Walking and bicycling are growing in popularity across the region, as the quality-of-life, public health, financial savings, and environmental benefits of non-motorized travel become increasingly apparent. Every day, local jurisdictions throughout the region are building new bike lanes, sidewalks, and shared-use paths, re-engineering intersections, and adopting new policies to make bicycling and walking safer and more attractive for more people.
COG and the TPB provide a forum for local planners and decision-makers to share best practices for improving non-motorized travel options in their home jurisdictions. For example, the TPB Bicycle and Pedestrian Subcommittee has developed a list of top priority unfunded bicycle and pedestrian projects.
The TPB coordinates regional efforts to promote traffic safety, such as the Street Smart Safety Campaign. It also encourages more people to bicycle or walk through the Transportation Alternatives Program and a regional Complete Streets Policy.
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan for the National Capital Region
The Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan was adopted at the January 2015 meeting of the TPB. This plan is an update to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan which was adopted in 2010.
The plan identifies major bicycle and pedestrian projects the region wishes to carry out by 2040, and incorporates goals and performance indicators for walking and bicycling from the TPB Vision and COG's Region Forward Vision. It identifies “recommended practices” likely to be effective in achieving those goals, and discusses trends in policy, mode share, and safety.