Many state departments of transportation (DOTs) and local agencies have installed separated on-street bicycle lanes to address safety concerns. This week, TRB's National Cooperative Highway Research Program released two publications designed to provide state DOTs with detailed information on bicycle network design features across various contexts; the relationship between these features; and the risk of midblock, non-intersection bicycle crashes.

NCHRP Research Report 1136: On-Street Bikeway Design Features: A Guide presents a state-of-the-art and data-driven guide for selecting context-appropriate design features for safety improvements of separated and non-separated on-street bicycle lanes.

NCHRP Web-Only Document 414: Safety Evaluation of On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features charts how state DOTs and other transportation agencies deploy safe bicycle facilities.

Artificial intelligence has helped propel research and development for both state and local departments of transportation. AI has helped in the renewed interested in autonomous vehicles, but the adaptation and application of AI holds enormous potential to provide broad public benefits to transportation in many other ways. Some examples:

• AI can be used to improve traffic flow at signalized intersections or along specific routes as part of integrated corridor management.
• AI can be applied to support human decision-making processes in Traffic Management Centers for various tasks such as incident detection and management, traffic demand prediction, and detouring corridor signal control.
• AI can be used to facilitate traffic safety by monitoring real-time traffic and weather conditions and sending those data to traffic signals and platoons of partially or fully autonomous vehicles.
• AI can be used to discern and predict how drivers might react under certain traffic situations based on naturalistic driving data or provide information to travelers with disabilities to aid in trip planning and increased situational awareness while traveling.

Source: NCHRP Web-Only Document 403: Artificial Intelligence Opportunities for State and Local DOTs: A Research Roadmap (2024)

Who will you meet at a TRB conference? Paul LaFleur of the Federal Highway Administration appreciated the opportunity to make connections in the U.S. and abroad as well as hearing from vendors at last year's roadside safety conference. Register to join a TRB conference in 2025!