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FHWA: CNU/ITE Street Design Guide Sets the Standard
Major Milestone for CNU as Street Guide Approved for Use
Submitted on 10/4/2013. Tags for this image:
Last month, the Federal Highways Administration released a memorandum officially endorsing CNU/ITE's manual Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach. The manual will serve as a complement to AASHTO's "Green Book" in transportation planning nationwide. The Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares was not the only new endorsement.
From the FHWA memo:
"This memorandum expresses the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) support for taking a flexible approach to bicycle and pedestrian facility design. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) bicycle and pedestrian design guides are the primary national resources for planning, designing, and operating bicycle and pedestrian facilities. The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Urban Bikeway Design Guide and the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Designing Urban Walkable Thoroughfares guide builds upon the flexibilities provided in the AASHTO guides, which can help communities plan and design safe and convenient facilities for pedestrian and bicyclists. FHWA supports the use of these resources to further develop nonmotorized transportation networks, particularly in urban areas." FHWA.dot.gov
"FHWA's statement puts the ITE Street Guide front and center on every traffic engineer's desk," said CNU's John Norquist of the monumental announcement. "This is exactly what we hoped would happen." This FHWA endorsement bolsters CNU call for "context sensitive solutions" in transportation matters and builds flexibility into transportation planning that will help to further promote livable communities that are compact, pedestrian-scaled, and open to all modes of transportation.
Streetsblog covered the story in-depth, including an interview with CNU member and transportation specialist Jeff Tumlin.