Federal Highway Administration 

Vulnerable Road User Research Plan

July 2023
Federal Highway Administration 

Vulnerable Road User Research Plan

July 2023 

Vulnerable Road User Research Plan

Table of Contents

Section 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 

Section 2. Emerging & Elevated Priorities ................................................................................ 6 

Section 3. Research Priorities ..................................................................................................... 8 

Safety Goal: Improve safety for people walking, bicycling, and rolling ................................. 9 

Safety Objective 1: Increase vulnerable road user safety through roadway design and 

operations improvements ....................................................................................................... 10 

Safety Objective 2: Manage vehicle speeds to improve vulnerable road user safety ........... 13 

Safety Objective 3: Develop tools and methods to assess safety impacts to vulnerable road 

users ....................................................................................................................................... 15 

Safety Objective 4: Increase vulnerable road user safety through emerging technologies .. 17 

Equity Goal: Promote equity throughout the transportation planning, design, funding, 

implementation, and evaluation process ................................................................................. 20 

Equity Objective 1: Understand and reduce disparities in safety, comfort, and mobility 

across demographic groups ................................................................................................... 22 

Equity Objective 2: Integrate equity into the active transportation planning practice ......... 23 

Networks Goal: Achieve safe, accessible, comfortable, and connected multimodal networks 

in communities throughout the U.S. ....................................................................................... 25 

Networks Objective 1: Enhance vulnerable road user facility data collection ..................... 25 

Networks Objective 2: Improve measurement and analysis of vulnerable road user network 

connectivity ........................................................................................................................... 27 

Networks Objective 3: Integrate vulnerable road user networks into planning, project 

selection, and workforce development .................................................................................. 29 

Trips Goal: Get more people walking, bicycling, and rolling ................................................ 31 

Trips Objective 1: Improve data collection and measurement of vulnerable road user trips 31 

Trips Objective 2: Encourage more vulnerable road user trips ............................................ 33 

Trips Objective 3: Assess the benefits associated with vulnerable road user trips .............. 35 

Section 4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 36 

Appendix A. Source Material Reviewed .................................................................................. 38 

Appendix B. Relevant Prior Stakeholder Engagement .......................................................... 39 

Appendix C. Additional Background on Relevant DOT and FHWA Strategies, Plans, and 

Reports ......................................................................................................................................... 41 

Appendix D. Additional Background on Relevant External Research ................................. 45 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 1 

Section 1. Introduction

Walking, biking, and other sustainable modes of transportation are critical options in 

communities throughout the United States, particularly for economically disadvantaged 

communities. However, fatalities among pedestrians and bicyclists have been increasing even 

faster than the overall fatalities among all road users,

1

 which has drawn a focus on the safety of 

vulnerable road users (defined below). In addition, there are opportunities to improve access and 

mobility for people walking, biking, or rolling. The FHWA research described in this and other 

plans is needed to address these areas. 

Disparate Impacts: Safety & Equity. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety 

Administration (NHTSA),2 Indian and Alaskan Native persons have the highest rate of 

pedestrian fatalities from traffic crashes. Black pedestrians also experience disproportionately 

high pedestrian fatality rates from traffic crashes. Fatality rates for Black and Hispanic or Latino 

pedestrians increased relative to white pedestrians between 2014 and 2018, highlighting how 

inequities in pedestrian fatalities are accelerating. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT or the Department) National Roadway Safety 

Strategy (NRSS) specifies that zero is the only acceptable number of deaths and serious injuries 

on our roadways, and the Department is committed to taking substantial, comprehensive action 

to achieve this goal.3 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is committed to this goal. 

Through the six strategic goals established in the DOT Strategic Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 

– 2026, the Department aims to increase not only the safety of vulnerable road users, but also the 

availability of, access to, and use of walking, biking, and rolling options. Increasing walking, 

biking, and rolling trips can improve safety for travelers of all ages and abilities, mobility for all 

people and businesses, access to jobs and essential services for all, and resilience for all 

communities, especially underserved communities. 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Public Law 117-58, also known as the 

“Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” (BIL)) emphasizes walking, biking, and other non-vehicular 

modes of transportation. The BIL includes provisions that significantly increase funding 

available for vulnerable road user safety, including the Safe Streets and Roads for All 

discretionary grant programs, an annual $1 billion grant program dedicated to safety planning 

and investments by regional, local, and Tribal governments;4 a special rule that requires many 

States to use more safety dollars on vulnerable road user projects;5 and a requirement to spend 

planning funds on Complete Streets policies.6 

1 DOT National Roadway Safety Strategy

2 DOT Learning Agenda

3 DOT National Roadway Safety Strategy

4 See Section 24112 of BIL; Division J, Title VIII, Safe Streets and Roads for All Grants heading. 5 See 23 U.S.C. 148(g)(3). 6 See Section 11206 of BIL. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 2 

This report addresses Section 11122(b) of BIL, which requires the Administrator of the FHWA 

to develop a vulnerable road user research plan. Specifically, the statutory language states: 

ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH PLAN. The Administrator shall establish a 

research plan to prioritize research on roadway designs, the development of safety 

countermeasures to minimize fatalities and serious injuries to vulnerable road 

users, and the promotion of bicycling and walking, including research relating to— 

1) roadway safety improvements, including traffic calming techniques and 

vulnerable road user accommodations appropriate in a suburban arterial 

context;

2) the impacts of traffic speeds, and access to low-traffic stress corridors, on safety 

and rates of bicycling and walking; 

3) tools to evaluate the impact of transportation improvements on projected rates 

and safety of bicycling and walking; and 

4) other research areas to be determined by the Administrator. 

Section 11122(a)(2) states the definition of vulnerable road user is provided in 23 U.S. Code 

(U.S.C.) 148(a)(15), as follows: 

A nonmotorista. with a fatality analysis reporting system [FARS] person attribute code7

 that 

is included in the definition of the term “number of non-motorized 

fatalities” in section 490.205 of title 23, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

successor regulations); or 

b. described in the term “number of non-motorized serious injuries” in that 

section. 

This definition includes people walking, bicycling, using mobility aids (such as wheelchairs), or 

using most micromobility8 devices (whether motorized or not), but does not include 

motorcyclists. Throughout this plan, the phrase “people walking, biking, or rolling” is used to 

generally refer to vulnerable road users. 

The research within this plan aligns with eligibilities under the FHWA Research, Development, 

and Technology (RD&T) Program. The RD&T Program is largely governed and shaped by 

Chapter 5 of Title 23 of the United States Code (U.S.C.); it includes all activities within the 

innovation lifecycle leading to technology development and transfer, as well as the introduction 

of new and innovative ideas, practices, and approaches, through such mechanisms as field 

applications, education and training, communications, impact analysis, and technical support. 

7 The relevant person attribute codes include Pedestrian, Bicyclist, Other Cyclist, and Person on Personal 

Conveyance. The 2020 FARS Manual defines personal conveyances and provides examples of devices within this 

category, including scooters, self-balancing personal conveyances, and wheelchairs. 8 The FHWA defines micromobility as “any small, low-speed, human- or electric-powered transportation device, 

including bicycles, scooters, electric-assist bicycles (e-bikes), electric scooters (e-scooters), and other small, 

lightweight, wheeled conveyances.” While the definition of vulnerable road user does not currently include e-bike 

riders, this group will likely benefit from the vulnerable road user research identified in this plan. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 3 

To develop this plan, FHWA convened a team with subject matter experts from across FHWA 

and the Department. The team identified and reviewed existing relevant plans and strategy 

documents, as well as outputs of stakeholder engagement efforts to identify vulnerable road user 

research priorities, gaps, needs, and FHWA’s specific project commitments. Source material 

reviewed is listed in Appendix A. The review also captured outreach efforts that were performed 

in the production of those documents demonstrating prior broad stakeholder engagement efforts

(see Appendix B). 

Background 

The FHWA has a long history of supporting pedestrian and bicycle transportation through 

research, funding, guidance, program management, resource development, and collaboration 

with external partners. The document review included assessment of the coordinated plans and 

policies that have motivated past, ongoing, and future vulnerable road user research efforts (for 

more information, see Appendix C for relevant DOT strategies and plans and Appendix D for 

relevant external research activities). These plans and policies include: 

• The FHWA Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation (“2016 Strategic 

Agenda”),9

 which is a research and deployment plan articulating goals and identifying 98 

supporting actions organized under 4 goal areas: networks, safety, equity, and trips. A 

2021 review of the status of actions identified in the 2016 Strategic Agenda identified 

that the majority of actions (53) identified in the agenda are in progress and 13 actions are 

not yet started. 

• The Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program Plan (“2021 Program Plan”), which is a 

comprehensive, internal planning and management document for FHWA’s Pedestrian 

and Bicyclist Safety Program. The plan proposes 30 projects that FHWA could 

undertake over a 10-year implementation horizon to improve active transportation safety 

under the 5 categories of research, guidance development, awareness and outreach, 

implementation assistance, and mainstreaming. 

• A July 2021 research review performed for the American Association of State Highway 

and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Council on Active Transportation (CAT) in 

partnership with FHWA as part of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program 

(NCHRP) Project 20-123, which summarizes existing and ongoing research organized 

around 22 active transportation topics, focusing on research published after 2015 in North 

America and with findings relevant to practice. The research review informed 

development of a research roadmap that outlines 110 prioritized research needs, including 

6 highest priority research problem statements. 

9 The 2016 Strategic Agenda is available publicly. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 4 

Highest Priority Research Problem Statements from the AASHTO CAT Roadmap 

• Applying and integrating active transportation data into planning and operations 

• Using minimum accommodations vs. alternative approaches to increase active 

transportation 

• Determining context-driven optimal spacing between marked crosswalks

• Addressing barriers to integrating active transportation throughout planning and 

engineering practice

• Racial and economic disparities in pedestrian and bicyclist safety

• Speed management solutions and strategies to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety on 

arterial roadways

Vulnerable Road User Research Plan

Based on findings from the document review and the statutory language of Section 11122(b) of 

BIL, this Vulnerable Road User Research Plan goes beyond the safety aspects of walking, 

bicycling, and rolling and describes efforts related to mobility, networks, access, data, and 

analysis. It emphasizes the connection between walking, biking, and rolling and the goals of the 

DOT and FHWA Strategic Plans, including improving public health outcomes, coordinating 

transportation and land use decisions, addressing climate change, advancing equity, addressing 

accessibility for people with disabilities, fostering transformation, and providing for workforce 

development. The Vulnerable Road User Research Plan continues and builds on efforts that 

have been underway for years, such as the successful research and development of connected 

vehicle technology to protect vulnerable road users, as well as new areas of emphasis and other

requirements and programs within BIL. 

Given the extensive benefits of increasing vulnerable road user trips, DOT and FHWA will 

continue to leverage opportunities to simultaneously address safety, equity, and climate change 

and sustainability priorities through vulnerable road user research activities. 

Cross-Cutting Opportunities: Climate Change and Sustainability & Equity

The Vulnerable Road User Research Plan aligns with policy established through Executive Order 

14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, to secure environmental justice for 

disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized and overburdened by 

pollution and underinvestment in transportation. 

This plan provides for research that will support practitioners implementing new BIL programs 

targeted at mitigating the impacts of climate change and increasing the resilience of the surface 

transportation system, such as the Carbon Reduction Program and the Promoting Resilient 

Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Formula 

Program. 

In addition, the Vulnerable Road User Research Plan aligns with the America the Beautiful

initiative, which produces simultaneous benefits across multiple priority areas. One premise of 

the America the Beautiful initiative is that improving access to nature can help transform 

historically marginalized and overburdened communities into healthy, thriving communities that 

are better able to withstand the effects of climate change. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 5 

The plan includes more detail about research that is on-going or planned in FY 2023 and 2024. 

However, specific activities identified in this plan could change due to shifting priorities, 

funding, safety and mobility trends, and advances in technology. 

The FHWA will carry out the Vulnerable Road User Research Plan over the next 5 years, from 

FY 2023-2027. Doing so effectively will involve leveraging previous work and innovations and 

collaboration among many technical specialties within FHWA, including those represented in the 

team that developed this plan. In addition, FHWA’s vulnerable road user research will be 

coordinated with related activities of other modal agencies and partnering organizations, such as 

AASHTO’s research program through the NCHRP. Coordination can include collaboration on 

research statements, co-funding projects, participation on project teams, and scaling research 

findings through pilots and implementation outreach. The FHWA actively considers and 

acknowledges that practitioner implementation of research and guidance is just as important as 

FHWA’s conduct of research and development of guidance. The FHWA research supports 

State, Tribal, regional, and local agencies as they implement more projects to improve vulnerable 

road user safety, access, and mobility. 

Since 1999, FHWA has also cooperatively funded an information clearinghouse that conducts 

research, outreach, and technical assistance on pedestrian and bicycle transportation. A new 

five-year cooperative agreement to operate the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center 

(PBIC) was awarded in September 2022. The PBIC will conduct activities to be determined in 

coordination with the lead partner, the University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research 

Center, that cut across all four of the Vulnerable Road User Research Plan strategic goal areas. 

Activities identified in this plan will be integrated into FHWA’s broader standard research 

planning and prioritization process. The FHWA’s RD&T efforts are captured in FHWA’s 

Annual Modal Research Plan (AMRP), a two-year plan and outlook document. Research can be 

conducted and implemented through studies under relevant transportation pooled fund programs. 

