U.S. Bicycle Route System 102

It's about time for a refresher course on the U.S. Bicycle Route System. 

Background: The U.S. Bicycle Route System is an emerging national network of bicycle routes that are of national or regional significance. Routes in the network provide important links to cities, towns, transportation hubs, and scenic, cultural, and historic destinations. They are continuous, crossing state and, maybe in the future, international borders. These routes are on roads, trails, city streets and offer facilities that are suitable for bicycle travel. And the routes often follow historic or scenic corridors -- such as a coastline, a river valley, a lake shore or a historic road, like Route 66. 

U.S. Bicycle Routes (USBR) are nominated for numbered designation by State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and are catalogued by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) through the committee on U.S. Route Numbering -- the same committee that assigns route numbers to the U.S. highway and interstate system. 

The first routes in the system were designated in 1982, followed by a long, stagnant period (try 29 years!) Read more about the history of the network or check out the original U.S. Bike Routes 101 post for more information. In May 2011, eight new U.S. Bike Routes were designated followed by two more in 2012. The recent activity occurred after AASHTO reinvigorated planning through the formation of the U.S. Bicycle Routes Task Force - of which Adventure Cycling provided staff support. The Task Force developed the national Corridor Plan (seen above) -- a visionary plan that states and their local partners can use to implement interstate bicycle routes. Corridors are not routes, but are desired lines where a bike route might exist or be developed over time. The corridor plan is not an end-all, but a plan for talking about opportunities. The plan changes, with corridors being added, shifted or removed based upon state and local interests.

Implementation: In order for U.S. Bike Routes to be designated, a number of stakeholders need to be involved, including the bicycle community, state and local agencies and organizations. There are a number of steps that happen in the implementation process, including gaining agreements from all the agencies and organizations that own the facilities on which the route travels (beyond the typical, these might include bridges, ferries, federal lands, etc). Sometimes state DOTs rely heavily on the bicycling and trail community to develop the routes; sometimes DOTs use their own staff and resources; and then there are those cases when multiple organizations and agencies are involved in a team or committee approach. There is no right way, but there are suggested guidelines on what makes a good bicycle travel route. Some states develop criteria to help with route development. Which criteria the state uses are not prescribed by AASHTO, however, there is a purpose and policy on the development of U.S. Bicycle Routes, which the DOT agrees to follow as part of the application for numbered designation. Adventure Cycling provides technical assistance to the route implementors and coordinates communication between states and other stakeholders. We also manage updates to the corridor map and liaison with AASHTO staff and the Task Force when questions or promotional opportunities arise. 

Promotion: After route designation is granted by AASHTO, the DOTs are expected to map and promote the routes, either through conventional highway maps, state bike maps or online maps. These maps may also be contracted out for production by bicycle organizations or might be provided by volunteers. 

Transportation agencies and local governments may also sign the routes with the official M1-9 sign (although this isn't required by AASHTO, it is strongly encouraged). The original USBR sign, the black on white version shown at the top of this post, was recently updated to the green-on-white version shown here. Though either sign works, the green version stays in the same color family as state bike route signs and it also indicates that the route is a U.S. route, vs. one of a local or regional level.

Next Steps: What lies ahead for the U.S. Bicycle Route System? Plenty. With over forty states involved at some level with implementation or promotion, Adventure Cycling staff have our hands full. There are now eleven routes in ten states: USBR 1 in ME, NH, VA & NC; USBR 20 & 35 in MI, USBR 76 in VA, KY, & IL; a portion of USBR 45 in MN and USBRs 97, 95, 8, 108, 208 and 87 in AK. We continue to provide assistance to states as they plan routes and work through the collaboration process. In order to keep assisting states in the best capacity, we've determined a best practices guide, which will highlight models of implementation and promotion that have been successful. This guide will be developed over the next year. It will be on-line and will be updated as more states get involved. We're very excited to begin the process of pulling together what will be an incredible resource. Stay tuned!  

Top photo by Richard Halle, middle photo by Ginny Sullivan, bottom photo by Scott Anderson.

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BUILDING THE U.S. BICYCLE ROUTE SYSTEM (USBRS) is posted by Ginny Sullivan, USBRS coordinator at Adventure Cycling, and features news and updates related to the emerging U.S. Bicycle Route System. The USBRS project is a collaborative effort, spearheaded by a task force under the auspices of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Members of the task force include officials and staff from state DOTs, the Federal Highway Administration, and nonprofits like the East Coast Greenway Alliance, and Mississippi River Trail, Inc.

Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2012/06/us-bicycle-route-system-102.html

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