Practices for Adding Bicycle and Pedestrian Access on Existing Vehicle Bridges (2023)

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2023 Practices for Adding Bicycle and Pedestrian Access on Existing Vehicle Bridges A Synthesis of Highway Practice Joan G. Hudson Chris Simek Jueyu (Olivia) Wang Hanfei Zhang Chiara Silvestri Dobrovolny Texas A&M Transportation Institute The Texas A&M University System College Station, TX Research sponsored by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Ofcials in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration Subscriber Categories Bridges and Other Structures • Pedestrians and Bicyclists N A T I O N A L C O O P E R A T I V E H I G H W A Y R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M NCHRP SYNTHESIS 604

Published reports of the NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet by going to https://www.mytrb.org/MyTRB/Store/default.aspx Printed in the United States of America NCHRP SYNTHESIS 604 Project 20-05, Topic 53-12 ISSN 0547-5570 ISBN 978-0-309-69859-7 Library of Congress Control Number 2023936474 © 2023 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trade- marks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. Cover photo caption: IH-35 Bridge over Lady Bird Lake in Austin, Texas. Cover photo credit: Joan G. Hudson NOTICE The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or spec- ifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications. The Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names or logos appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state departments of transportation (DOTs) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transporta- tion results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to high- way authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research. Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 ini- tiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation, under Agree- ment No. 693JJ31950003. The Transportation Research Board (TRB) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine was requested by AASHTO to administer the research program because of TRB’s recognized objectivity and understanding of modern research practices. TRB is uniquely suited for this purpose for many reasons: TRB maintains an extensive com- mittee structure from which authorities on any highway transportation subject may be drawn; TRB possesses avenues of communications and cooperation with federal, state, and local governmental agencies, univer- sities, and industry; TRB’s relationship to the National Academies is an insurance of objectivity; and TRB maintains a full-time staff of special- ists in highway transportation matters to bring the findings of research directly to those in a position to use them. The program is developed on the basis of research needs iden- tified by chief administrators and other staff of the highway and transportation departments, by committees of AASHTO, and by the FHWA. Topics of the highest merit are selected by the AASHTO Special Committee on Research and Innovation (R&I), and each year R&I’s recommendations are proposed to the AASHTO Board of Direc- tors and the National Academies. Research projects to address these topics are defined by NCHRP, and qualified research agencies are selected from submitted proposals. Administration and surveillance of research contracts are the responsibilities of the National Academies and TRB. The needs for highway research are many, and NCHRP can make significant contributions to solving highway transportation problems of mutual concern to many responsible groups. The program, however, is intended to complement, rather than to substitute for or duplicate, other highway research programs.

e National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, non- governmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president. e National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president. e National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president. e three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. e National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine. Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org. e Transportation Research Board is one of seven major programs of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. e mission of the Transportation Research Board is to provide leadership in transportation improvements and innovation through trusted, timely, impartial, and evidence-based information exchange, research, and advice regarding all modes of transportation. e Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,000 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. e program is supported by state transportation departments, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation. Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.

CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP SYNTHESIS 604 Christopher J. Hedges, Director, Cooperative Research Programs Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program Trey Joseph Wadsworth, Senior Program Officer Mazen Alsharif, Senior Program Assistant Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications NCHRP PROJECT 20-05 PANEL Joyce N. Taylor, Maine Department of Transportation, Augusta, ME (Chair) Melissa Batula, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Harrisburg, PA Anita K. Bush, Nevada Department of Transportation, Carson City, NV Joseph D. Crabtree, Kentucky Transportation Center (retired), Lexington, KY Mostafa Jamshidi, Nebraska Department of Transportation, Lincoln, NE Jessie X. Jones, Arkansas Department of Transportation, Little Rock, AR Brenda Moore, North Carolina Department of Transportation (retired), Cary, NC Cynthia J. Smith, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Jackson, MS Brian Worrel, Iowa Department of Transportation, Ames, IA Jack D. Jernigan, FHWA Liaison Jim T. McDonnell, AASHTO Liaison Stephen F. Maher, TRB Liaison TOPIC 53-12 PANEL Joseph D. Crabtree, Kentucky Transportation Center (retired), Lexington, KY Diane Dohm, Hawaii Department of Transportation, Honolulu, HI Stephen P. Mattingly, University of Texas, Arlington (UTA), Arlington, TX Mario Benito Rojas, Choice Engineering Consultants, Inc., Miami, FL Ida van Schalkwyk, Washington State Department of Transportation, Olympia, WA Stephen Sichmeller, Arkansas Department of Transportation, Little Rock, AR Valerie J. Southern, VJS-TC, LLC, Jamestown, RI Courtney Worhunsky, Massachusetts Department of Transportation, Boston, MA Chris Bruntz, FHWA Liaison Stephen F. Maher, TRB Liaison C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S