The FHWA also utilizes roadmaps and plans, such as the 2016 Strategic Agenda, to guide 

research activities. The FHWA will prepare, as a follow-on to this Vulnerable Road User 

Research Plan, an FY 2024-2028 Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation. 

This successor to the 2016 Strategic Agenda will build upon this Vulnerable Road User Research 

Plan and the 2021 review of the status of actions identified in the 2016 Strategic Agenda. It will 

conduct new public outreach, formalize, and publish a new Strategic Agenda outlining in detail 

vulnerable road user research and complementary outreach, policy, and other research-topractice activities that FHWA will pursue in support of the goals defined in this Vulnerable Road 

User Research Plan. It will also investigate research needs on a longer time horizon and will 

seek to identify activities that help fill possible research gaps within this Vulnerable Road User 

Research Plan’s strategic goal areas where the goals of the DOT Strategic Plan may not be fully 

addressed. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 6 

Section 2. Emerging & Elevated Priorities

Based on the review of higher-level Departmental strategies and priorities, foundational plans 

addressing vulnerable road user research, and the broader vulnerable road user research 

ecosystem, the team identified several major themes that inform research priorities identified in 

this Vulnerable Road User Research Plan. 

• Consider the nexus of emerging technologies and vulnerable road users, including 

implications for underserved communities. Technologies such as vehicle-to-everything 

(V2X) communication, artificial intelligence and machine learning, automated driving 

system (ADS), and cooperative driving automation (CDA) present opportunities to 

improve safety and mobility for vulnerable road users, as well as challenges. Connected 

vehicle technology allows for communication between vehicles, infrastructure, and 

vulnerable road users which is proven to protect vulnerable road users by increasing their 

detection and driver awareness of their presence. Connected vehicle technology can also 

aid vulnerable road users by alerting them to and increasing their awareness of traffic 

scenarios and hazards. Advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques 

can assist in understanding road user intent. Combining connected vehicles with 

automated driving systems, creates cooperative driving automation, which may further 

extend opportunities to improve safety and operations. 

Micromobility also presents opportunities to improve safety and mobility for vulnerable 

road users, as well as challenges. More research is needed in the field of micromobility, 

including research related to user safety and street design, its role in meeting unmet travel 

demand for underserved populations, its impact on traveler behavior and mode choice, 

connections with resilience planning, and parking management implications for 

vulnerable road users. 

• Fill data gaps and develop mature methods and performance measures related to 

walking, biking, and rolling. While information is readily available on vehicle counts 

and mileage to discern crash risk rates in multiple units of analysis, including segmentand corridor-level analysis, exposure and count information for vulnerable road users is 

limited. Data and analysis of active transportation modes lag behind other modes in 

terms of raw data collection (e.g., volume counts and vulnerable road user facility 

inventory information, including facility quality factors impacting perceptions of safety) 

and data utilization (for forecasting; informing better project selection; and assessing 

climate, public health, and other benefits). It is therefore difficult to establish safety risk 

rates for pedestrians and cyclists comparable to vehicle exposure. This may result in 

safety investments being focused on where the data are available as opposed to where the 

risk is. There is a need to measure how improved active transportation network 

connectivity (including on- and off-road facilities) impacts participation in biking, 

walking, and rolling over time. Data unavailability, a lack of consistent definitions for 

network quality, and the lack of national requirements to analyze walking and bicycling 

networks all are areas of opportunity for technology transfer and other research activities. 

• Continue incorporating the Safe System Approach and systemic safety into technology 

transfer, education, and other research activities. A systemic approach to safety 

involves identifying locations most at risk for future crashes involving fatalities and 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 7 

serious injuries to vulnerable road users and widely implementing treatments to 

effectively address them. Utilizing both approaches is integral to achieving the overall 

goal of reducing fatalities and severe injury crashes for vulnerable road users. 

The DOT and FHWA have adopted the Safe System Approach, which addresses the safety of all 

road users, including vulnerable road users. It aims to improve safety culture, increase 

collaboration across all safety stakeholders, and refocus transportation system design and 

operation on anticipating human mistakes and lessening impact forces to reduce crash severity 

and save lives. The Safe System Approach has six principles, including that death and serious 

injuries are unacceptable, humans make mistakes, humans are vulnerable, responsibility is 

shared, safety is proactive, and redundancy is crucial. It also has five elements, including safer 

people, safer vehicles, safer speeds, safer roads, and post-crash care. Objectives under the Safety 

goal of the Vulnerable Road User Research Plan incorporate many of the principles and align 

with and support many of the elements of the Safe System Approach. 

• Further integrate equity considerations. There is a need to better understand disparities 

in safety, mobility, and personal comfort (including issues of harassment and 

environmental comfort such as protection from excessive heat) for vulnerable road users 

by race, gender, disability status, and other demographic categories (e.g., rural 

communities), and seek opportunities to reduce those disparities. It remains difficult to 

assess vulnerable road user safety and access to essential destinations using active 

transportation networks across racial and ethnic groups due to a lack of data. There is 

also a need to identify methods and data to better assess equity impacts. 

• Support climate and sustainability goals. Data are needed to demonstrate the extent to 

which mode-shift from driving to walking, biking, or rolling trips contributes to climate 

change mitigation. In addition, understanding how improvements to both the safety of 

vulnerable road users and the connectivity of vulnerable road user infrastructure can help 

address the disproportionate negative environmental impacts of transportation on 

underserved communities is key to supporting DOT’s climate change/resilience and 

equity priorities. 

• Integrate Complete Streets concepts, including personal comfort. Generally, safety 

outcomes are measured through crash modification factors (CMFs), which isolate the 

effectiveness of individual countermeasures, instead of assessing the multiple 

interventions that together make a street complete. Methods are needed to measure safety 

at a corridor or system level to better guide investment decisions. Research on the extent 

to which the implementation of Complete Streets practices contributes to vulnerable road 

user safety, comfort, and mobility is needed. In assessing safety and access for all users, 

personal comfort for people walking, biking, or rolling is broadly construed to include 

perceptions of safety and personal security. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 8 

Complete Streets. The FHWA established a Complete Streets initiative that seeks to work with 

State, Tribal and local transportation agencies to implement a Complete Streets design model as 

they plan, develop, and operate streets and networks that prioritize safety, comfort, and 

connectivity to destinations for everyone who uses the street network. Complete Streets policies 

prioritize the safety of all users, including vulnerable road users, in transportation network 

planning, design, construction and operations. Section 11206 of BIL defines Complete Streets 

standards or policies as those which “ensure the safe and adequate accommodation of all users of 

the transportation system, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, children, 

older individuals, individuals with disabilities, motorists, and freight vehicles.” Section 

11206(b) requires that States use 2.5 percent of their research funds under 23 U.S.C. 505 and 

MPOs use 2.5 percent of their planning funds under 23 U.S.C. 104(d) for Complete Streets 

activities that will increase safe and accessible transportation options. A Complete Street is safe, 

and feels safe, for everyone using the street. 

The Vulnerable Road User Research Plan relates to efforts within the FHWA Moving to a 

Complete Streets Design Model: A Report to Congress on Opportunities and Challenges in that 

vulnerable road user safety is a key part of providing safety for all road users, and Complete 

Streets are one way to improve vulnerable road user safety and increase participation in biking, 

walking, and rolling. The report identified areas of opportunity for FHWA relevant to vulnerable 

road users, including improving data collection and analysis to advance safety for all users; 

accelerating adoption of standards and guidance that promote safety and accessibility for all 

users; and reinforcing the primacy of safety for all users in the interpretation of design standards, 

guidelines, and project review processes. 

Section 3. Research Priorities

Research priorities are organized around four strategic goals: 

• Safety. Improve safety for people walking, biking, or rolling. 

• Equity. Promote equity throughout the transportation planning, design, funding, 

implementation, and evaluation process. 

• Networks. Achieve safe, accessible, comfortable, and connected multimodal networks in 

communities throughout the U.S. 

• Trips. Get more people walking, bicycling, and rolling. 

Each goal includes specific objectives that FHWA plans to pursue in FY 2023-2027, along with 

example research activities that advance these objectives. These example activities do not 

encompass all the vulnerable road user research FHWA is doing and plans to do; rather, they 

highlight key actions FHWA is taking towards meeting its vulnerable road user-related goals. 

Each objective is aligned with one or more of the statutorily required research areas or other 

research areas as determined by the Administrator per Section 11122(b)(4) of BIL. The other 

research areas include: 

• Equity. This area considers disparate impacts on various demographic groups (e.g., 

people with disabilities, Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 9 

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color, older and younger 

individuals; and rural communities) and interventions to address these disparities. 

• Technology and Innovation. This topic covers emerging vehicle and infrastructure 

technologies and includes novel communications technologies and micromobility 

devices. 

• Planning and Policy Development. This area includes institutionalization of research 

into practice, project prioritization and selection, and workforce development. 

• Data and Methods. This topic considers data collection and analytical techniques for 

measuring and forecasting bicycling and walking activity and infrastructure. 

• Benefits of Promoting Biking and Walking. This area covers the relationship between 

the role of bicycling and walking and climate change, sustainability, public health, 

economic development, and access to transit. 

• Personal Comfort. This topic includes vulnerable road users’ sense of safety from 

motorized traffic, personal security, and environmental comfort. 

Safety Goal: Improve safety for people walking, bicycling, and rolling 

The DOT Strategic Plan establishes a strategy to “improve travel safety for vulnerable road 

users.” The FHWA has a goal to reduce the number of non-motorized fatalities and serious 

injuries. In approaching safety for vulnerable road users, FHWA focuses on the Safer Roads and 

Safer Speeds objectives defined in the NRSS. 

This Vulnerable Road User Research Plan Safety goal includes research activities that develop 

countermeasures, reduce the prevalence of vulnerable road user injuries and fatalities, better 

integrate vulnerable road user safety into planning and project development, enhance the 

availability and quality of safety data related to vulnerable road users, and, in partnership with 

NHTSA, identify safety education interventions to reduce harm to vulnerable road users on 

roadways. Objectives supporting this goal include: 

• Increase vulnerable road user safety through roadway design and operations 

improvements; 

• Manage vehicle speeds to improve vulnerable road user safety; 

• Develop tools and methods to assess potential safety impacts to vulnerable road users; 

and 

• Increase vulnerable road user safety through emerging technologies. 

Beyond the Vulnerable Road User Research Plan, BIL contains other provisions supporting 

vulnerable road user safety, requiring: 

• States to conduct Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessments as part of their State 

Strategic Highway Safety Plan under the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) 

(see 23 U.S.C. 148(l)); 

• States where the total annual fatalities of vulnerable road users represents not less than 

15 percent of the total annual crash fatalities in the State to obligate not less than 15 

percent of the amounts apportioned to the State under the HSIP in the following fiscal 

year for highway safety improvement projects to address the safety of vulnerable road 

users (23 U.S.C. 148(g)(3)); and 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 10 

• Compilation of best practices and lessons learned for preventing transportation-related 

fatalities and serious injuries based on data submitted by Safe Streets and Roads for All 

grant recipients (Section 24112(i) of BIL). 

In addition, the House Report10 accompanying the Departments of Transportation, and Housing 

and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 202211 requires 

development of noteworthy practices of local agencies accessing HSIP funding for pedestrian 

safety improvements. 

Safety Objective 1: Increase vulnerable road user safety through roadway design and operations 

improvements 

Roadway design impacts safety for both vulnerable road users and motorists and strongly 

influences how people use roads. Many public roads also support a growing mix of diverse users 

– including people who take public transportation, walk, bike, and roll. This objective describes 

research needed to identify, analyze the efficacy of, and implement roadway design elements that 

offer layers of protection to prevent vulnerable road user serious injuries and fatalities and 

mitigate the severity of harm to vulnerable road users when crashes do occur. It covers research 

related to active transportation infrastructure (e.g., the safety benefits of crosswalk 

retroreflectivity for vulnerable road users); crash modification factors; Complete Streets 

performance measures; safe access for people walking, biking, or rolling to transit stations; and 

quantifying the safety benefits to vulnerable road users of roadway features, such as street trees. 

Increasing vulnerable road user safety through roadway design improvements responds directly 

to Section 11122(b)(1) of BIL, which requires this plan to prioritize research relating to roadway 

safety improvements, including traffic calming techniques and vulnerable road user 

accommodations appropriate in a suburban arterial context by focusing on physical design 

elements proven to enhance the safety of vulnerable road users. Research initiatives under this 

objective are aligned with several research areas determined by the Administrator pursuant to 

Section 11122(b)(4) of BIL, including equity considerations across various categories of 

vulnerable road users, technology and innovation, data and methods (for determining roadway 

design safety improvements), and physical comfort. This objective also aligns with the NRSS 

Safer Roads objective to design roadway environments to mitigate human mistakes and account 

for injury tolerances, to encourage safer behaviors, and to facilitate safe travel by the most 

vulnerable road users. This objective will also facilitate evidence gathering related to road 

configurations associated with the highest risk of pedestrian and cyclist crashes, as identified in 

the DOT Learning Agenda. 

