfort, and security, compared to human-driven vehicles. Findings suggest differences in perception of safety with gender, tech savviness, and emotional response to SDVs. Recommendations are also presented to provide policymakers and SDV developers with approaches to safely and comfortably introduce SDVs and policies alongside active modes of transportation.