BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1193
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Date of Hearing: January 13, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
AB 1193 (Ting) - As Amended: January 6, 2014
SUBJECT : Bikeways
SUMMARY : Adds a new class of bikeways and requires the
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to develop
minimum safety design criteria for them. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Defines Class IV bikeways, also known as "cycletracks" or
"protected bike lanes," as bikeways that provide a
right-of-way designated exclusively for bicycle travel within
a roadway and that are protected from other vehicle traffic
with devices, including, but not limited to, grade
separations, flexible posts, inflexible physical barriers, or
parked cars.
2)Requires Caltrans, in cooperation with local agencies, to
establish minimum safety design criteria for Class IV bikeways
by June 30, 2015.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Defines "bikeways" as all facilities that provide primarily
for bicycle travel and categorizes them as follows:
a) Class I bikeways, also known as "bike paths" or
"shared-use paths," which provide a completely separated
right-of-way designated for the exclusive use of bicycles
and pedestrians with crossflows by motorists minimized;
b) Class II bikeways, also known as "bike lanes," which
provide a restricted right-of-way designated for the
exclusive or semi-exclusive use of bicycles with through
travel by motor vehicles or pedestrians prohibited, but
with vehicle parking and crossflows by pedestrians and
motorists permitted; and,
c) Class III bikeways, also known as onstreet or offstreet
"bike routes," which provide a right-of-way designated by
signs or permanent markings and shared with pedestrians and
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motorists.
2)Requires Caltrans, in cooperation with cities and counties, to
establish minimum safety design criteria for the planning and
construction of bikeways.
3)Requires all city, 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.
4)Required Caltrans, by June 30, 2013, to establish procedures
to permit exceptions to the above requirement for purposes of
research, experimentation, testing, evaluation, or
verification.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS : Under existing law, Caltrans is responsible for
establishing minimum safety design criteria for the planning and
construction of bikeways and roadways where bicycle travel is
permitted. These criteria are contained within a document
called the California Highway Design Manual (HDM). Caltrans
additionally establishes 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. Caltrans adopts
these specifications, along with standards for all traffic
control devices, in the California Manual on Uniform Traffic
Control Devices (MUTCD).
All local agencies responsible for the development or operation
of bikeways or roadways where bicycle travel is permitted must
utilize Caltrans-adopted design criteria and specifications as
contained in the HDM and MUTCD. Cities and counties can apply
for a design exception from Caltrans to install bikeways that do
not meet Caltrans' standards, but the process can be
time-consuming.
Cycletracks, also referred to as protected bike lanes, are a type
of bike lane that is part of the road but physically separated
from vehicle traffic in some way. Common in some parts of
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Europe, the construction of cycletracks is on the rise in the
United States. In 2011, there were an estimated 62 cycletracks
across the country. That number has now risen to 102 in 32 U.S.
cities, with at least 100 more planned in 2013. Several
California cities have installed cycletracks, including Long
Beach, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
Long Beach's cycletracks in the downtown area have been open for
nearly three years. The lanes were installed as part of a
federal experiment on these types of facilities. According to the
city, the lanes have been "remarkably successful. Since
installing the separated facilities we have seen a greater than
50% increase in the number of bicyclists using the street, we
have seen a dramatic drop in the number of bicyclists riding on
the sidewalk, and perhaps most notably we have seen a dramatic
decrease in the number of both bike and vehicle related crashes.
The number of vehicle related crashes has dropped from nearly 100
per year to fewer than 50. We are confident that this drop is
due to the traffic calming associated with the installation of
the separated lanes."
AB 1193 adds cycletracks as a fourth class of bikeways in
California and requires Caltrans to establish minimum safety
design criteria for them by June 30, 2015. This would enable
cities and counties to create these protected bike lanes without
having to seek a design exemption from Caltrans, and would ensure
that all cycletracks in the state are built following the same
minimum design and safety standards.
Previous legislation:
AB 819 (Wieckowski, Chapter 716, Statutes of 2012) required
Caltrans to establish procedures to permit exceptions to bikeway
design standards and specifications for specified research and
experimental purposes by June 30, 2013.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Bicycle Coalition (sponsor)
Cities of Long Beach, Los Angeles, and San Jose
AB 1193
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Anya Lawler / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093