This objective supports activities related to Equity Objective 1: Understand and reduce 

disparities in safety, comfort, and mobility across demographic groups; Networks Objective 2: 

Improve measurement and analysis of vulnerable road user network connectivity; and Trips 

Objective 2: Encourage more vulnerable road user trips. Designing for safer roadway 

10 House Report 117–99, Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related 

Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2022. July 2021. 11 The Departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations 

Bill, 2022 is Division L of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Pub. L. 117-103). 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 11 

infrastructure encourages greater comfort in the use of that infrastructure by vulnerable road 

users, which may result in an increase in the diversity of users and vulnerable road user trips 

taken. Work under this objective may use data on demographics, volume, perception of facility 

safety by vulnerable road users, and natural and built environment conditions to understand the 

infrastructure design needs of safer roadways for vulnerable road users. This data is particularly 

important to supporting connections between this objective and the Equity, Networks, and Trips 

objectives on encouraging connected, safe, and comfortable trips for all vulnerable road users. 

The FHWA has completed studies related to roadway design improvements that enhance 

vulnerable road user safety, including the following: 

• Research Reports: Street Lighting for Pedestrian Safety and Pedestrian Lighting 

Primer: The Street Lighting for Pedestrian Safety report focuses on the visibility needs 

for pedestrians, including both adults and children. The Pedestrian Lighting Primer 

offers transportation practitioners guidance on lighting design to promote pedestrian 

safety and recommended minimum lighting levels per level of pedestrian volume. 

• Enhancing Conspicuity for Standard Signs and Retroreflective Strips on Posts: This 

study, conducted under the Traffic Control Device Consortium Pooled Fund in 

coordination with FHWA’s Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) 

Team, confirmed the appropriateness of standard sign and retroreflective strips treatments 

for use by transportation practitioners in considering roadway safety design. Data for the 

project were collected in New Hampshire, Iowa, and Virginia with the following 

treatments: red flags, beacons, retroreflective strips on posts, sign enlargements, 

duplicating signs on both sides of roadway, and adding header panels. Results 

demonstrate mixed changes in behavior across all treatment sites; however, drivers had 

an increase in glances at the signs where enhancements were made, demonstrating the 

effectiveness of enhanced treatments in increasing conspicuity. 

• Improving Intersections for Pedestrians and Bicyclists – An Informational Guide: The 

purpose of this guide is to inform the state of the practice concerning intersection 

planning and design to implement solutions that help achieve the goal of zero fatalities 

and serious injuries while improving mobility for bicyclists and pedestrians. The primary 

intersection types discussed in this guide include traditional signalized intersections, 

roundabouts, Median U-Turn (MUT) intersections, Reduced Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) 

intersections, Quadrant Roadway (QR) intersections, Displaced Left Turn (DLT) 

intersections, and Diverging Diamond Interchanges (DDI). This guide also includes 

discussion about stop-controlled and uncontrolled intersection crossings for bicyclists and 

pedestrians. 

• Improving Safety for Pedestrians and Bicyclists Accessing Transit: This guide is 

intended for transit agencies, State, local, and Tribal roadway owners, and regional 

organizations involved with planning and designing transit stops and the roadway, 

pedestrian, and bicycle facilities that provide safe access to transit. 

Emerging and future research to support increased vulnerable road user safety through roadway 

design improvements focuses on several areas. The FHWA may further develop research on 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 12 

roadway lighting, aesthetic treatments, nonmotorized signal timing, pedestrian and bicyclist 

safety countermeasures, improving safe access to transit for bicyclists and pedestrians, and areas 

of bicycle and motor vehicle conflict on the road, including bicycle signal conflicts with turning 

vehicles and counter-flow bike lane placements. Additional research is needed in quantifying 

safety benefits to vulnerable road users of roadway design features, such as street trees. This 

research will support enhanced visibility of vulnerable road users on the road; identify specific 

improvements that are proven to increase safety conditions for vulnerable road users; inform

practitioners of roadway design treatments that promote greater equity among the various types 

of vulnerable road users; promote best practices for multimodal safety; develop safety 

performance factors; and ensure connectivity to broader transportation networks and access to 

public transportation. Ongoing and planned projects that support these areas of research include: 

• Pedestrian Safety on Urban Signalized Arterials: Learning from the Australasian Safe 

System Approach: The purpose of this study is to examine noteworthy approaches and 

innovations used by other countries to achieve reductions in pedestrian fatalities, with a 

particular focus on urban, signalized arterials. This global benchmarking study featuring 

a visit to Australia and New Zealand aims to identify proven practices, policies, 

approaches, and innovations that could be successfully applied in the U.S. to reverse the 

trend of increasing pedestrian fatalities and serious injuries. 

• Effective Selection of Crosswalk Design: This study includes field research to help 

identify contexts in which high-visibility crosswalk designs may improve safety for 

pedestrians, with plans to produce a guidebook for practitioners on crosswalk design 

policies. 

• Evaluation of Aesthetically Treated Crosswalks: This study assesses the impact that 

aesthetically treated crosswalks have on drivers and pedestrians (including pedestrians 

with low vision), the recognition of crosswalks by all roadway users, and behavior at 

crosswalks by both drivers and pedestrians. 

• Complete Streets Safety Analysis: This study identifies how multiple roadway 

countermeasures, as measured through CMFs, work in concert to improve safety for 

vulnerable road users through a Complete Streets treatment, produces case studies, and 

prepare recommendations for practitioners. 

• Guide for Maintaining Active Transportation Facilities for Enhanced Safety: Active 

transportation facilities require maintenance, similar to highway and roadway facilities, to 

maintain safe and dependable access. Neglected active transportation facilities 

discourage use because comfort is a major consideration for people walking or rolling on 

sidewalks and riding in bike lanes. This work provides information and highlights 

exemplary and effective practices for maintaining active transportation facilities. 

• Highway Safety Manual Guidance on Pedestrian and Bicyclist Countermeasures: This 

activity involves further research to develop enhancements for CMFs and/or Safety 

Performance Functions (SPFs) for additional facilities and countermeasure types not 

addressed by NCHRP Project 17-84. 

• Development of Pedestrian-Intersection Countermeasure CMFs: This study includes 

the development of CMFs for treatments and strategies that could be applied at 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 13 

intersections for the convenience and safety of pedestrians. Specifically, this project 

assesses the geometric design of intersection corner radii to determine and characterize 

the resulting crash frequency and severity. 

• Development of CMFs for Separated Bicycle Lanes (SBLs): The project considers the 

safety effectiveness of separated bicycle lanes, sometimes known as a protected bicycle 

lane, where the bicycle lane is separated from motor vehicle traffic with a spatial buffer 

or with a vertical barrier such as a flexi-post. The findings from this study support the 

development of a CMF for converting a traditional bicycle lane to a SBL with flexi-posts. 

The project is ongoing; however, the completed analysis resulted in a CMF for SBLs that 

have a blended vertical element located in the buffer area. 

• Bollard Lighting for Pedestrian Crosswalks: This study will investigate the feasibility 

of a bollard-based fluorescent lighting system mounted at the ends of a crosswalk and 

oriented to provide vertical illumination on pedestrians in the crosswalk as an approach to 

improving pedestrian visibility with reduced costs. Phase I of this effort will include 

closed road experiments and Phase II will consist of field validation of the results. 

• Can Landscaping Reduce Crashes on Lower Speed Urban Roads: This project will 

study the effects of landscaping on traffic safety, including on lower speed urban roads. 

The expected benefit of the project would be consistent information and messaging on 

landscaping recommendations for safety and environment disciplines. 

Safety Objective 2: Manage vehicle speeds to improve vulnerable road user safety

Unsafe motor-vehicle speeds are a well-documented and understood factor in roadway death and 

injury, especially for vulnerable road users. Speed limits frame expectations for drivers and 

vulnerable road users, and should be set to provide a safe, consistent, and reasonable speed to 

protect people walking, biking, or rolling along the roadway. Safer speed is a cross-cutting issue 

that involves roadway design, infrastructure interventions, speed limit setting, education, and 

enforcement. This objective describes research needed to directly demonstrate the impacts of 

speed management efforts for vulnerable road users and speed management implementation 

approaches. 

Research under this objective directly addresses the requirement in Section 11122(b)(2) of BIL 

to prioritize research on the impacts of traffic speeds on safety. Research areas determined by 

the Administrator pursuant to Section 11122(b)(4) of BIL related to initiatives under this 

objective include technology and innovation, planning and policy development, and data and 

methods. 

Through the NRSS, the Department has committed to: 

• Developing and improving the information available for setting speed limits through 

Proven Safety Countermeasures and the MUTCD, providing a range of methodologies 

depending on the context of the roadway; 

• Clarifying the applicability and correct use of key criteria used in setting speed limits, 

such as the 85th percentile method; and 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 14 

• Providing technical assistance to all sizes of communities to determine appropriate speed 

limit setting, considering external assistance from leading practitioners and research 

organizations. 

By relating vehicle speed conditions to the design of roadway infrastructure, this objective builds 

upon the research activities in Safety Objective 1: Increase vulnerable road user safety through 

roadway design improvements. Additionally, Trips Objective 2: Encourage more vulnerable 

road user trips, is supported by this work by facilitating more comfortable speed conditions on 

mixed-use roadways. Facility design data supporting research under this objective also 

contributes to the other Safety objectives, as well as the Trips objective to encourage more 

vulnerable road user trips by highlighting the physical infrastructure conditions that promote or 

hinder safe travel speeds. 

The FHWA has completed work in alignment with this objective, including development of a 

Traffic Calming ePrimer: This guide incorporates noteworthy new practices and research 

findings concerning traffic calming and addresses specific topics such as mid-block crossings 

and community connections. 

Emerging and future research supporting management of vehicle speeds to improve vulnerable 

road user safety is consistent with the Safe System Approach. Because of the role of speed in 

fatal crashes, FHWA is providing new resources on the setting of speed limits and on reengineering roadways to help “self-enforce” speed limits. The FHWA will work with NHTSA 

to study and develop resources on slowing streets for pedestrian safety in high pedestrian traffic 

areas. Additional future research under this objective deals with speed-related technologies and 

enforcement measures; specifically, the enforcement of speed limits and the use of technology, 

like speed safety cameras or vehicle speed controls. While there is speed safety camera guidance 

under development, additional research related to this technology is necessary for equitably 

achieving comfortable, safe roadway conditions for vulnerable road users. The following list 

reflects ongoing and planned projects that support this research direction: 

• Safe System Approach for Speed Management: This informational report aims to help 

practitioners understand the impacts of speed on traffic safety and explore linkages 

between speed management and the Safe System Approach by introducing a five-tiered 

Safe System Approach for Speed Management Framework, including key illustrative 

examples in the form of domestic and international case studies. 

• Update to USLIMITS2: This web-based tool helps practitioners set reasonable, safe, and 

consistent speed limits for specific segments of roads and takes pedestrians and bicyclists 

into consideration. This tool is applicable to all types of roads. The FHWA is currently 

developing additional resources related to this tool and is updating the tool under NCHRP 

03-139 “Next Generation of the USLIMITS2 Speed Limit Setting Expert System.” 

• Methods and Practices for Setting Appropriate Speed Limits for All Roads and Streets: 

The purpose of this project is to provide a single, comprehensive source of information

on a variety of different approaches to determining appropriate posted speed limits that 

are safe for all road users, covering the advantages and disadvantages of different 

approaches. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 15 

Safety Objective 3: Develop tools and methods to assess safety impacts to vulnerable road users 

Many agencies struggle with having little to no multimodal exposure data, and no well-accepted 

national method exists for estimating vulnerable road user demand. Tools and methods to assess 

safety impacts to vulnerable road users are needed when assessing these data to make planning 

decisions for vulnerable road users. Additional tools and methods to assess vulnerable road user 

safety may include emerging technologies and effective collaboration processes for data sharing. 

The FHWA is working to gather and analyze additional information on vulnerable road user risk 

to inform decision making on infrastructure and other safety interventions. Assessing risk 

requires accurate data on the locations and volume of people walking, biking, or rolling (i.e., 

exposure data), which in turn requires volume counts and an inventory of the active 

transportation network. These data may also be relevant in accomplishing Trips and Networks 

objectives that relate to improved data collection processes to measure vulnerable road user trips. 

Research initiatives relevant to developing tools and methods to evaluate vulnerable road user

safety impacts address Section 11122(b)(3) of BIL, which requires this plan to prioritize research 

relating to tools to evaluate the impact of transportation improvements on projected safety of 

bicycling and walking. Research activities under this objective will also support several research 

areas determined by the Administrator pursuant to Section 11122(b)(4) of BIL, including equity, 

data and methods, planning and policy development, and technology and innovation. This 

objective will also facilitate evidence gathering related to road configurations associated with the 

highest risk of pedestrian and cyclist crashes, as identified in the DOT Learning Agenda. 

Initiatives for developing tools and methods to assess safety impacts to vulnerable road users 

under this objective are aligned with the research initiatives for Trips Objective 1: Improve data 

collection and measurement of vulnerable road user trips. Particularly, the Trips project 

“Enhancing Vulnerable Road User Detection and Volume Data Through Advanced Imaging 

Techniques” supports this safety objective by evaluating emerging technologies for their 

appropriate usage in collecting vulnerable road user exposure data. This safety objective is also 

strengthened by the Networks Objective 1: Enhance vulnerable road user data collection; while 

this safety objective focuses on the individual vulnerable road user experience and the networks 

objective emphasizes impacts for vulnerable road users within the full network, these research 

areas combined can contribute to a comprehensive understanding of safer conditions for 

vulnerable road users. 

