Bill Text: CA AB1193 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Bikeways.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2014-09-20 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 495, Statutes of 2014. [AB1193 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB1193-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 1193 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 495
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 20, 2014
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 20, 2014
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 25, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 28, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 21, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 18, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 23, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 6, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 21, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Ting
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bloom, Gatto, Lowenthal, and
Wieckowski)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to amend Sections 890.4, 890.6, and 891 of, to add Section
885.1 to, and to repeal Section 891.1 of, the Streets and Highways
Code, relating to bikeways.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1193, Ting. Bikeways.
(1) Existing law defines "bikeway" for certain purposes to mean
all facilities that provide primarily for bicycle travel. Existing
law categorizes bikeways into 3 classes of facilities.
This bill would additionally categorize cycle tracks or separated
bikeways, as specified, as Class IV bikeways.
(2) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation, in
cooperation with county and city governments, to establish and update
minimum safety design criteria for the planning and construction of
bikeways, and requires the department to establish uniform
specifications and symbols regarding bicycle travel and bicycle
traffic related matters. Existing law requires all city, county,
regional, and other local agencies responsible for the development or
operation of bikeways or roadways where bicycle travel is permitted
to utilize all of those minimum safety design criteria and uniform
specifications and symbols.
This bill would revise these provisions to require the department,
in cooperation with local agencies and in consultation with the
existing advisory committee of the department dedicated to improve
access for persons with disabilities, to establish minimum safety
design criteria for each type of bikeway with consideration for the
safety of vulnerable populations, as specified, and would require the
department to publish the new criteria by January 1, 2016. The bill
would authorize a local agency to utilize other minimum safety
criteria that meet specified conditions if adopted by resolution at a
public meeting, as specified.
(3) Existing law requires the Department of Transportation to
establish, by June 30, 2013, procedures for cities, counties, and
local agencies to be granted exceptions from the requirement to use
design criteria and uniform specifications for purposes of research,
experimentation, testing, evaluation, or verification. Existing law
requires the department, by November 1, 2014, to report to the
transportation policy committees of both houses of the Legislature
the steps that the department has taken to implement those
requirements, including, but not limited to, information regarding
requests received and granted by the department from July 1, 2013, to
June 30, 2014, inclusive, for those exceptions, and the reasons the
department rejected any requests for those exceptions.
This bill would repeal those requirements.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) It is the goal of the state to increase the number of trips
Californians take by bicycling, walking, and other forms of active
transportation in order to help meet the state's greenhouse gas
emissions reduction goals, improve Californians' health by helping
more people be active, and stimulate the economy.
(b) Protected bikeways are part of a vital transportation
infrastructure used by many to commute to and from work and other
destinations. Unlike trails or pathways used for recreation,
protected bikeways provide alternatives to vehicles that otherwise
would transport citizens across the state's roads and highways.
(c) Property and businesses adjacent to protected bikeways
experience increases in real estate values and sales compared to
unimproved streets.
(d) Bicycling accounts for 2,000,000 trips every day in
California, showing the important role that bicycles play in
transportation.
(e) Safe street-level bikeways are proven to reduce bike riding on
the sidewalk, wrong-way riding, and other illegal or unsafe
bicycling practices.
(f) It is the objective of the state to encourage the planning,
design, and construction of protected bikeways, so as to foster
bicycling as a means of transportation, in a manner that improves
safety for all users, including motorists, transit users,
pedestrians, and persons with disabilities, with special attention to
the needs of visually impaired persons.
SEC. 2. Section 885.1 is added to the Streets and Highways Code,
to read:
885.1. This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Protected Bikeways Act of 2014.
SEC. 3. Section 890.4 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended
to read:
890.4. As used in this article, "bikeway" means all facilities
that provide primarily for, and promote, bicycle travel. For purposes
of this article, bikeways shall be categorized as follows:
(a) Bike paths or shared use paths, also referred to as "Class I
bikeways," which provide a completely separated right-of-way
designated for the exclusive use of bicycles and pedestrians with
crossflows by motorists minimized.
(b) Bike lanes, also referred to as "Class II bikeways," which
provide a restricted right-of-way designated for the exclusive or
semiexclusive use of bicycles with through travel by motor vehicles
or pedestrians prohibited, but with vehicle parking and crossflows by
pedestrians and motorists permitted.
(c) Bike routes, also referred to as "Class III bikeways," which
provide a right-of-way on-street or off-street, designated by signs
or permanent markings and shared with pedestrians and motorists.
(d) Cycle tracks or separated bikeways, also referred to as "Class
IV bikeways," which promote active transportation and provide a
right-of-way designated exclusively for bicycle travel adjacent to a
roadway and which are protected from vehicular traffic. Types of
separation include, but are not limited to, grade separation,
flexible posts, inflexible physical barriers, or on-street parking.
SEC. 4. Section 890.6 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended
to read:
890.6. (a) The department, in cooperation with county and city
governments, shall establish minimum safety design criteria for the
planning and construction of each type of bikeway identified in
Section 890.4 and roadways where bicycle travel is permitted.
(b) The criteria shall include, but not be limited to, the design
speed of the facility, minimum widths and clearances, grade, radius
of curvature, pavement surface, actuation of automatic traffic
control devices, drainage, and general safety, with consideration for
the safety of vulnerable populations, such as children, seniors,
persons with impaired vision, and persons of limited mobility. The
criteria shall be published by January 1, 2016, and updated
biennially, or more often, as needed.
(c) The criteria shall be established in consultation with the
existing advisory committee of the department dedicated to improving
access for persons with disabilities.
SEC. 5. Section 891 of the Streets and Highways Code is amended to
read:
891. (a) All city, county, regional, and other local agencies
responsible for the development or operation of bikeways or roadways
where bicycle travel is permitted shall utilize the minimum safety
design criteria established pursuant to Section 890.6, except as
provided in subdivision (b), and shall utilize the uniform
specifications and symbols for signs, markers, and traffic control
devices established pursuant to Section 890.8.
(b) An agency may utilize minimum safety design criteria other
than those established by Section 890.6 if all of the following
conditions are met:
(1) The alternative criteria have been reviewed and approved by a
qualified engineer with consideration for the unique characteristics
and features of the proposed bikeway and surrounding environs.
(2) The alternative criteria, or the description of the project
with reference to the alternative criteria, are adopted by resolution
at a public meeting, after having provided proper notice of the
public meeting and opportunity for public comment.
(3) The alternative criteria adhere to guidelines established by a
national association of public agency transportation officials.
SEC. 6. Section 891.1 of the Streets and Highways Code is
repealed.
