Wider, smoother shoulders would be nice.
(Photo © J. Maus)

On Monday, the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) -- an influential group of state DOT directors -- announced a report calling on Congress to prioritize funding for expanded rural highway capacity in the forthcoming re-write of the transportation bill. Spending hundreds of billions on highway projects and adding 30,000 new lane miles is sure to raise eyebrows in active transportation circles, but could AASHTO's plan help improve biking conditions on highways across America?

Maybe. (more...)

Ginny Sullivan and the USBRS,
live onstage and online
tomorrow night!
(Photo © J. Maus)

I hope you're planning to join us tomorrow night (2/3) for an evening with Ginny Sullivan from the Adventure Cycling Association. Ms. Sullivan is leading ACA's efforts to develop a U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS) that would blanket our country with a network of signed and numbered bike-friendly routes connecting urban and suburban areas.

It's a dream that's closer to reality than you might think.
(more...)

Rep. Jim Oberstar speaking at the 2007
National Bike Summit.
(Photos © J. Maus)

Today -- the man who just two years ago stood in front of 2,000 Cycle Oregon riders in lycra shorts (after he himself battled the day's grueling climb) and told them he would "thread the language of bicycles into the federal transportation bill" -- got his chance when he submitted The Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

U.S. Congressman James Oberstar, who is Chairman of that committee and a towering figure in the American bike movement, has presented the proposal along with House colleagues Peter DeFazio, John Mica, and John Duncan. (more...)

Calling it a "very big milestone", backers of the U.S. Bicycle Route System (USBRS) are celebrating a key decision that sets a course for creating the largest official bicycle route network in the world.

The system's National Corridor Plan has just been approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). The corridor plan is a 50,000 mile network of 50-mile wide swaths that criss-cross the country and link key destinations (map below). (more...)

Ginny Sullivan, routes coordinator for the
Adventure Cycling Association.
(Photo © J. Maus)

During a morning poster session (where bike and ped professionals offer up their latest research in science-fair style) here at Pro Walk/Pro Bike, I ran into Ginny Sullivan, the new routes coordinator for the Adventure Cycling Association (ACA).

Sullivan stood in front of an attractively designed new poster for an exciting project, the establishment of the United States Bicycle Route System. Once completed, the system will be a complete network of officially recognized, interstate bike routes. (more...)

This story is part of my ongoing coverage of the 2008 National Bike Summit. See the rest of my coverage here.

The plan as of January 2008. Click to enlarge

(more...)