As part of the Safety Data Initiative, the Department will continue exploring ways to integrate 

existing data and new “big data” sources to conduct predictive analysis on vulnerable road user 

safety.12 The Department will continue collaboration across its Operating Administrations to 

leverage new and existing data sources (including, for example, the Fatality Analysis Reporting 

System (FARS), Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS), Crash Report Sampling System 

(CRSS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vulnerable Populations Tool, 

National Emergency Medical Services Information System (NEMSIS), NHTSA Electronic Data 

Transfer program, Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS), Highway Safety 

12 The DOT Learning Agenda identifies this among other evidence-building activities related to pedestrian and 

cyclist safety. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 16 

Information System (HSIS), and the Applications of Enterprise Geographic Information Systems 

for Transportation (AEGIST) Pooled Fund Study). 

The FHWA has completed work relevant to this objective, including the following sample 

projects: 

• Update to the Pedestrian and Bicyclist Safety Crash Analysis Tool (PBCAT) Version 

3.0: The PBCAT is an open-access software application designed to assist State and 

local pedestrian and bicycle coordinators, planners, and engineers in addressing 

pedestrian and bicyclist crash problems. 

• Guide for Scalable Risk Assessment Methods for Pedestrians and Bicyclists and 

Areawide Exposure Tool: This guide describes scalable risk assessment methods for 

pedestrians and bicyclists, wherein risk is a measure of the probability of a crash to occur 

given exposure to potential crash events. This guide outlines eight sequential steps to 

develop risk values at various desired geographic scales and describes the scope and 

nature of each step, including guiding principles. The Areawide Exposure Tool 

supplements the guide, making it easy for practitioners to obtain and summarize 

nationwide travel survey data to estimate pedestrian and bicyclist exposure to risk at 

Statewide and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) area scales. 

Emerging and future areas of research will expand on and update these initial efforts to develop 

tools and methods that evaluate safety impacts to vulnerable road users. For example, FHWA 

may collect and assess data on vulnerable road user interactions with ADS, develop improved 

methods to project vulnerable road user demand, assemble comprehensive Complete Streets 

measures, and provide practitioners analytical tools for identifying and prioritizing vulnerable 

road user safety interventions. Measuring the benefits of implementation for HSIP related 

projects is another area of research to be developed under this objective. The FHWA will 

partner with NHTSA to study additional tools and methods, such as measuring pedestrian 

exposure using electronic devices and completing an in-depth crash investigation study for 

vulnerable road users. Projects related to these emerging and future research areas that are 

ongoing or planned include: 

• Third Generation Simulation (TGSim) Data: A Closer Look at the Impacts of 

Automated Driving Systems on Human Behavior: The FHWA will collect data on the 

23rd Street NW Arterial on the George Washington University Campus using ClosedCircuit Television (CCTV) cameras on tall campus buildings. This project uses object 

detection to monitor and track pedestrian metrics, such as position and velocity, across 

five city blocks. This project will contribute to future research on the interactions 

between vulnerable road users and automated vehicles as compared to interactions 

between vulnerable road users and conventional vehicles. 

• Methods to Estimate and Forecast Pedestrian and Bicyclist Demands to Support Safety 

Investments and Guidance on Crossing Locations: This activity involves developing 

and testing planning-level demand estimation methods suitable for individual projects 

and integrating pedestrian and bicyclist demand estimation into regional models to 

demonstrate potential applications for active transportation project evaluation. Related to 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 17 

this work is an ongoing effort to develop crash exposure estimation methods for 

nonmotorized trips for systemic safety applications. This activity involves conducting 

case studies and implementation assistance demonstrating how to obtain count data, 

demand estimates, conflict data, or a combination of these and other data to estimate 

pedestrian and bicyclist crash exposure for individual projects and larger systems or 

networks. 

• Complete Streets Performance Measures Identification Project: This project aims to 

develop an agency-wide strategy to coordinate the identification, collection, and use of 

pedestrian, bicycle, and transit volume, infrastructure, crash data, and many other 

performance metrics. This initiative seeks to improve the understanding of multimodal 

safety and connectivity needs as well as equity and climate impacts and will create an 

inventory of existing and needed research projects and activities in this area. 

• My Street Pedestrian Crash Tool: My Street is a web-based, sketch-level planning tool 

to address pedestrian crashes using a systemic approach. The application is proposed to 

use a person-based perspective of risks, based on various contexts, and the potential 

benefits of safety countermeasures. My Street will provide transportation professionals 

with visuals to communicate the impact of safety improvement options to decisionmakers and the public. My Street is proposed to use local crash and roadway data, to 

automate systemic analysis, and to create maps showing priority locations for safety 

improvements. 

• Improving Road Safety for All Users on Federal-Aid Projects: This project will use 

information gathered through the “Improving Road Safety for All Users on Federal-Aid 

Projects” Request for Information (RFI), released in January 2023, and other efforts to 

develop an informational report and outreach and communications materials and 

resources on how to consider and integrate safety into all Federal-Aid programs and 

projects. 

• Expanding the Compilation and Evaluation of Motorized and Nonmotorized Crash 

Data in Identifying Safety Needs: An NCHRP project is investigating motorized and 

nonmotorized crash data to identify safety needs. As of 2023, there are 46 States that 

have nonmotorized, pedestrian, and/or bicycle emphasis areas in their Strategic Highway 

Safety Plans under the HSIP. 

Safety Objective 4: Increase vulnerable road user safety through emerging technologies 

Future generations of vehicles may increasingly incorporate emerging technologies that may

prevent certain crashes from occurring and mitigate the severity of harm caused to vulnerable 

road users when a crash does occur. Emerging vehicle technologies may include vulnerable road 

user protection systems and driver assistance technologies such as pedestrian automatic 

emergency braking, adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlighting systems, and lane keeping 

assistance to benefit vulnerable road users (such as those using bike lanes). Additionally, 

emerging micromobility technologies may have impacts on vulnerable road user safety, 

especially with respect to user conflicts (e.g., micromobility devices vary considerably in size, 

weight, and speed, and they share space with other vulnerable road users on the roadway). 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 18 

Connected vehicle technologies are equipment, applications, or systems that use V2X 

communications to address safety, system efficiency, mobility, equity, and sustainability on our 

roadways. Connected vehicle technology allows for communication between conventional 

vehicles, automated vehicles, infrastructure, and vulnerable road users which can serve to protect 

vulnerable road users by increasing their detection and driver awareness of their presence. 

Connected vehicle technology can also aid vulnerable road users by alerting them to and 

increasing their awareness of traffic scenarios and hazards. Through prior research, FHWA has 

proven that connected vehicle technology, specifically the application of interoperable V2X 

communications capabilities using the 5.905 – 5.925 GHz spectrum frequency band, is effective 

in protecting vulnerable road users and drivers. The FHWA and the Intelligent Transportation 

Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO) will be providing technical assistant to state and local 

agencies to support V2X based vulnerable road user system deployments. There is still 

opportunity to conduct additional research to reduce the cost of implementing connected vehicle 

technology and advance the use and deployment of the technologies, such as through the DOT 

Intersection Safety Challenge under Safer Roads actions for the NRSS.

Vehicles equipped with ADS technology offer several potential benefits to the transportation 

system beyond that which can be achieved with conventional vehicles. However, additional 

research is needed to address the following potential concerns related to how these vehicles 

and/or systems will interact with vulnerable road users. 

• There are limits to these vehicles’ vulnerable road user detection abilities that may put 

vulnerable road users at risk; 

• The locations where ADS-equipped rideshare and delivery vehicles pick up and drop off 

passengers and goods have the potential to be new points of ADS-vulnerable road user 

conflict; 

• Vulnerable road users may be unaware of the type of vehicle they are interacting with 

(ADS-equipped, CDA-capable, or conventional); and 

• Vulnerable road users may overestimate the detecting capabilities of ADS-equipped 

vehicles and make risky street crossing decisions. 

Emerging technologies and their relationship to vulnerable road user safety is a research area 

determined by the Administrator pursuant to Section 11122(b)(4) of BIL. Research activities 

under Networks Objective 1: Enhance vulnerable road user data collection and Equity Objective 

1: Understand and reduce disparities in safety, comfort, and mobility across demographic groups 

are supported by this safety objective. An improved understanding of how emerging 

technologies impact vulnerable road users differently across demographic groups may also 

highlight the extent to which such technologies exacerbate or mitigate disproportionate harms. 

Data that would support this and related objectives include demographic data, facility condition 

data, and data on the natural and built environments. 

This objective is also related to two other BIL requirements: 

• Section 11504 of BIL directs the DOT to study the existing and future impacts of selfdriving vehicles on transportation infrastructure, mobility, the environment, and safety. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 19 

• Section 24219 of BIL directs NHTSA, FHWA, and the ITS JPO to expand vehicle-topedestrian research efforts focused on incorporating bicyclists and other vulnerable road 

users into the safe deployment of connected vehicle systems, including an analysis of the 

extent to which applications supporting vulnerable road users can be accommodated 

within existing spectrum allocations for connected vehicle systems. 

The FHWA has completed work in alignment with this objective, including the following key 

project examples: 

• Tampa Hillsborough Expressway Authority (THEA) Connected Vehicle Pilot: The 

objective of the pilot was to use connected vehicle technology to improve safety and 

mobility of road users in downtown Tampa. A V2X application called Pedestrian 

Collision Warning (PCW) that detected pedestrians crossing a mid-block crossing and 

warned approaching equipped vehicles if they were on a crash trajectory with the 

pedestrian was deployed. Pedestrians were tracked and their trajectory was converted to 

a personal safety message that was transmitted to the oncoming vehicles via a roadside 

unit installed at the mid-block. Over the course of the pilot, 21 potential pedestrian 

crashes were prevented. 

• Pedestrian Technology Test Bed Phase II Report: With this work, FHWA presented the 

development and implementation of a multi-functional Pedestrian Technology Test Bed 

at the FHWA Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center (TFHRC), along with a 

standardized, holistic, and flexible assessment plan strategy. These tools were applied to 

the assessment of commercially available Vehicle-to-Person (V2P) technologies to 

identify their strengths and weaknesses and reveal their potential effectiveness for 

improving pedestrian safety. The test environment supports continued research, testing, 

and demonstration of connected pedestrian and bicyclist system concepts, standards, 

applications, and innovative products aimed to maximize road user safety. 

• Smartphone-Based Mid-Block Pedestrian Crossing In-Vehicle Warning Phase II 

Report: The FHWA and ITS JPO developed a V2P smartphone application that allows 

pedestrians to signal their intent to cross midblock, which triggers an in-vehicle warning 

to nearby drivers. Previous testing at a closed track with participant drivers indicated that 

the in-vehicle warning, communicated via a dashboard-mounted smartphone, encouraged 

drivers to yield at marked midblock crossings. Field tests conducted at three live 

crossing locations indicated that participants used the application as intended without 

significant changes in crossing behavior relative to a non-connected smartphone-based 

alternative. 

• Integrating Vulnerable Road User Impact Assessments with Vehicle Communication 

Technologies: Build on a Small Business Innovative Research project conducted on 

hardware and software for connected bicycles, FHWA funded a second phase effort 

called Multimodal Alerting Interface with Networked Shortrange Transmissions (MAINST) to develop the technology to bring bicycles onto V2X networks via a Basic Safety 

Message for Bicycles (BSM-B). 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 20 

Emerging and future research will explore the potential role of infrastructure in mitigating 

concerns around emerging technology and their interactions with vulnerable road users and may 

investigate the role of augmented reality technology to improve vulnerable road user safety. 

The FHWA will ensure that safety and mobility impacts and opportunities for vulnerable road 

users are incorporated into research and policies on vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-toinfrastructure (V2I), V2P, and V2X communication technologies. The FHWA plans to prioritize 

ADS-vulnerable road user interaction research needs and implement priority projects related to 

the following topics: vulnerable road user detection limitations and the potential for 

infrastructure to support vulnerable road user detection; determining and evaluating new conflict 

points between vulnerable road users and ads equipped vehicles; vulnerable road user gap 

acceptance for automated vehicles; and issues related to vulnerable road users interacting within 

mixed fleets. 

The FHWA, in partnership with NHTSA, will support some of these emerging research areas by 

conducting a literature review on the interactions between automated vehicles and pedestrians 

and bicyclists, studying the development of an illuminated virtual crosswalk, and studying child 

safety using optical and V2X digital alerting technology. 

Ongoing and planned projects related to this area of research include: 

• Investigate Key Automated Vehicle Human Factors Safety Issues Related to 

Infrastructure: The first study in this project focuses on driver behavior when operating 

a vehicle with different levels of automation and connectivity while interacting with a 

bicyclist on a roadway with a dedicated bicycle lane and shared use lane. 

• Ensuring CDA and Vulnerable Road Users Safety Through Infrastructure: Phase 1 of 

this project completed a literature review and gap analysis to determine critical research 

areas related to how CDA and vulnerable road users will interact. Phase 2 will 

investigate CDA and bicyclist interactions in a roundabout scenario with a shared lane 

and a dedicated bike lane. 

