BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1464|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1464
Author: Smyth (R)
Amended: 6/30/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE : 11-0, 6/23/09
AYES: Lowenthal, Huff, Ashburn, DeSaulnier, Harman,
Hollingsworth, Kehoe, Oropeza, Pavley, Simitian, Wolk
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 5/21/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Bicycle routes of significance
SOURCE : California Bicycle Coalition
DIGEST : This bill permits, and provides guidance for the
Department of Transportation to establish a process for
identifying and promoting bicycle routes of national,
state, or regional significance.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires the Department of
Transportation (Caltrans), in cooperation with county and
city governments, to establish minimum safety design
criteria for the planning and construction of bikeways and
roadways where bicycle travel is permitted. Caltrans is
also required to establish uniform specifications and
symbols for signs, markers, and traffic control devices to
designate bikeways, regulate traffic, improve safety and
CONTINUED
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convenience for bicyclists, and alert pedestrians and
motorists of the presence of bicyclists on bikeways and
roadways where bicycle travel is permitted. City, county,
regional, and other local agencies responsible for the
development or operation of bikeways or roadways where
bicycle travel is permitted must utilize these minimum
safety design criteria and uniform specifications and
symbols.
Existing law permits a city or county to prepare a bicycle
transportation plan and provides guidance on the elements
that may be included in such a plan. This plan is required
if a city or county applies to Caltrans for funding from
the Bicycle Transportation Account for bikeways and related
facilities, planning, safety, or educational efforts
designed to promote or support bicycling.
Existing law requires Caltrans to publish a statewide map
illustrating state highway routes available for the use of
bicyclists and, where bicyclists are prohibited from using
a state highway, illustrating a safe, alternative route
available to cyclists.
This bill:
1. Permits Caltrans to establish a process for identifying
and promoting bicycle routes of national, state, or
regional significance. This process may allow local
organizations, private entities, and local or state
governments to nominate routes.
2. Allows Caltrans to consider specific criteria for
designating a bicycle route of significance, including
that it is an historic route, an established training or
other designated route, or is a route of unique scenic
significance.
3. Specifies the types of organizations with which Caltrans
may work to designate bicycle routes of significance.
4. Permits Caltrans to form an advisory committee to assist
with the implementation of these provisions.
5. Authorizes Caltrans to develop criteria for the design,
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placement, and installation of signs relative to bicycle
routes of significance and to install such signs on
bicycle routes of significance that are associated with
the state highway system.
6. Provides that the placement of bicycle route signs on
all other routes or transit systems shall be left to the
appropriate local jurisdiction, but that upon request
from a local governmental entity, allows Caltrans to
place a bicycle route sign on state-funded
transportation systems to direct traffic to bicycle
routes on city or county roads, provided the local
governmental entity reimburses Caltrans for its costs to
do so.
7. States the intent of the Legislature that the
participation of city or county governments is
voluntary.
8. Provides that bicycle route signs shall meet the
standards for official traffic control devices specified
in current law.
9. Provides that the cost to purchase, erect, and maintain
bicycle routes signs may be paid by the applicant or
nominating entity, as determined by Caltrans, and that
Caltrans may be reimbursed for these costs at a rate not
to exceed their actual costs, including administrative
expenses.
Background
U.S. Bicycle Route System . The designation of bicycle
routes of significance provided for by this bill is a
separate but complementary effort to a national initiative
to establish a U.S. Bicycle Route System. The U.S. Bicycle
Route System is a network of bicycle routes of national and
regional significance selected by Caltrans, and designated
and catalogued by AASHTO. The designation of bicycle
routes under this initiative began in the 1970s, but the
effort became more formal in 2004 when the AASHTO Standing
Committee on Highways established the Task Force on U.S.
Bicycle Routes, which developed a draft National Corridor
Plan. In October 2008, the AASHTO Board of Directors and
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the Standing Committee on Highways, of which Caltrans is a
member, passed a resolution to endorse the proposed U.S.
Bicycle Routes Corridor Plan.
The Corridor Plan consists of corridors 50 miles wide that
suggest where a route could be developed. The proposed
corridors link key destinations, urban centers, and take
into consideration the natural landscape. Under the
initiative, state and local governments work in cooperation
with one another and can use the plan as a guide for
coordinating and establishing routes within and between
states.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/15/09)
California Bicycle Coalition (source)
City of Santa Clarita
California Parks and Recreation Society
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the bill allows cities and counties to work with Caltrans
to develop a list of "legacy cycling trails" in order to
promote bicycle routes of national, state, or regional
significance. Additionally, as part of an effort to
establish a United States Bicycle Route System, the
American Association of State Highway and Transit Officials
(AASHTO) approved a national corridor plan that identifies
cycling corridors throughout the United States. This bill
provides a framework for Caltrans to establish specific
routes in California for inclusion in the U.S. Bicycle
Route System.
The author's office and sponsor note the benefits of
promoting bicycling in California. Cycling tourism is a
growing industry, and California's mild weather and
diversity of topography and landscapes, including the
coast, wine country, inland valleys, and the mountains are
unique attributes that can attract a large share of this
industry. Last year, bicycle-related transactions resulted
in nearly $1.5 billion in sales in California, creating and
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sustaining jobs and generating tax revenues to support
state and local economies. Cycling not only results in
economic benefits, but also health benefits, providing
bicyclists with a low-impact alternative to other modes of
commuting, as well as additional fitness and recreational
pursuits. Cycling can also help the state meet its
greenhouse gas emission goals under AB 32.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price,
Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Arambula, Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries,
Saldana
JJA:do 7/15/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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