Performance Measurement

RELATED TOPICS: Vision Zero, Connected Multimodal Networks, Plan Development

Transportation agencies can use a wide range of performance measures to track the impact of their investments and ensure that they are meeting goals related to bicycling and walking. For decades agencies primarily measured the success of transportation projects using metrics that prioritized motor vehicles, such as delay, congestion, and level of service. A shift toward prioritizing nonmotorized road users requires agencies to adjust their methods for performance measurement and use targets that elevate bicycling, walking, and transit.

Selection of performance measures is a key step in the development of pedestrian and bicycle plans. The FHWA Guidebook for Developing Pedestrian and Bicycle Performance Measures provides 30 different metrics that help agencies track the impacts of projects on goals related to connectivity, economic growth, the environment, health, equity, livability and safety. State, regional and local agencies can incorporate these measures into project prioritization and funding formulas to ensure that their investments are being directed toward projects that have a desirable and measurable impact. Setting targets for each measure allows agencies to routinely examine how their projects are helping to meet their goals.

Resources

Guidebook for Developing Pedestrian and Bicycle Performance Measures helps communities develop and integrate nonmotorized targets into their performance measurement.

Guidebook for Measuring Multimodal Network Connectivity examines methods for analyzing and tracking the performance of bicycling and walking networks.

The Urban Street Design Guide includes a chapter about Performance Measures and identifies alternate measures that agencies can use to prioritize nonmotorized road users.

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Examples

State Safety Performance Targets helps States set and report safety performance targets for nonmotorized fatalities and injuries.

The Bicycle Network Analysis tool allows communities to generate metrics and set targets for improving bicycling networks.

Toward an Active California documents existing and potential performance measures related to bicycling and walking that can be incorporated into their Statewide planning process.

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