Bill Eisenreich,    President of NYBC Governor's Traffic    Safety Committee New York State Department     of Transportation NYBC's Workshop Introduction Presentation by Jeff Olson    Powerpoint    PDF    Slide Notes

This CD contains a series of powerful tools in electronic form which advocates and professionals can use to improve bicycling and pedestrian safety. All materials included are public domain, and can be re-used or copied for non-profit purposes as long as credit is given to NYBC and Jeff Olson, R.A.--Trailblazer and/or the original authors. This brief facilitator's guide will provide an overview of each file included on the CD, along with useful information on using these tools in your community.

General Notes About the CD:
The contents of this CD were developed as part of a series of workshops developed by NYBC with funding from the Governor's Traffic Safety Committee. If you are interested in hosting a similar workshop, your can use the powerpoint presentations and other files along with the included speaker's notes for a ready to use presentation. You can also use the included video and digital photo files to customize the presentation or other projects you are working on.

The first three sections provide a common base of information for the local advocates and government officials to use in discussing future safety improvements. These can be used to frame the important issues, develop the concepts and provide ideas on implementing corrective measures in the years ahead.

Bicycling and Pedestrian Improvements
This section deals with roadway improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians. Bicycles are considered vehicles by New York state law. As such, they are to be driven on roadways not sidewalks. They are to be operated in a predictable fashion like all other vehicles governed by traffic laws.

Generally, effective cycling and sharing the road, is all that is needed in slow speed and low volume conditions. However, as motorized speeds and volumes increase, bicyclists need more space and protection from cars, trucks and buses. This section is organized in a matrix using volume and speed as variables.

There are many simple, cost-effective improvements that can be made to our existing road networks to enhance the safety for these users under a variety of different traffic conditions.

Pedestrian Facility Improvements
Because walking is slow and sometimes unpredictable, shared facilities can only be used safely when vehicular speed and traffic volume is extremely low. Pedestrians need complete separation from vehicular traffic when speeds and volumes increase. Generally the ideas are grouped into two categories; crossing vehicular traffic and pathway improvements.

Education and Enforcement
This section deals with the broader topic of traffic education and law enforcement. Improvements in these areas are equally important to enhancing the safety of the non-motorized public.

Organizing a Workshop
This section is devoted to the process of getting the advocates and officials together in organized workshops to plan improvements and affect the required changes in the years ahead. Included are specific modules for different types of groups.

Other Resources
Finally, we have compiled a variety of other resources for community planners to use in making our twenty-first century transportation networks more bicycling and pedestrian friendly.

Funding for this project was made possible by the Governor's Traffice Safety Committee.