BikeWalkNC

North Carolina’s advocate for safe cycling and walking

Advocacy

NCDOT Bicycle & Pedestrian Safety Task Force Releases Best Practices

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) just released the manual “Motorists and Bicyclists: Best Practices for Road Safety,” the first in a series of “Best Practices for Road Safety” manuals being developed by several NCDOT Safety Task Forces comprised of government and non-profit advocacy representatives. The goal of the document series is to identify best practices for all roadway users interacting with each other in different scenarios in and along North Carolina roadways.

NCDOT Motorists and Bicyclists: Best Practices for Road Safety manual addresses how motorists and bicyclists should interact with each other in the roadway environment.

BikeWalkNC was proud to work closely with staff at NCDOT, and the Executive Committee for Highway Safety over the course of 15 months to create this important update.  We hope that you will spend some time with this document to improve your knowledge of roadway safety.  

Prior to working on the Best Practices manual, NCDOT’s Integrated Mobility Division and BikeWalk NC partnered to create a series of educational videos about bicycle safety.

Each video contains important tips for safe cycling.

BikeWalk to Participate in Charlotte Mobility Safetyfest

On Saturday, May 20th, BikeWalk NC staff will be set up and engaging with attendees of The City of Charlotte’s Vision Zero Mobility Safety Fest. The event will bring residents and visitors together to amplify traffic safety efforts.

Vision Zero is grounded in the Safe System approach, which is based on the ethical principle that no loss of life is acceptable while acknowledging that humans make mistakes and that human bodies have a limited ability to tolerate crash impacts. Applying the Safe Systems approach means taking proactive steps to implement effective strategies that prevent the most dangerous crashes through partnerships between planners, engineers, law enforcement, and health care professionals, through engineering projects such as crosswalks, roundabouts, speed reduction, protected bike lanes, and better street lighting, as well as technological innovations such as interlock devices to prevent impaired driving. The City of Charlotte is committed to continuing to work with the community to make our streets safer.

At the Mobility Safety Fest attendees will have the opportunity to receive safety information from city departments and valued community partners, learn more about important initiatives for Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, experience interactive activities, and receive free giveaways.

For more information about the event, please visit their Facebook page.

NC Friendly Driver Program Update

BikeWalk NC Program Manager Laila Horton has worked diligently in the past months to schedule Friendly Driver Program classes around the state.

On April 13th, with relationships she has built at Davidson College through their Scholars program, she was able to present the program to a group of students in a continued effort to educate young drivers on sharing the road with vulnerable users.

This momentum will continue as she and Community Outreach Coordinator Oliver Sendall will present the Friendly Driver Program to nearly 100 students at Butler High School in Matthews, NC on Friday, April 21 as part of a partnership with Atrium Health.

In addition to a scheduled presentation of the program at Eva Perry Library in Apex on June 20th, plans are also in the works for presentations in Burlington, New Hanover County, Concord, and the Outer Banks.

If you or your organization would like to schedule a NC Friendly Driver Program in your area please contact Program Manager Laila Horton, or Community Outreach Coordinator Oliver Sendall.

REMINDER: Repeal the Bicycle Pedestrian Funding Limitation Copy

It is important that the BikeWalk NC community let Governor Roy Cooper know that the Bicycle and Pedestrian Funding Limitation has to end.  Under this 2013 law no state funds can be used for stand alone Bicycle-Pedestrian infrastructure projects.

By appealing directly to the Governor you can tell him how this negatively impacts you and your community

You can submit your feedback through the Governors website or by emailing zach.pierce@nc.gov

N.C. Clean Transportation Plan Virtual Public Information Session

Over the last year, NCDOT collected ideas from experts, industry representatives, and community advocates on ways to accelerate the decarbonization of North Carolina’s transportation sector. This work has been summarized in the state’s first Clean Transportation Plan (NCCTP). In this fourth and final Public Information Session, NCDOT will provide an overview of the plan including the priority strategies that emerged from the five NCCTP work groups, and an inventory of critical next steps

The N.C. Department of Transportation will host the fourth in a series of public information sessions on the N.C. Clean Transportation Plan from 4 pm to 5 pm on Tuesday February 28, 2023.

The session will be virtual on the GoToWebinar platform and is free to attend. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to participate! Registration for the webinar is required, and can be done here.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Following the public information session on Feb 28, a draft of the NCCTP will be available online for public review and comment from March 1 – 15.