Providing infrastructure for bicycles is a necessary step when it comes to improving a bicyclists' comfort level and overall feeling of safety on the road. For many, traveling along a separated bike path provides a more pleasant experience than bicycling on a road with fast-moving cars and a narrow shoulder.

Earlier this month, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced support for two guidelines, which can help communities, especially more urban ones, plan and design safe and convenient facilities for those who walk and/or bike.

In the recent memorandum, the FHWA encourages its division throughout the nation to consider relying upon The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Urban Bikeway Design Guide and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Designing Urban Walkable Thoroughfares.

These guides build upon The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) "green book", which is the primary national resources for planning, designing, and operating bicycle and pedestrian facilities.

NACTO, which is an association of 15 major US cities (including Boston) formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices and cooperatively approach national transportation issues,  has published two editions of its bikeway design guide with with another edition set to be released on September 23, 2013. Unlike AASHTO's more traditional guide, NACTO's include protected bicycle lanes and other innovative best practices.

The FHWA's support for the NACTO guidelines gives cities and states an additional toolkit to help them provide safe and effective infrastructure that better serve pedestrians and bicyclists. This is an exciting step forward for Massachusetts' quickly expanding bicycling community!

As part of MassBike's Bikeable Communities Program, our Bikeable Communities Training covers these design guidelines, including the innovative NACTO design guide, and how to advocate for bicycle-specific infrastructure projects in a local community. Email [email protected] for any questions you may have or to request a training in your community.