MassDOT adopts Healthy Transportation Policy - will MoDOT follow?

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has recently adopted a far-reaching Healthy Transportation Policy Directive that prioritizes walking, bicycling, and transit as part of every MassDOT project: 

Complete Street (photo courtesy National Complete Streets Coalition)

To further MassDOT's GreenDOT Implementation Plan, the Commonwealth's Healthy Transportation Compact and statewide Mode Shift Goal, this Healthy Transportation Policy Directive is issued to ensure all MassDOT projects are designed and implemented in a way that all our customers have access to safe and comfortable healthy transportation options at all MassDOT facilities and in all the services we provide. This directive builds on other existing directives and guidance that addresses such issues. Healthy Transportation modes as defined by GreenDOT are walking, bicycling and taking transit. 

MassDOT's Healthy Transportation approach could be a great model for MoDOT to follow, as MoDOT works to fully integrate biking, walking, trails, and transit into its transportation vision for the very first time.

MoDOT's newly announced Long Range Plan is groundbreaking in many ways--but it doesn't yet even acknowledge the importance of transportation and the built environment, including MoDOT's roads that are the major roads in every Missouri community, on the public health.

The impact of MoDOT's roads on the public health over the past 100 years in Missouri has been tremendous--mostly because MoDOT's roads were designed to be unwalkable, uncrossable by pedestrians, and un-bicycleable.

The impact in Missourians' health will be just as tremendous in the positive direction if MoDOT now chooses the healthy options, make it easy, safe, and convenient to walk, bicycle, and use transit.

More about MassDOT's Healthy Transportation Policy

Steve Miller's Livable Streets Blog talks about some of the details of the new Healthy Transportation plan and how it will impact MassDOT's future projects:

Economic development is why the new Healthy Transportation Policy is so important, and has a chance of surviving the next election no matter who takes office.  But even before that transition, the Directive not only makes its goals clear, it also begins to integrate them into routine procedures – the real key to operationalization.  It requires that “all projects currently under MassDOT design oversight” except those already in the construction bid and work process be reviewed for “conformance with the specifications and spirit” of the new Policy by the end of 2013.  And it states (the underline is in the original!) that “projects should not advance in the design process until they have undertaken this review” – an amazing requirement compared to the usual demand to move things along.  Projects that “fail to provide facilities for healthy transportation modes [walking, bicycling, and taking transit],” other than limited access and Interstate Highways, can proceed only if they get a special signoff from the Secretary.

In addition, “all design notices and public communication for projects” must describe what bike/ped/transit facilities are within the project area as well as any “existing or proposed [healthy transportation] networks within a 2-mile radius…[including] critical connections to downtowns or transit facilities.”  It states that “in urbanized areas,” and on “every bridge, overpass or underpass… sidewalks [shall be included] on both sides of the road, even if comparable facilities do not yet exist on the abutting road segments.”  And in all areas “wherever adjacent land uses include commercial development or residential development of greater than five units per acre, a sidewalk should be provided along the roadway adjacent…Design features to consider shall include, but not [be] limited to: wider sidewalks, street trees, landscaped buffers, benches, lighting, frequent crossing opportunities and strong intermodal connectivity to transit.”

The Directive includes not only new construction but also the more frequent “retrofit and maintenance….pavement restoration and resurfacing projects” requiring that they “seek to add facilities that increase and encourage healthy transportation…including opportunities to meet ADA compliance.”

Any location with “clustered incident [accident] sites” involving pedestrians, cyclists, or people using transit, starting in Environmental Justice communities, will get a safety audit to “improve customer safety for more vulnerable users” – the start, perhaps, of Safe Routes To The T program or Safe Routes for Seniors programs!  Just as important: “this process shall include the development of metrics for success and identify a reasonable completion date” for each location.

Encouraging transportation agencies across Missouri to build a world-class bicycle, pedestrian, and trail network that encourages healthy, active, vibrant community with sustainable economic development is one of the main objectives of MoBikeFed's Vision of Bicycling and Walking in Missouri.  Your membership and support helps make our Vision turn to reality!