Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

To Build Safer Streets, Cities Have to Challenge State DOTs

Have you ever heard this line from your local transportation officials? "We'd like to redesign this street for safety, but the state won't allow it." Often, that is indeed the truth.

dsaf
Activists striped a bike lane on Seattle's Cherry Street before the city DOT made it permanent. James Kennedy says city DOTs should adopt the activist tactic and do more redesigns without asking permission from the state DOT. Photo: SDOT/Seattle Bike Blog
false

But James Kennedy at Transport Providence says that's still no excuse for city officials to sit on their hands. Local DOTs should directly challenge the retrograde policies imposed by state DOTs that undermine the health of the city, he says:

In many cases, RIDOT has moved slowly towards a less Neanderthal-like perspective on bike and pedestrian infrastructure. RIDOT officially allows cities to "consider" NACTO guidelines for street design instead of AASHTO ones, which opens the door to much better design. "Consider" doesn't mean anything in practice though. Many engineers working on behalf of RIDOT are used to what they're used to, and without forceful changes in policy, the same things continue to be built. The same city official I quoted earlier told me that for one project in his purview, RIDOT engineers arrived to the meeting unaware even of the terms of the debate. "They didn't even know what a protected bike lane was, or a sharrow." RIDOT engineers blocked additional street trees, saying it put them over budget, insisted that pedestrian bump-outs would harm street width, blocked bike lanes of any kind, an ultimately (reluctantly) gave in to sharrows on an arterial street. This is progress, I guess.

The best example I can think of of cities actively thumbing their noses at the authority of states is gay marriage. In many states, gay marriage continues to be illegal, and even more menacingly, in some states it's totally legal to fire people from jobs for being someplace on the queer/gender-queer spectrum. But where we have made progress on changing the culture around gay/bi/trans rights, it has been because activists and local officials took control of the situation and put opponents on the defensive. Before California ever had gay marriage, mayors like Gavin Newsom started officiating weddings with full recognition that they would not be respected by state officials. But this had power. Possession is nine-tenths of the law.

City officials must do the same with transportation.

It is an unacceptable excuse at this point in the game, with the stakes as high as they are, for cities to claim that they have to follow jurisdictional rules about who controls the street. Cities like Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls need to say, "We're putting this bike and pedestrian infrastructure in. You try to stop us." The state may very well respond in exactly that way, removing something that the community wants, but that will completely reset the debate. Now the state will have to explain why it is doing such an unacceptably stupid thing that goes against official USDOT policy.

Elsewhere on the Network today: The Political Environment compares the response to road closures caused by protests to those that are a planned part of routine maintenance. Bike Portland reports a group of guerrilla activists installed their own traffic diverter in a local neighborhood last night only to have it removed by early morning. And Biking Toronto shows of the city's handsome new curb-protected bike lane.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Are Going Broke

Car ownership is a huge expense, especially for low-income U.S. households, which spend a third of their pre-tax paychecks on transportation, new federal stats show.

December 13, 2024

Friday Video: A Deep Dive on Toronto’s Ridiculous New Anti-Bike Lane Law

"This selfish, entitled surbanite is willing to let people die for the hope of shaving a few minutes off of his commute."

December 13, 2024

Talking Headways Podcast: Bulk Transit Passes for All

Jawnt's Ruth Miller on how employer transit pass programs like SEPTA's work to support employees, agencies and regions overall.

December 12, 2024

America Has A New ‘Friendliest’ State for Cycling

...but even the best of the best isn't doing enough to protect people on two wheels, a top advocacy group warns.

December 12, 2024

Thursday’s Headlines Hold Out Hope

It's not as catchy a slogan as MAGA, but maybe Donald Trump will Make American High-Speed Rail Great For the First Time?

December 12, 2024
See all posts