Equity Goal: Promote equity throughout the transportation planning, design, funding, 

implementation, and evaluation process 

Equity is a research area determined by the Administrator pursuant to Section 11122(b)(4) of 

BIL. The Department is committed to pursuing a comprehensive approach to advancing equity 

for all and is taking actions to expand access and opportunity to all communities while focusing 

on underserved, overburdened, and disadvantaged communities. A central goal of transportation 

equity is to facilitate social and economic opportunities by providing equitable levels of safe 

access to affordable and reliable transportation options based on the needs of the populations 

being served, particularly those that are traditionally underserved. Within the realm of 

transportation planning for vulnerable road users, equity focuses on ensuring all communities 

have access to safe, convenient, and comfortable active transportation infrastructure that is wellconnected to the broader transportation network, including public transportation. This equity 

goal supports the Department’s mode shift priority and aim of increasing transit ridership, 

established in the DOT Strategic Plan. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 21 

Focusing on equity also supports the purpose of Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial 

Equity and Support for Underserved Communities through the Federal Government, to address 

systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for underserved groups. “Underserved 

populations” include minority and low-income populations but may also include many other 

demographic categories that face challenges engaging with the transportation process and 

receiving equitable benefits.13 This Vulnerable Road User Research Plan also considers the 

needs of people with disabilities; older and younger individuals; rural populations; Tribal 

communities; women; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people. 

Other vulnerable road users of interest who encounter disproportionate harm in the transportation 

system include those for whom the street is primarily a workplace, such as delivery workers 

completing trips by bicycle. 

Americans with Disabilities Act. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and 

Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibit discrimination against people with 

disabilities and ensure equal opportunity and access for persons with disabilities. The ADA 

requires that public entities and recipients of Federal financial assistance ensure the accessibility 

of pedestrian facilities in the public right-of-way, such as curb ramps, sidewalks, crosswalks, 

pedestrian signals, and transit stops in accordance with applicable regulations. 

This goal is also in alignment with the DOT Transportation Equity Data and Assessment Tools 

Research Roadmap. The Equity Research Roadmap identifies opportunities for equity-related 

research topics across DOT. The roadmap contains two Action Areas that specifically relate to 

vulnerable road user research: Address Gaps in Data Collection and Measure Equity Outcomes. 

Relevant research opportunities include the use of passive travel data for equity analysis; filling 

data gaps on bicycle and pedestrian facilities, travel patterns, and crashes; and developing 

measures of comfort for people traveling or working in transportation. 

This goal will provide evidence for identifying the equity considerations in reducing pedestrian 

and cyclist crashes and ways FHWA can address disparities in pedestrian crashes through 

infrastructure solutions, as identified in the DOT Learning Agenda. 

The DOT recently conducted a survey of transportation agencies (State DOTs and MPOs) 

focused on equity in planning and public involvement, and the results of that survey may identify 

further research and capacity-building needs specific to the consideration of equity in planning 

and public involvement of projects for people walking, biking, or rolling. 

The Equity goal includes research activities that advance equity considerations in transportation 

planning, programming, and performance measurement. Objectives supporting this goal include: 

• Understand and reduce disparities in safety, comfort, and mobility across demographic 

groups; and 

• Integrate equity into the active transportation planning practice. 

13 See FHWA’s Environmental Justice Reference Guide for additional information. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 22 

Equity Objective 1: Understand and reduce disparities in safety, comfort, and mobility across 

demographic groups 

In alignment with the DOT Strategic Plan direction to reduce racial and gender disparities in 

transportation-related health and safety outcomes, FHWA seeks to reduce disparities across 

various demographic groups including Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC); women; 

people with disabilities; lower-income people; younger and older individuals; people in rural 

communities; and LGBTQ+ people. These disparities are often clustered by geography and can 

be mapped. This means that integrating equity into transportation safety projects is essential 

when deciding where to apply engineering countermeasures and what measures to implement. 

Transportation professionals will make more rapid progress toward the goal of zero roadway 

deaths and serious injuries by addressing the disparate traffic safety outcomes of underserved 

communities. 

The AASHTO CAT research review reveals the following regarding disparities: 

• Low-income and BIPOC populations face a disproportionate lack of access to high 

quality and safe bicycling and pedestrian facilities. 

• Poor active transportation conditions disproportionately burden people with disabilities. 

• Underserved populations, including those who are BIPOC and/or with lower incomes or 

who use wheelchairs, are more likely to be involved in pedestrian and bicycling crashes 

and have more severe injuries. 

• Personal safety concerns (including fear of violence and harassment) disproportionately 

negatively affect women, LGBTQ+ people, and BIPOC, which can lead to reduced 

participation in walking, biking, and rolling. 

Through this objective, FHWA aims to conduct more research to improve data and methods 

enabling our understanding of how traditionally underserved groups walking, bicycling, and 

rolling face disproportionate safety, comfort, and mobility impacts. Types of data collected and 

analyzed under this objective may be related to facilities, perception, demographics, and the built 

environment. Equity analysis methods can be used to inform work to reduce vulnerable road 

user fatalities and serious injuries; improve access to multimodal networks; and increase rates of 

walking, biking, and rolling among underserved groups. It will also inform work under Equity 

Objective 2: Integrate equity into the active transportation planning practice, Trips Objective 2: 

Encourage more vulnerable road user trips, and Safety Objective 3: Develop tools and methods 

to assess safety impacts to vulnerable road users. It may also support other data collectionrelated objectives as well. 

The FHWA has completed limited work in support of this objective, including the following 

example project, The Why and How of Measuring Access to Opportunity: A Guide to 

Performance Management. This guide provides State DOTs and MPOs with an overview of the 

performance management state of practice with a focus on connectivity, multimodal, and 

livability outcomes. 

Emerging and future research in this area may explore impacts to vulnerable road users of 

historic and present-day investment and disinvestment in active transportation infrastructure, the 

relationship between bicycle and pedestrian facilities and gentrification, and the roadway safety
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 23 

needs of people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity. The impacts, benefits (or 

potential harms), and outcomes of pedestrian and bicycle investments, particularly for 

disadvantaged communities, may be understood by assessing access to essential services, 

opportunities for income and wealth generation, reduction of personal transportation costs, job 

growth, housing affordability and displacement, and health outcomes. Building on this 

understanding, FHWA may explore countermeasures and interventions to redress these 

disparities and prioritize implementation of these countermeasures at project sites that are 

responsive to the disproportionate fatality and injury impacts, lack of accessible pedestrian 

facilities for people with disabilities, and poor connectivity that low-income communities and 

BIPOC experience. The FHWA may also conduct research on accessibility for innovative and 

quick-build pedestrian and bicycle designs and the equitable application of speed safety cameras. 

In support of this future research direction, the following are critical ongoing and planned 

projects: 

• Pedestrian Safety for Tribal Communities: This research project includes a systemic 

safety study that seeks to examine risk factors for pedestrians in rural Tribal settings and 

to explore transportation planning practices and practical safety strategies for decreasing 

pedestrian fatalities and injuries in rural Tribal areas. 

• Tribal Development of Trails and Other Dedicated Pedestrian and Bicycle 

Infrastructure: This white paper features trails projects highlighting noteworthy 

practices that Tribes and their partners use to support the planning and development of 

trails in Tribal communities. The research provides information and resources for Tribes 

and Tribal trails champions interested in planning and building dedicated pedestrian and 

bicycle infrastructure. 

• Exploring Potential Contributors to Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in 

Pedestrian and Bicyclist Morbidity and Mortality: This project will assess structural 

causes and potential strategies to address why underrepresented populations are 

overrepresented as victims in serious injury and fatal pedestrian and bicyclist crashes. 

• Ensuring Accessibility Around New and Quick-Build Pedestrian and Bicycle Designs: 

This project is reviewing accessibility concerns for innovative new and quick-build 

pedestrian and bicycle designs and is conducting an experiment with people who are 

blind in modifying wayfinding cues around quick-build intersection bulbouts. This 

project will identify critical research needs, and future projects may conduct experiments 

and recommend new designs to enhance accessibility for all users. 

Equity Objective 2: Integrate equity into the active transportation planning practice 

An equitable transportation system recognizes the critical role of affordable and reliable 

transportation in providing access to social and economic opportunities and the travel behavior 

associated with various demographic groups. Providing more travel choices to all, including 

bicycle and pedestrian options and active transportation connections to transit, can help the 

nation to increase access to economic opportunity by meeting the transportation needs of 

underserved communities. Considering equity throughout the transportation planning process is 

necessary to develop solutions to the disparities discussed under the previous objective. With 

this objective, FHWA aims to understand relevant travel behavior and identify best practices, 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 24 

disseminate information to practitioners, and develop methodologies to enable integration of 

equity into planning for vulnerable road user safety, comfort, and mobility. 

This objective will build on the data-informed understanding developed through the previous 

equity objective. It may also influence Networks Objective 2: Improve measurement and 

analysis of vulnerable road user network connectivity and Networks Objective 3: Integrate 

vulnerable road user networks into planning, project selection, and workforce development. 

The FHWA is partnering with the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) through the Capacity 

Building Program regarding connections between active and public transportation and equity. 

The FHWA has completed other work in support of this objective, including the following 

example project, the Shared Micromobility and Equity Primer. This resource describes actions 

that local jurisdictions can take to ensure shared micromobility systems enhance equity and

includes several successful case studies. 

Emerging and future research under this objective will further explore how to incorporate equity 

into the active transportation practice, including during planning, implementation, and the 

evaluation of projects. Through this objective, FHWA will pursue research projects that support 

robust community engagement and respond to stated community needs. In support of the future 

research direction for this objective, the following critical projects are planned or ongoing: 

• Use of Shared Mobility to Promote Equity: Identify and promote ways that shared 

mobility can help to improve equity in communities throughout the U.S. by integrating 

bicycle, pedestrian, and transit options for people in all types of communities. Pursue 

additional research and case studies as needed regarding the safety benefits of shared 

mobility. Examine linkages between walking, bicycling, transit, and shared mobility, for 

example, through the provision of bike racks on car share vehicles, the emergence of 

electric bikes, and accessible (i.e., adaptive) bike share options. 

• Integration of Access and Safety Across Agencies: Provide education and technical 

assistance to non-transportation agencies (e.g., public health, housing, labor, natural 

resource, and parks and recreation) to encourage integration of pedestrian and bicycle 

access and safety into their projects and programs that promote equity. 

• State DOT ADA Transition Plan Implementation Handbook: This handbook will 

highlight successful practices in removing pedestrian facility barriers for people with 

disabilities. State DOTs were surveyed to identify best practices completing ADA selfevaluations, collecting and managing data, communicating with the disability 

community, and designing and constructing facilities in the public right of way. 

Accessible pedestrian networks are essential to the ability of all road users to fully utilize 

transportation services and have access to employment, education, and other 

opportunities. 

• Local Public Agency ADA Transition Plan Implementation Handbook: The majority 

of pedestrian facilities are located under the jurisdiction of counties, cities, and small 

towns across the country. They have the same requirements for an ADA transition plan 

as their State DOTs, but many have limited resources to perform self-evaluations and 

develop ADA transition plans. Many agencies struggle with implementation due to lack 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 25 

of technology and expertise. This handbook will comprise best practices used by 

agencies to effectively utilize the resources they have to remove barriers and create 

accessible pedestrian networks. 

Networks Goal: Achieve safe, accessible, comfortable, and connected multimodal networks in 

communities throughout the U.S.

Networks are interconnected active transportation facilities—which may include sidewalks, onstreet bike lanes, and trails—that help people get where they need to go. Enhancing vulnerable 

road user connections reduces barriers and increases equitable access to jobs and services for all, 

especially when nonmotorized networks provide access to transit. The presence of wellconnected, complete nonmotorized networks can also play a role in reducing traffic congestion 

on roadways by enabling local travelers to replace short driving trips with nonmotorized and/or 

transit trips. Networks may promote modes of transportation that are sustainable and more 

resilient to climate change as well. 

Transit Flex. The FHWA seeks to prioritize safety, mobility, and accessibility for all 

transportation network users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, micro-mobility 

users, freight and delivery services providers, and motorists. A key goal is to provide an 

equitable and safe transportation network for travelers of all ages and abilities, including those 

from marginalized communities facing historic disinvestment. The FHWA encourages 

consideration of strategies that improve infrastructure for non-motorized travel, public 

transportation access, and increased public transportation service in underserved communities; 

and plan for the safety of all road users, particularly those on arterials, through infrastructure 

improvements and advanced speed management. Transit Flex allows funds from certain FHWA 

programs to be “flexed” to the FTA to fund projects for transit agencies and to be used for transit 

projects. Transit Flex is relevant to Networks Objective 3: Integrate vulnerable road user 

networks into planning, project selection, and workforce development. 

The Networks goal includes research activities that support assessing network quality, 

connectivity and use, and developing networks with all types of users and ability levels in mind. 

Objectives supporting this goal include: 

• Enhance vulnerable road user facility data collection; 

• Improve measurement and analysis of vulnerable road user network connectivity; and 

• Integrate vulnerable road user networks into planning and project selection. 