ABOUT THE NCHRP SYNTHESIS PROGRAM Highway administrators, engineers, and researchers often face problems for which information already exists, either in documented form or as undocumented experience and practice. This infor- mation may be fragmented, scattered, and unevaluated. As a consequence, full knowledge of what has been learned about a problem may not be brought to bear on its solution. Costly research findings may go unused, valuable experience may be overlooked, and due consideration may not be given to recommended practices for solving or alleviating the problem. There is information on nearly every subject of concern to highway administrators and engineers. Much of it derives from research or from the work of practitioners faced with problems in their day- to-day work. To provide a systematic means for assembling and evalu ating such useful information and to make it available to the entire highway community, the American Association of State High- way and Transportation Officials—through the mechanism of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program—authorized the Transportation Research Board to undertake a continuing study. This study, NCHRP Project 20-05, “Synthesis of Information Related to Highway Practices,” searches out and synthesizes useful knowledge from all available sources and prepares concise, documented reports on specific topics. Reports from this endeavor constitute an NCHRP report series, Synthesis of Highway Practice. This synthesis series reports on current knowledge and practice, in a compact format, without the detailed directions usually found in handbooks or design manuals. Each report in the series provides a compendium of the best knowledge available on those measures found to be the most successful in resolving specific problems. FOREWORD By Trey Joseph Wadsworth Staff Officer Transportation Research Board The objective of this synthesis is to document the practices employed by state departments of transportation (DOTs) to provide or improve access to existing vehicle bridges for active transpor- tation users. The synthesis focused only on existing vehicle bridges and not on new construction. Information for this study was gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs. Three case examples provide additional information on approaches to planning and design, project finance, stakeholder engagement, implementation, challenges, and lessons learned for adding bicycle and pedestrian access on existing vehicle bridges. Joan G. Hudson, Chris Simek, Jueyu (Olivia) Wang, Hanfei Zhang, and Chiara Silvestri Dobrovolny of Texas A&M Transportation Institute collected and synthesized the information and wrote the report. The members of the topic panel are acknowledged on page iv. This synthesis is an immediately useful document that records practices that were acceptable within the limitations of the knowledge available at the time of its preparation. As progress in research and practice continues, new knowledge will be added to that now at hand.

AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The study reported herein was performed under National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 20-05/Topic 53-12 by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a member of The Texas A&M University System. The authors thank the many individuals who contributed to this report, most impor- tantly the oversight panel, for providing guidance, offering support, and connecting the project team to valuable resources. In addition, the authors greatly appreciate the assistance of the agency employees who spent their time assisting and participating in the survey, which included the Active Transportation Council, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO); AASHTO Research Advisory Committee; state departments of transportation (DOTs) bicycle/pedestrian coordinators; and other state DOT agency staff. Three agencies spent additional time being interviewed as case examples and, for that, we are especially grateful. The agencies are the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the Michigan Department of Transportation, and the Florida Department of Transportation.

1 Summary 3 Chapter 1 Introduction 3 Background 4 Objective 4 Study Approach 6 Report Organization 7 Chapter 2 Review of Literature and Practice 7 Project Selection/Prioritization 8 Strategies to Accommodate Pedestrians and Bicyclists 8 Factors Affecting the Selection of Strategies 10 Performance Measurement 12 Guidance Documents 12 Summary of the Literature Review Findings 13 Chapter 3 Survey Results 13 Recently Implemented and Current Projects 13 Most Recent Project 19 Anticipated Benefits of Retrofit Projects 19 Role of Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator 20 Guidelines or Policies on How and/or When to Consider Retrofitting 21 Chapter 4 Case Examples 21 Massachusetts Department of Transportation 26 Michigan Department of Transportation 35 Florida Department of Transportation 39 Chapter 5 Findings and Conclusion 39 Findings 40 Future Research 41 References 43 Appendix A Survey Instrument 53 Appendix B State DOT Survey Responses 76 Appendix C Interview Guide 79 Appendix D Example State DOT Guidance C O N T E N T S