Caltrans plan geared for pedestrians

Anyone who has used a mapping app on a smartphone to estimate drive time may have noticed there are different icons for different means of travel: transit, car, even bicycles and pedestrian. Turns out Caltrans, the state transportation agency, not only has plans for transit systems and car travel, but for cycling and walking too — at least along the state highway system it maintains.

In fact, those who use a smartphone for navigation may be the target user of the new Caltrans “story map” that is available at bit.ly/D4-Ped-Map.

It’s a graphical presentation of the latest Caltrans project: the District 4 Pedestrian Plan for the Bay Area. The plan was completed on July 7, outlining pedestrian needs throughout the nine counties from Sonoma to Solano to Santa Clara and everything in between.

The plan’s story map is data-rich and presented in graphical form whenever possible, utilizing pie charts, wheel charts, maps with multi-colored highways and other representations.

The full planning document is available as a PDF that can be downloaded at catplan.org/district-4.

The newly-released Pedestrian Plan complements the 2018 Bike Plan (available at pedbikeinfo.org/), as both serve as a reference for planners and project designers who want to make road projects more bike- or pedestrian-friendly.

The data the Pedestrian Plan shows about the state highway system includes 1,408 miles of roads; the pedestrian crash density in specific intersections, where sidewalks are in poor repair (as reported by public input as well as Caltrans’ own records); and where walking is allowed, if not entirely safe, along the state highways.

“This leaves many opportunities to adapt roadways to be safer and more inviting for people walking. Solutions should reflect context, for example by adding sidewalks where walking is not prohibited, but considering overcrossings where walking is prohibited,” Caltrans officials said in the plan.

Both plans, for bikes and pedestrians, are elements of the Caltrans guiding document, “Toward an Active California,” which “envisions that by 2040 people in California of all ages, abilities and incomes can safely, conveniently and comfortably walk and bicycle for their transportation needs.”

For more information, visit catplan.org/about-the-plans.