Networks Objective 1: Enhance vulnerable road user facility data collection

Alongside the need for safety-related vulnerable road user data (see Safety Objective 3: Develop 

tools and methods to assess safety impacts to vulnerable road users), transportation professionals 

rely on accurate, comprehensive facility data in order to fund, plan, design, construct, and 

evaluate active transportation facilities and networks. However, few agencies possess a 

comprehensive, regularly updated database on active transportation facility conditions and 

operations. Among the agencies that do maintain these types of data, there is variation in 

collection methods and quality control. Therefore, it is difficult to report the degree of 

nonmotorized network coverage and to track increases in coverage. Better facility data will 

eliminate information gaps regarding the nonmotorized network and enable assessment of 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 26 

facility and network quality in support of Networks Objective 2: Improve measurement and 

analysis of vulnerable road user network connectivity. 

Through this objective, FHWA aims to address inconsistencies and gaps in nonmotorized facility 

data collection to ensure agencies are using reliable, up-to-date, and comprehensive facility data 

to guide decision making. The objective directly aligns with the data and methods research area

determined by the Administrator pursuant to Section 11122(b)(4) of BIL, as well as Section 

11122(b)(2) of BIL, which requires this plan to prioritize research on the impacts of access to 

low-traffic stress corridors on safety and rates of bicycling and walking, and Section 

11122(b)(3), which requires this plan to prioritize research on tools to evaluate the impact of 

transportation improvements on projected rates and safety of bicycling and walking. The 

objective supports collection of nonmotorized facility and infrastructure data which may lead to 

a better understanding of limitations or gaps in access to low stress traffic corridors and improve 

safety and planning at a network scale. 

The FHWA has completed limited work in support of this objective, including the following 

example project, the WalkOnTM Mobile Application. This mobile application enables 

crowdsourcing of sidewalk condition data for use by practitioners to facilitate pedestrian network 

planning. 

Emerging and future research under this objective may include development of a national 

repository for pedestrian facility data. The Department’s Learning Agenda identifies a need to 

continue the development of the Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE) to fully include 

pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure that improves safety and develop analytics tools that can be 

used by agencies to identify needs and document progress of bicycle and pedestrian 

infrastructure. Improvements to MIRE will facilitate more comprehensive research on bicycle 

and pedestrian networks. 

The FHWA is actively pursuing or plans to pursue significant work in alignment with this 

objective, including: 

• National Bikeway Network System: This initiative is under development and will enable 

agencies to share bicycle facility geospatial data in a uniform manner. 

• Expanding the Availability and Deployment of Data: This effort involves building on 

the ongoing coordinated and comprehensive effort among DOT stakeholders to expand 

the availability and deployment of data about pedestrian and bicycle network 

infrastructure. Projects include updating the Travel and Monitoring Analysis System 

(TMAS) to accept bicycle and pedestrian count data, and revisions to the 2016 Traffic 

Monitoring Guide to update data definitions. 

• Bicycle Network Expansion Impact on Safety: This activity involves conducting 

research in cities with long-established count programs and a history of bicycle network 

expansion to identify relationships between bicycle network extent and serious 

injury/fatality rates. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 27 

Networks Objective 2: Improve measurement and analysis of vulnerable road user network 

connectivity 

Building on Networks Objective 1: Enhance vulnerable road user facility data collection,

improved tools and methods to analyze data at a network scale are required to inform evidencebased decision making. The objective directly aligns with the data and methods research area as 

determined by the Administrator pursuant to Section 11122(b)(4) of BIL, as well as the 

requirement in Section 11122(b)(3) that this plan prioritize research on tools to evaluate the 

impact of transportation improvements on projected rates and safety of bicycling and walking. 

Effective measurement and analysis of vulnerable road user network connectivity can help 

transportation practitioners identify high priority network gaps, implement cost-effective 

solutions that address multiple needs, optimize potential benefits, and measure the long-term 

impacts of strategic pedestrian and bicycle investments. 

Some improvements have been made to pedestrian and bicycle data collection methods and 

analysis tools, and research on nonmotorized transportation issues has increased. For example, 

FHWA published the Measuring Multimodal Network Connectivity Pilot Grant Report

identifying a range of options available for measuring network connectivity and tracking change 

over time, covering low stress methodologies. 

Key examples of significant work the FHWA has completed in alignment with this objective 

include: 

• Evaluation of Level of Service Methodologies: This effort involved the evaluation of 

level of service methodologies to incorporate multimodal considerations and include new 

and emerging bicycle facility types. To further this effort, FHWA published the 

Guidebook for Measuring Multimodal Network Connectivity, which includes fact sheets

on bicycle and pedestrian level of service connectivity measures. The FHWA’s 

multimodal connectivity pilot program includes implementation of bicycle and pedestrian 

level of service analysis. 

• Manual on Pedestrian and Bicycle Connections to Transit: The FHWA supported FTA 

in developing and promoting this guidebook, which covers topics including pedestrian 

and bicycle access improvement opportunities, station area design, bicycle parking and 

bike share at transit stations, and more. 

• Targeted Technical Assistance in Richmond, VA: The FHWA published a study 

conducting a bicycle and pedestrian network connectivity analysis around future Bus 

Rapid Transit stations in Richmond, VA. 

• Bicycle Network Planning & Facility Design Best Practices in the Netherlands and 

U.S.: This effort involved the exploration and application of information generated 

through international best practices research, building upon a cooperative agreement with 

the Netherlands. The FHWA also conducted three ThinkBike workshops with support 

from the Dutch embassy. 

• Case Studies in Delivering Safe, Comfortable, and Connected Pedestrian and Bicycle 

Networks Volume II: This report highlights pedestrian and bicycle network principles 

and showcases examples from communities across the country. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 28 

While the state of the practice is moving forward, there is still a need to mainstream and 

institutionalize these efforts, especially in terms of network connectivity. To this end, FHWA 

prioritizes projects and research that improve the measurement and analysis of network 

connectivity, both through building upon existing methods and evaluation tools, as well as 

promoting innovation and the development of new analytical tools and methods. The 

Neighborhood Access and Equity discretionary grant program included in the Inflation 

Reduction Act includes eligibilities for planning and constructing active transportation networks 

and spines (23 U.S.C. 177(a)(1)(D)), which furthers the need for supporting agencies in 

conducting multimodal network connectivity planning and analysis. The Active Transportation 

Infrastructure Investment Program, authorized by Section 11529 of BIL but not yet appropriated 

funding, also focuses on planning and constructing active transportation networks and spines. 

A future direction for this objective involves continued engagement, future research 

opportunities, and resource development to support the planning of multimodal networks. Next 

steps may include hosting peer exchanges or webinars to share noteworthy examples and lessons 

learned; supporting further research to identify new and validate existing data sources, including 

the refinement of existing data tools; conducting additional pilots to explore connectivity 

analysis methods and measures that were only marginally addressed through completed pilot 

projects such as network density, route directness, and network quality; supporting multimodal 

network analysis pilots specifically addressing specialized analysis scenarios, such as walk- and 

bike-sheds around schools or connectivity in environmental justice areas; and establishing a 

technical-transfer activity to help mainstream the practice of multimodal network connectivity. 

Key examples of projects currently underway or planned aligned with this objective are: 

• Complete Streets Modeling Best Practices and Gaps Analysis: This effort is assessing 

current capabilities related to the modeling and analysis of Complete Streets. A best 

practices document will be developed describing how current analysis, modeling, and 

simulation tools can be applied to Complete Streets. A separate document will be 

developed to identify where current tools need to be improved in order to better model 

Complete Streets. 

• Geospatial Economic Multimodal Transportation System Modeling (GEMS) Complete 

Street Study: This study will leverage the GEMS model to analyze the impact of 

Complete Street policies on transportation network performance, demands for different 

modes, and different population groups. 

• Infrastructure Construction Cost and Maintenance Documentation Study: This effort 

involves the study of procedures for, and implications of, documenting nonmotorized 

infrastructure construction and maintenance costs within the context of larger multimodal 

projects. The deliverable will be a recommended framework for collecting pedestrian 

and bicycle project costs using a case-study approach. The FHWA’s Office of Safety has 

ongoing research into standard construction cost elements for pedestrian and bicycle 

facilities. 

• It’s Transportation for All of US (ITS4US): The ITS4US Deployment Program is a $40 

million multimodal effort to identify ways to provide more efficient, affordable, and 

accessible transportation options for underserved communities that often face greater 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 29 

challenges in accessing essential services. The program aims to solve mobility 

challenges for all travelers with a specific focus on underserved communities. Projects 

within this program include developing pedestrian data standards, creating software to 

connect rural and disadvantaged populations to health care, streamlining access to multiagency transit trips, and furthering the development of accessible autonomous shuttles. 

This program will enable communities to build local partnerships and develop and deploy 

integrated and replicable mobility solutions to achieve complete trips for all travelers. 

• Fostering Innovation in Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation Pooled Fund: This 

program supports State, MPO, and local pedestrian and bicycle experimentation with, and 

evaluation of, projects that promote design flexibility, contribute to connected networks, 

and encourage collaboration. 

Networks Objective 3: Integrate vulnerable road user networks into planning, project selection, 

and workforce development 

Active transportation network data, including vulnerable road user volume and infrastructure 

data, can help guide transportation decision making. While vulnerable road user needs should be 

considered as part of the planning, prioritization, and selection of transportation projects, barriers 

to this full integration exist. The objective directly aligns with the planning and policy 

development research area determined by the Administrator pursuant to Section 11122(b)(4) of 

BIL. Through this objective, FHWA aims to institutionalize vulnerable road user network 

considerations in the practice of transportation decision making by informing policy 

development and advancing established policies like the NRSS, internal and external workforce 

development, and engagement with research collaborators (e.g., through use of the Transit Flex 

program). 

The FHWA has completed several key projects in alignment with this objective including: 

• Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks: This project provides information, 

illustrations, and a discussion of how to implement multimodal facilities in a rural 

context. 

• Implementing Context Sensitive Design on Multimodal Corridors: This guide provides 

an easy-to-use resource that clearly communicates the principles, techniques, and design 

solutions highlighted in the original Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) 

Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context Sensitive Approach document. 

• Safety for All Users: This report provided information to States and MPOs to adopt 

standards for the design of Federal surface transportation projects for safe and adequate 

accommodation of all users, focusing on pedestrians and bicyclists. 

• Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation University Coursebook: This coursebook for use 

in University-level courses has been updated and supports mainstreaming bicycle and 

pedestrian transportation content. 

• FHWA Local Public Agency (LPA) Resources: These informational resources include 

pedestrian and bicycle content as part of the FHWA Federal-aid Essentials for Local 

Public Agencies video library, LPA reference material, and the five regional 

Transportation Workforce Centers. These resources inform local public agencies on how 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 30 

Federal-aid funds can be used to construct safe, convenient, and accessible walking and 

bicycling facilities. 

• Noteworthy Local Policies That Support Safe and Complete Pedestrian and Bicycle 

Networks: This resource provides local and state agencies with tools to develop policies 

that support the development of safe and complete bicycle and pedestrian networks for 

users of all ages and abilities. 

Emerging and future research areas involve further developing and implementing effective 

outreach strategies and encouraging stakeholders to integrate vulnerable road user network

objectives and needs into State and local projects, programs, policies, and other initiatives. For 

example, FHWA plans to develop informational resources for State, MPO, and local agency staff 

on conducting pedestrian and bicycle experimentation and evaluation projects, including 

examples and best practices. 

The FHWA is actively pursuing or is planning significant work in alignment with this objective 

including: 

• Statewide Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning for Network Connectivity: This project 

would update an existing FHWA guide on statewide pedestrian and bicycle planning 

from 2014 to include recent trends toward incorporating network planning and 

connectivity analysis into such plans. This guide update would also incorporate 

contemporary methods of delivering walking and bicycling improvements using a 

Complete Streets approach and place a greater emphasis on planning for equity in 

walking and bicycling plans. 

• Bicycle Facility Information: The FHWA developed and continues to promote guides to 

encourage design flexibility and to help agencies determine appropriate types of bicycle

facilities, as well as when to integrate transportation and recreational trail infrastructure. 

An example is the FHWA Bikeway Selection Guide, which is intended to help 

transportation practitioners streamline the bikeway selection process, accelerate project 

delivery, foster the development of connected networks, and improve safety for all users. 

• Sidewalk Selection Guide: This product will develop contextual information on 

pedestrian facility dimensions and features and serve as a companion document to the 

FHWA Bikeway Selection Guide. This work will complement existing new design 

documents from AASHTO and the U.S. Access Board (Public Rights-of-Way 

Accessibility Guidelines) to provide a design-focused resource that matches appropriate 

pedestrian facility design traits to given street and land-use contexts. 

• National Highway Institute (NHI) Courses: The FHWA updated the Bicycle Facility 

Design course to include innovations in bicycle planning and design and converted it to 

be web-based. A future project will update the NHI Pedestrian Facility Design course to 

reflect advances in pedestrian transportation planning and design. The FHWA is also 

creating a course covering Complete Streets topics. 

