BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 819
Page 1
CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
AB 819 (Wieckowski)
As Amended August 14, 2012
Majority vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |54-21|(January 26, |SENATE: |34-5 |(August 20, |
| | |2012) | | |2012) |
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Original Committee Reference: TRANS .
SUMMARY : Requires the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to establish procedures to permit exceptions to
bikeway design standards and specifications for specified
research and experimental purposes by June 30, 2013.
The Senate amendments :
1)Establish June 30, 2013, as the deadline for Caltrans to adopt
the procedures for considering exceptions to currently
authorized bicycle project designs.
2)Require Caltrans, by November 1, 2014, to report to the
Legislature's transportation policy committees on the steps
that Caltrans has taken to implement the procedures for
bicycle design exceptions, including, but not limited to,
information regarding the number of local agency requests for
design exceptions received and granted from July 1, 2013 to
June 30, 2014, and the reasons for any of the requests to be
rejected.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires Caltrans to establish minimum safety design criteria
for the planning and construction of bikeways. Caltrans adopts
these rules as incorporated within the California Highway Design
Manual (Highway Design Manual) that prescribes, among other
things, guidance for the design and development of bicycle
projects.
2)Defines, under federal regulation, the standards used by road
managers nationwide to install and maintain traffic control
devices on all public streets, highways, bikeways, and private
roads open to public traffic. The Manual on Uniform Traffic
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Control Devices, or MUTCD, is published and maintained by the
Federal Highway Administration.
3)Charges Caltrans with adopting uniform standards for all
traffic control devices to be used on California streets and
highways, after consultation with local authorities. Caltrans
adopts these rules as the California MUTCD, in coordination
with local entities.
4)Requires all cities, county, regional, and other local agencies
responsible for the development or operation of bikeways or
roadways where bicycle travel is permitted to utilize all
minimum safety design criteria and uniform specifications and
symbols for signs, markers, and traffic control devices as
adopted by Caltrans. Although existing procedures of the
California MUTCD provide for experimental traffic control
devices upon consideration by the California Traffic Control
Devices Committee, with input from bicycle organizations, there
is no similar process expressly for the consideration of
experimental or modified bikeway designs.
5)Enacts the Complete Streets Act of 2008 (Act), pursuant to AB
1358 (Leno), Chapter 657, Statutes of 2008, to ensure better
accommodation for all users of streets, roads, and highways.
Specifically, the Act required the Office of Planning and
Research to amend its "General Plan Guidelines" for the
circulation element to specify how local officials can
accommodate safe and convenient travel for all roadway users.
The Act also required cities and counties, upon any substantive
revision, to modify their circulation elements to plan to
achieve a balanced multi-modal transportation network that
meets the needs of all users of streets, roads, and highways.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill was substantially similar
to the version passed by the Senate.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
potential Caltrans staffing costs in the range of $100,000 to
$150,000 in 2012-13 to develop procedures and administer a
process for reviewing requests for non-standard bikeway designs.
Actual costs would depend upon the number of local agency
requests for implementing non-standard bikeway designs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, the intent of this bill is
"to expedite the development of bikeways that have proved to
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safely accommodate and attract many more people to bicycling for
transportation. This bill will accomplish that by approving many
designs that are currently effectively prohibited and by
substantially reducing the bureaucratic costs of developing such
bikeways. More bicycling is a very effective way to achieve many
of our state's goals: healthier people, fewer traffic injuries,
stronger economy, and reduced greenhouse gases."
Currently Caltrans, in cooperation with cities and counties,
establishes minimum safety design criteria for the planning and
construction of bikeways and roadways where bicycle travel is
permitted. These criteria are updated at least biennially and
included in the Highway Design Manual. Existing law also
requires Caltrans to establish uniform specifications and symbols
for signs, markers, and traffic control devices to designate
bikeways, regulate traffic, improve safety and convenience for
bicyclists, and alert pedestrians and motorists of the presence
of bicyclists where bicycle travel is permitted. These
specifications are included in the California MUTCD.
Existing law also requires local agencies that are responsible
for the development or operation of bikeways or roadways where
bicycle travel is permitted to utilize all minimum safety design
criteria and uniform specifications and symbols for signs,
markers, and traffic control devices as adopted by Caltrans.
Although existing procedures of the California MUTCD provide for
experimental traffic control devices upon consideration by the
California Traffic Control Devices Committee, there is no similar
process expressly for the consideration of experimental or
modified bikeway designs.
Accordingly, this bill would require Caltrans to establish
procedures for local agencies to allow nonstandard planning,
design, and construction features for bicycle projects as well as
traffic control devices not currently adopted in the Highway
Design Manual or the California MUTCD. Basically, the
alternative procedures would allow local agencies to implement
experimental bikeway projects and signage currently not
authorized in either of these two manuals upon approval by
Caltrans.
Support : Writing in support of this bill if amended, the
sponsor, the California Bicycle Coalition, indicates that
"Currently, California law requires all city, county, regional,
or other local agencies, in the development and operation of
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bikeways, to adhere to only the design criteria, standards, and
traffic control devices developed by Caltrans. These are
published in the Highway Design Manual and the California MUTCD.
These documents lack guidance for a large number of designs that
Ýhave been] proven to effectively accommodate and encourage safer
bicycle travel in other states and countries. Without guidance,
local agencies are required to go through a time-consuming and
therefore expensive experimentation process in the case of
traffic control devices, or are expressly prohibited from using
these designs in the case of matters of roadway design. Many of
these designs are well-tested in other jurisdictions, and
criteria and standards for most are available in manuals besides
the Highway Design Manual and California MUTCD, the only ones
authorized for bikeway development in California. It is worth
noting that local agencies are not required to adhere strictly to
the Highway Design Manual and the California MUTCD in developing
local roadways not owned by Caltrans; the rule applies just to
bikeways."
Related legislation : AB 345 (Atkins) of 2011, would have
established in statute the California Traffic Control Devices
Committee. The bill was held in the Senate as Caltrans
implemented the bill's requirements through administrative
action.
Analysis Prepared by : Ed Imai / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
FN: 0004862