Today, Reps. Rick Larsen, WA-02, Peter DeFazio, OR-04, and Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC, called for continued focus on improving bicyclist and pedestrian safety in response to the troubling increase in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities in recent years.

The Members released a report today from the Government Accountability Office, which they requested to investigate the trends and causes of accidents involving pedestrians and bicycles and to make recommendations about improving safety. Among its findings, the report indicates that modernizing road design could help improve safety for all road users. It also finds that state and local safety efforts for pedestrians and bicyclists are inconsistent and could benefit from a federal initiative to unify safety projects.

“Sidewalks, trails and bike lanes are critical to our transportation network, and the people who use them should be able to count on staying safe. I want to see rules from the Federal Highway Administration to encourage road design that improves safety for everyone, including the most vulnerable road users. The Obama administration recognizes the importance of this issue, with efforts like DOT's Safer People, Safer Streets initiative, but I want to see to more action that protects and encourages walkers and bikers,” Larsen said. 

“This report will help local and state governments identify ways to reverse the increase in cyclist and pedestrian fatalities in recent years. It cites challenges to addressing pedestrian and cyclist safety, including insufficient funding and roadway design standards that are skewed towards motorists.  Communities across the country are adopting policies to reduce the number of traffic deaths and injuries on city streets. Much more must be done in order to truly move toward zero deaths, but through the FAST Act Congress has provided a strong signal that cyclist and pedestrian safety is a priority,” DeFazio said.

“My city, the District of Columbia, has been a leader in designing and implementing transportation plans that encourage more pedestrian and bicycle traffic.  Because D.C. has led in building bike lanes and trails, we are particularly appreciative of this GAO report, which recommends necessary steps to ensure safety for our pedestrians and cyclists.  I was pleased we got increased funding for pedestrian and bicycle safety projects in our surface transportation reauthorization, but more needs to be done to reduce the unacceptable increase in pedestrian and cyclist fatalities,” Norton said.

A link to the full GAO report is available here.

Congress recently passed the FAST Act, a five-year transportation authorization bill that increases funding for sidewalks, bike lanes and trails from $819 million per year to $850 million by 2020. Larsen pushed successfully to maintain this funding.

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