Evaluation + Planning involves the studying, planning and measuring of the walking and biking environment. Activities include using land use codes, strategic initiatives and bicycle and pedestrian plans to achieve community aspirations to become more bike and walk friendly. It also involves measuring the success of investments in achieving desired outcomes.
Steps that local governments can take... |
- Evaluate subdivision and land development ordinances and reform as needed to foster a built environment that supports walking and biking for people of all ages and abilities.
- Review the American Planning Association's Aging in Community Policy Guide and identify opportunities to apply sound planning approaches and policies to improve communities for older adults. (Also see the Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh Action Plan).
- Adopt Vision Zero and Complete Streets policies.
- Incorporate Health in All Policies.
- Develop a pedestrian and bicycle safety plan or active transportation plan.
- Conduct a pedestrian and bicycle road safety audit.
- Let PennDOT know your community's priorities for walking and biking. Learn more at PennDOT Connects >
- Complete a sidewalk assessment inventory and prioritize projects to create a safe, connected walking network that includes access to transit.
- Check out pathVu...they can assist municipalities with sidewalk data collection and improvement prioritization. pathVu is building a global database of sidewalk and pedestrian pathway data to improve the accessibility, walkability, and safety of all pedestrians -of any ability.
- Collect bicycle and pedestrian counts to help prioritize improvements and measure trends in facility use. SPC may be able to help with this (see "SPC non-motorized data collection program" below).
- Conduct walking and bicycling audits and implement safety recommendations to improve conditions for people who walk and bike.
- Engage in tactical urbanism and undertake a small-scale demonstration projects to experiment with and gather input on potential street design changes.
- When constructing bicycle and pedestrian projects, consider green street practices and include green infrastructure elements to help manage stormwater.
using land use codes and policy to creatE walkable + bikeable communities
linking to transit
collecting Pedestrian + Bicycle counts
See Chapter 4
SPC pilot non-motorized data collection program
SPC implemented a pilot, non-motorized data collection program and has been using automated bike counters to collect bike counts on trails and mixed traffic settings throughout region. If you're interested in getting bike counts on a street or trail in your community, send us a note!
Funding opportunities for developing active transportation plans
Active Allegheny Grant Program (AAGP)
The AAGP provides financial assistance to municipalities and councils of government to develop community plans and design transportation projects that will, when implemented, provide bicycle and pedestrian connections to important local destinations and transportation systems and increase residents’ opportunities for physical activity. Learn more >
The AAGP provides financial assistance to municipalities and councils of government to develop community plans and design transportation projects that will, when implemented, provide bicycle and pedestrian connections to important local destinations and transportation systems and increase residents’ opportunities for physical activity. Learn more >
WalkWorks
WalkWorks advances policy development by offering financial assistance to a limited number of municipalities or similar local governing bodies for the development of Active Transportation Plans, Complete Streets policies and/or Vision Zero policies.
WalkWorks advances policy development by offering financial assistance to a limited number of municipalities or similar local governing bodies for the development of Active Transportation Plans, Complete Streets policies and/or Vision Zero policies.
bicycle + Pedestrian planning
Additional planning resources
planning multimodal networks
developing bicycle + pedestrian performance measures