• Update Research in Progress (RiP) Database: This effort involves updating and 

enhancing pedestrian and bicycle research projects listed in the RiP database. This 

database and a data-entry system allows users in State DOTs, the DOT, University 

Transportation Centers (UTC), and other DOT-funded activities to add, modify, and 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 31 

delete information on their current research projects. Ensuring that the RiP database 

includes the latest pedestrian and bicycle research14 will promote awareness and 

coordination throughout the research process. 

• Ambassador Program to Integrate and Institutionalize Pedestrian and Bicycle 

Resources: The ambassador program trains staff within DOT to spearhead efforts to 

integrate and institutionalize pedestrian and bicycle resources into ongoing activities such 

as the Policy Council, Operations Futures Group, Resource Center, Federal-aid Essentials 

for Local Public Agencies video library, LPA reference material, and via the regional 

Transportation Workforce Centers, Tribal Technical Assistance Centers, and Federal 

Lands Highway. This internal workforce development reinforces safety culture within 

the Department and better positions DOT staff to aid stakeholders in support of NRSS 

objectives. 

• Coordination Among Pedestrian and Bicycle Stakeholders: Enhanced coordination 

contributes to improved outcomes in the research process and includes coordination on 

work in progress, needs identification, problem statement development, and project 

funding. The FHWA has been coordinating with the Transportation Research Board 

(TRB) Pedestrian and Bicycle Committees and the AASHTO Joint Technical Committee 

on Nonmotorized Transportation. The FHWA also engages in coordination among 

pedestrian and bicycle research stakeholders by reviewing and sharing NCHRP 

comments and through TRB. 

Trips Goal: Get more people walking, bicycling, and rolling 

Increases in the number of walking, biking, and rolling trips can likely be attributed to several 

factors including changing attitudes towards nonmotorized transportation, more complete 

networks connecting origins and destinations and providing access to transit, and improved 

infrastructure – such as more sidewalks, better bike facilities, Complete Streets, and shared use 

paths.15 Proactively and intentionally increasing vulnerable road user trips is an integral part of 

supporting the Administration’s priorities and improving mobility for all people and businesses, 

access to jobs and essential services for all, resilience for all communities, public health 

outcomes, and land use decisions. 

The Trips goal includes research activities that facilitate increased walking, biking, and rolling 

trips. Objectives supporting this goal include: 

• Improve data collection and measurement of vulnerable road user trips; 

• Encourage more vulnerable road user trips; and 

• Assess the benefits associated with vulnerable road user trips. 

Trips Objective 1: Improve data collection and measurement of vulnerable road user trips

This objective is directly related to Section 11122(b)(3) of BIL, which requires this plan to 

prioritize research on tools to evaluate the impact of transportation improvements on projected 

14 The database contains several relevant projects to pedestrian and bicycle network research, an example of which is 

“Expanding Mobility Options for All: Optimizing and Extending the Biking Infrastructure to Generate Complete 

Street Networks in Atlanta.” 15 See the Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation (pp. 15-17) for more information. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 32 

rates of bicycling and walking. Consistent with the finding of the Complete Streets Report to 

Congress that there is a need to “improve data collection and analysis to advance safety for all 

users,” FHWA recognizes that there is a broad need to improve data collection and measurement 

of vulnerable road user trips to support safety, mobility, equity, and other DOT and FHWA 

priorities. This objective will also help inform pedestrian and cyclist risk for the benefit of 

decision making on infrastructure identified in the DOT Learning Agenda. 

Data and performance measurement are necessary to guide and evaluate the success of 

vulnerable road user-focused initiatives. Access to accurate and comprehensive data for active 

transportation modes helps transportation agencies identify and prioritize projects that will 

promote safety and access for vulnerable road users, as well as conduct project and program 

evaluations. Comprehensive vulnerable road user trip data includes information on volume, 

mode, traveler safety and comfort perceptions, facility, routing, trip generation, demographics, 

and the natural and built environment. Complete trips data is also relevant to Safety Objective 3: 

Develop tools and methods to assess safety impacts to vulnerable road users; Networks 

Objective 1: Enhance vulnerable road user facility data collection; and Networks Objective 2: 

Improve measurement and analysis of vulnerable road user network connectivity. 

The FHWA has pursued significant work improving vulnerable road user data collection and 

measurement, including the following completed research projects: 

• Incorporating Qualitative Data in the Planning Process: Improving Project Delivery 

and Outcomes: This report highlighted emerging tools, techniques, and resources for 

gathering qualitative public and stakeholder input to inform the planning process, 

improve project outcomes, and contribute to accelerating project delivery. This resource 

includes examples relevant to pedestrian and bicycle planning. 

• Guidebook for Developing Pedestrian and Bicycle Performance Measures: This 

guidebook was created to help communities develop performance measures that can fully 

integrate pedestrian and bicycle planning in ongoing performance management activities. 

It highlights a broad range of ways that walking and bicycling investments, activity, and 

impacts can be measured and documents how these measures relate to goals identified in 

a community's planning process. It discusses how the measures can be tracked and what 

data are required, while also identifying examples of communities that are currently using 

the respective measures in their planning process. 

• Example Practices for Performance-Driven Programming Report: This report 

highlights how State DOTs and MPOs are implementing performance-driven 

programming processes and aligning transportation investment decisions with the Federal 

performance areas for safety, infrastructure condition, and system performance. The 

guide includes examples of how States and MPOs have applied performance-driven 

programming to bicycle and pedestrian planning practice. 

The FHWA’s emerging and future activities under this objective will support bicycle and 

pedestrian counting initiatives and explore novel data collection methods to collect vulnerable 

road user data, including video detection, thermal sensors, and passive collection. Uniform 

national data collection standards (e.g., regarding data formats, geographic scale, and 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 33 

demographic and infrastructure elements) may enable performance comparisons across States 

and new analytical methods can incorporate vulnerable road user operations into traditional 

traffic analyses. New and nontraditional data (e.g., passive datasets) present opportunities as 

novel sources of information to identify network gaps, prioritize projects, diagnose safety 

hotspots, assess equity, and measure and forecast route and mode choice changes. However, 

there are also challenges in leveraging this data to develop insights into vulnerable road user 

trips. For example, such data may lack transparency around assumptions and methodologies and 

could be prone to biases, so its use should be coupled with independent data collection and 

analysis. The FHWA is actively pursuing or plans to pursue projects in alignment with this 

objective, including: 

• Guidebook for Statewide Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume Data Programs: State DOTs 

and other transportation agencies are interested in establishing reliable and thorough 

programs to collect, share, and use volume data on where people are walking, bicycling, 

and rolling. This project would compose a guide for those agencies to establish such 

programs, and advise on best practices in ensuring data reliability, choosing count 

locations for full representation, staffing and maintenance concerns, and more. 

• Enhancing Vulnerable Road User Detection and Volume Data Through Advanced 

Imaging Techniques Project: This study aims to improve the collection of vulnerable 

road user count data to better understand vulnerable road user exposure when involved in 

a motor vehicle collision. This project specifically tests the ability of thermal infrared 

sensors and LiDAR sensors to detect vulnerable road users and their count data at 

intersection and midblock locations by comparing them with high resolution CCTV 

Digital Video Recorders (DVR) camera feeds. 

• Pedestrian and Bicycle Counting Initiatives Through Every Day Counts (EDC): This 

effort will include providing technical assistance to agencies for buying counting 

equipment and establishing effective regional count programs. This will improve data 

collection to determine rates of bicycling and walking. 

• TMAS: This effort will promote TMAS as the national repository of pedestrian and 

bicycle volume data to track trends, conduct research, and develop the basis for 

comprehensive performance measurement of nonmotorized modes. This effort will 

conduct outreach and promotion to encourage agencies to collect and submit pedestrian 

and bicycle counts to TMAS. 

Trips Objective 2: Encourage more vulnerable road user trips

This objective, encourage more vulnerable road user trips, is directly related to the Section 

11122(b)(2) of BIL, which requires this plan to prioritize research on the impacts of traffic 

speeds, and access to low-traffic stress corridors, on rates of bicycling and walking requirement. 

High quality, low-stress active transportation facilities16 can enhance the personal comfort of 

vulnerable road users, which in turn can increase participation in active transportation modes. 

Personal comfort reflects a collection of considerations including a sense of safety from 

16 Logically connected active transportation facilities can also encourage more vulnerable road user trips and are 

discussed in the Networks goal section of this plan. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 34 

motorized traffic, a sense of personal security when using active transportation (e.g., protection 

against crime or harassment, safe lighting, and sufficient sight distances), and environmental 

comfort (e.g., protection from excessive heat). 

Facility quality is influenced by design and maintenance approaches. Designing to minimum 

accommodations (e.g., a minimum sidewalk width) may not result in comfortable experiences 

for vulnerable road users and therefore may limit vulnerable road user trips. Inaccessible 

pedestrian networks may keep people with disabilities from reaching healthcare, employment 

and educational opportunities and fully participating in their community. Similarly, the spacing 

between marked crosswalks may impact vulnerable road user comfort because of how it affects 

the directness of walking and rolling routes. Maintenance strategies for active transportation 

infrastructure, including approaches using asset management programs, can sustain facility 

quality and convenience for improved vulnerable road user comfort and safety. 

As the number and types (e.g., form factors, sizes, speeds) of micromobility devices proliferate 

and provide growing mobility options for more vulnerable road user trips, more research is 

needed on user safety and street design, the role of micromobility in meeting unmet travel 

demand for underserved populations, its impact on traveler behavior and mode choice, 

connections with resilience planning, and parking management implications for vulnerable road 

users. 

Initiatives to encourage more vulnerable road user trips under this objective are directly aligned 

with research and projects for Safety Objective 1: Increase vulnerable road user safety through 

roadway design improvements and Networks Objective 2: Improve measurement and analysis of 

vulnerable road user network connectivity. 

An example of significant work the FHWA has completed in alignment with this objective 

includes the Micromobility Research Roadmap; the purpose of this internal research roadmap 

was to acquire new insights, better data, and more sophisticated understanding of how States, 

MPOs, cities, and other jurisdictions can capitalize on the benefits of micromobility while 

mitigating negative impacts. 

The FHWA’s emerging and future research under this objective will investigate the impact of 

low-stress corridors on rates of bicycling and walking, develop mainstreaming methods for local 

agencies to communicate the safe use of walking and bicycling facilities, provide information on 

maintaining active transportation infrastructure for enhanced safety, and coordination with 

NHTSA to collect longitudinal information on bicyclist and pedestrian attitudes and behaviors. 

In support of this research direction, FHWA is actively pursuing or plans to pursue the following 

projects: 

• Guide for Maintaining Active Transportation Infrastructure for Enhanced Safety: 

This updated guide will address the needs for pedestrian facility maintenance, common 

maintenance issues, inspection, accessibility, compliance with repair and replacement 

requirements and the MUTCD, maintenance measurers, funding, and construction 

techniques to reduce future maintenance. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 35 

• Mainstream and Promote Awareness for the Safe use of Walking and Bicycling 

Facilities: This project will mainstream methods for local agencies to communicate the 

safe use of walking and bicycling facilities. This project will ensure vulnerable road 

users know what to expect before they first encounter new active transportation facilities. 

• Electric Bicycle Trends, Impacts, and Opportunities Literature Review: This research 

project and case study development addresses topics such as ridership trends, safety, 

physical activity and health, accessibility for people with disabilities, equity, trail 

infrastructure and environment, energy and emissions, and freight use cases. 

Trips Objective 3: Assess the benefits associated with vulnerable road user trips

This objective is directly aligned to the benefits of promoting biking and walking research area 

determined by the Administrator pursuant to Section 11122(b)(4) of BIL. A significant benefit 

to explore is the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by increasing use of low- or zeroemission transportation modes such as public transportation, bicycling and walking. The 

Administration is committed to a whole-of-government approach to reducing economy-wide net 

greenhouse gas pollution by 2030. The BIL provides considerable resources (e.g., through the 

Carbon Reduction Program (23 U.S.C. 175)) to help advance this goal in the transportation 

sector. The BIL also provides resources to improve the resilience of transportation infrastructure 

(e.g., through the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving 

Transportation (PROTECT) Formula Program (23 U.S.C. 176(c)), helping States and 

communities prepare for hazards such as wildfires, floods, storms, and droughts exacerbated by 

climate change. The FHWA’s goal is to encourage the advancement of projects that address 

climate change and sustainability in alignment with the President’s greenhouse gas reduction, 

climate resilience, and environmental justice commitments. 

Beyond climate and sustainability, there are other benefits associated with increased vulnerable 

road user trips, such as improved public health outcomes, economic development benefits, and 

better access to transit. Understanding and measuring these benefits of vulnerable road user trips 

can enable transportation planners and decision makers to better identify and prioritize 

transportation investments to improve community and environmental outcomes. This is 

particularly important given these are nontraditional benefits that may not be included in typical 

cost-benefit analyses. For example, developing high-quality data can help demonstrate how 

mode-shift from driving to walking or bicycling trips contributes to climate change mitigation. 

The Department has completed limited work in support of this objective, including the following 

example project, the Transportation and Health Tool. This tool, created in coordination with 

the CDC, provides data on a set of transportation and public health indicators for each U.S State 

and metropolitan area that describe how the transportation environment affects safety, active 

transportation, air quality, and connectivity to destinations. It also provides information and 

resources to help agencies better understand the link between transportation and health to 

identify strategies to improve public health through transportation planning and policy. 

Future research areas include studying the linkage between walking and bicycling and climate 

change, greenhouse gas emissions, resiliency, health, stormwater management, emergency 

evacuation, and economic development. The FHWA aims to continue research to improve 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 36 

transportation and health connections, and develop consistent, comparable, and compatible 

datasets across transportation and health related disciplines. The FHWA is actively pursuing or 

plans to pursue work in alignment with this objective, including: 

• Intelligent Transportation Systems Climate Solutions for Complete Streets: This is an 

exploratory effort to investigate the applicability of ITS and technologies such as digital 

infrastructure, connected vehicles, automation, and the electrification of the 

transportation system (e.g., electric vehicles and charging stations) to reduce emissions in 

a Complete Streets environment. Promising technology applications will be described, 

and their technology readiness will be assessed. Based on the results, future research 

activities could be pursued. 

• Trails as Resilient Infrastructure: This project explores the role of trails in climate 

resilience and emergency response under the Recreational Trails Program (23 U.S.C. 

206). The study is investigating how trails have supported health and wellbeing during 

the COVID-19 pandemic, can become critical infrastructure during an emergency when 

other transportation facilities are inaccessible, can support activities including evacuation 

and search and rescue, and are often vulnerable to impacts from climate change and 

extreme weather due to their locations. 

• Disaster Relief Mobilization Study: Pursuant to Section 11505 of BIL, this project will 

study the utility of incorporating the use of bicycles into the disaster preparedness and 

disaster response plans of local communities. The study will include, among other things 

required in Section 11505, a vulnerability assessment of the infrastructure in local 

communities that supports active transportation, including bicycling, walking, and 

personal mobility devices. 

• Economic Benefits of Connected Networks: This project will explore the economic 

benefits associated with the development and promotion of connected networks 

(including trails) such as workforce attraction and retention, cost savings from improved 

public health, and impacts on local businesses. 

Section 4. Conclusion 

Over the next five fiscal years, FHWA looks forward to furthering research supporting improved 

safety, access, and mobility for people walking, biking, or rolling. Given the extensive benefits 

of increasing vulnerable road user trips, DOT and FHWA will continue to leverage opportunities 

to simultaneously address safety, equity, and climate change and sustainability priorities through 

vulnerable road user research activities. While FHWA has a long history of advancing 

vulnerable road user research, there is much work to be done, as articulated through this plan’s 

ambitious safety, equity, networks, and trips goals. 

To implement this plan, FHWA will integrate the activities identified herein into FHWA’s 

broader standard research planning and prioritization process through the AMRP and internal 

and external roadmaps and plans that guide FHWA’s research activities. In implementing this 

plan, FHWA will leverage a long history of strong partnerships and collaborations with other 

DOT Operating Administrations; Tribes; local, State, and Federal agencies; academic 

institutions; and private industry organizations to coordinate efforts and benefit from the unique 

capabilities of each entity to advance shared goals. To evaluate progress toward achieving this 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 37 

plan’s goals and objectives, FHWA will develop biannual updates on the status of activities 

identified in and findings of research conducted pursuant to this plan. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 38 

Appendix A. Source Material Reviewed

The team reviewed the following source material in developing the Vulnerable Road User 

Research Plan: 

• FHWA Complete Streets Questionnaire Summary17 (July 2022) 

• NHTSA Safety in Numbers: A Literature Review (June 2022) 

• DOT Equity Action Plan (April 2022) 

• DOT Strategic Plan FY 2022-2026 (March 2022) 

• DOT Learning Agenda (March 2022) 

• Moving to a Complete Streets Design Model: A Report to Congress on Opportunities 

and Challenges (March 2022) 

• Summary Feedback from Vulnerable Road User Safety Assessment Listening Session18

(March 2022) 

• Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Stakeholder Engagement Documentation19 (March 

2022)

• DOT National Roadway Safety Strategy (January 2022) 

• IIJA RFI Responses (December 2021) 

• Summary of Public Comments Received on the DOT’s RFI on Transportation Equity 

Data (November 2021) 

• Measuring Multimodal Network Connectivity Pilot Grant Report (October 2021)

• AASHTO CAT Research Roadmap (July 2021) 

• U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Pedestrians and Cyclists: Better 

Information to States and Enhanced Performance Management Could Help DOT Improve 

Safety (May 2021) 

• FHWA Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program Plan (January 2021)20

• DOT Pedestrian Safety Action Plan (November 2020) 

• NTSB Safety Research Report Bicyclist Safety on U.S. Roadways: Crash Risks and 

Countermeasures (November 2019) 

• NTSB Special Investigation on Pedestrian Safety (September 2018) 

• DOT Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation (September 2016) 

17 As part of an internal performance management effort, FHWA identified and reviewed Statewide Bicycle and/or

Pedestrian Plans and reported effective practices in plan implementation and monitoring to advance safety and

accessibility across the highway network. 18 The FHWA engaged stakeholders from across the transportation industry to provide input on the development of 

the vulnerable road user assessment guidance required by BIL in 23 U.S.C. 148(l)(7). 19 The FHWA engaged stakeholders in developing the notice of funding opportunity for the SS4A discretionary 

grant program. 20 The FHWA developed the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program Plan as an internal planning and management 

document. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 39 

Appendix B. Relevant Prior Stakeholder Engagement

The matrix below identifies stakeholder engagement reflected in the listed source materials. 

Source Academia Practitioners 

- State

Practitioners 

- Regional 

Practitioners 

- Local 

DOT – 

FHWA

DOT –

Other 

OAs

Other 

Federal

Private 

sector

FHWA Complete Streets 

Questionnaire Summary • • 

NHTSA Safety in Numbers: 

A Literature Review • • 

DOT Equity Action Plan • • •

DOT Strategic Plan FY 

2022-2026 • • • • • • • 

DOT Learning Agenda •

Moving to a Complete 

Streets Design Model: A 

Report to Congress on 

Opportunities and 

Challenges

• • • • • • 

Summary Feedback from 

Vulnerable Road User

Safety Assessment Listening 

Session

• • • • • 

SS4A Stakeholder 

Engagement Documentation • • • 

DOT National Roadway 

Safety Strategy • • • 

IIJA RFI Responses • • • • •

Summary of Public 

Comments Received on the 

DOT’s RFI on 

Transportation Equity Data 

• • • • • • 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 40 

Source Academia Practitioners 

- State

Practitioners 

- Regional 

Practitioners 

- Local 

DOT – 

FHWA

DOT – 

Other 

OAs

Other 

Federal

Private 

sector

Measuring Multimodal 

Network Connectivity Pilot 

Grant Report

• • 

AASHTO CAT Research 

Roadmap • • • • • • • • 

U.S. GAO Pedestrians and 

Cyclists: Better Information 

to States and Enhanced 

Performance Management 

Could Help DOT Improve 

Safety

• • • • • • 

FHWA Pedestrian & Bicycle 

Safety Program Plan • • • • • • • • 

DOT Pedestrian Safety 

Action Plan • • • • • • • • 

NTSB Safety Research 

Report Bicyclist on US 

Roadways: Crash Risks and 

Countermeasures 

• • • 

NTSB Special Investigation 

Report on Pedestrian Safety • • • • • 

DOT Strategic Agenda for 

Pedestrian & Bicycle 

Transportation 

• • • • • • • • 

Enhancing the Safety of 

Vulnerable Road Users at 

Intersections RFI

• • • • • • • • 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 41 

Appendix C. Additional Background on Relevant DOT and FHWA Strategies, Plans, and 

Reports

This Vulnerable Road User Research Plan is consistent with other relevant plans and priorities as 

articulated by DOT and FHWA leadership. 

DOT Strategic Plan for FY 2022-2026 

This Vulnerable Road User Research Plan aligns with the Department’s Strategic Plan for FY 

2022-2026, which established six strategic goals in the areas of safety, economic strength and 

global competitiveness, equity, climate and sustainability, transformation, and organizational 

excellence. The Department’s strategic goals inform and are supported by the research activities 

prioritized in this Vulnerable Road User Research Plan. 

DOT NRSS

The NRSS (issued January 27, 2022) commits the DOT and FHWA to respond to the current 

crisis in traffic fatalities by “taking substantial, comprehensive action to significantly reduce 

serious and fatal injuries on the Nation’s roadways,” in pursuit of the goal of achieving zero 

highway deaths. The FHWA recognizes that zero is the only acceptable number of deaths on our 

roads and achieving that is our safety goal. The NRSS sets a vision and goal for the safety of the 

Nation’s roadways, adopts the Safe System Approach principles to guide DOT’s and FHWA’s 

safety actions, advances support for Complete Streets policies to improve road safety, and 

identifies actions the Department will take in pursuit of five core objectives corresponding to the 

Safe System Approach elements: Safer People, Safer Roads, Safer Vehicles, Safer Speeds, and 

Post-Crash Care. The Safe System Approach has six principles: 1) Death and serious injuries 

are unacceptable; 2) Humans make mistakes; 3) Humans are vulnerable; 4) Responsibility is 

shared; 5) Safety is proactive; and 6) Redundancy is crucial. 

DOT Learning Agenda 

The DOT Learning Agenda, released in accordance with the Foundations for Evidence-Based 

Policymaking Act of 2018 (Evidence Act) in March of 2022, identified four priority questions 

for evidence gathering related to pedestrian and cyclist safety:

• How can we gather and analyze additional information on pedestrian and cyclist risk to 

inform decision making on infrastructure and other safety interventions? 

(NHTSA/FHWA) 

• What road configurations are associated with the highest risk of pedestrian and cyclist 

crashes? (FHWA)

• What are the equity considerations in reducing pedestrian and cyclist crashes? (NHTSA)

• How can FHWA address disparities in pedestrian crashes through infrastructure 

solutions? (FHWA) 

The Vulnerable Road User Research Plan covers a broader range of topics than the four Learning 

Agenda questions, and will inform future updates to the Learning Agenda. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 42 

FHWA Moving to a Complete Streets Design Model: A Report to Congress on Opportunities 

and Challenges 

The report identified five overarching areas of opportunity for FHWA as it moves ahead in its 

Complete Streets efforts: 

• Improve data collection and analysis to advance safety for all users. 

• Support rigorous safety assessment during project development and design to help 

prioritize safety outcomes across all project types. 

• Accelerate adoption of standards and guidance that promote safety and accessibility for 

all users and support innovation in design. 

• Reinforce the primacy of safety for all users in the interpretation of design standards, 

guidelines, and project review processes. 

• Make Complete Streets FHWA’s default approach for funding and designing nonaccesscontrolled roadways. 

DOT Research, Development, and Technology (RD&T) Strategic Plan

This plan presents the Department’s transportation research priorities and strategies for FY 2022-

2026 and beyond. The purpose of the plan is to outline a national transportation research vision 

to guide America’s research priorities and improve coordination of transportation research. It 

defines the role of the Department’s RD&T programs to lead the transformation of our Nation’s 

transportation system in partnership with stakeholders. The plan identifies vulnerable road user 

safety as a critical research topic. 

FHWA Annual Modal Research Plan (AMRP)

FHWA’s AMRP is a two-year plan and outlook of FHWA’s RD&T efforts. The FHWA FY 

2023 – 2024 AMRP identifies several vulnerable road user-relevant research activities and 

topics, including enhancing vulnerable road user safety; improving roadway designs that meet 

the needs of vulnerable road users; integrating vulnerable road user analysis into transportation 

planning and project development; and reducing congestion, improving operations, and 

enhancing freight productivity to support safety of all users, the efficient movement of people 

and goods, and equitable mobility. 

FHWA Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation 

The Strategic Agenda for Pedestrian and Bicycle Transportation (“2016 Strategic Agenda”)21 is a 

framework to guide FHWA’s pedestrian and bicycle initiatives and investments over a 5-year 

time horizon. The agenda is an update to DOT’s 1994 National Bicycling and Walking Study. 

The 2016 Strategic Agenda established a strategic, collaborative approach for making walking 

and bicycling viable transportation options for people of all ages and abilities in communities 

throughout the U.S. The agenda articulated goals and supporting actions to promote safe, 

accessible, comfortable, and connected bicycle and pedestrian networks; ensure the safety of 

nonmotorized travelers; advance equitable access for everyone to jobs, schools, and essential 

services; and expand transportation options and choices for all. The 2016 Strategic Agenda is a 

21 The 2016 Strategic Agenda is available publicly. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 43 

research and deployment plan identifying 98 actions organized under four goal areas: networks, 

safety, equity, and trips. 

The 2016 Strategic Agenda is oriented around two quantitative goals informing FHWA’s 

pedestrian and bicycle activities: 

• Achieve an 80 percent reduction in pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries 

in 15 years and achieve zero pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries in the 

next 20 to 30 years. 

• Increase the percentage of short trips22 represented by bicycling and walking to 30 

percent by the year 2025. This would be a 50 percent increase over the 2009 value of 20 

percent. 

The agenda identified 98 actions organized under four goal areas: 

• Networks: Achieve safe, accessible, comfortable, and connected multimodal networks in 

communities throughout the U.S. 

• Safety: Improve safety for people walking and bicycling. 

• Equity: Promote equity throughout the transportation planning, design, funding, 

implementation, and evaluation process. 

• Trips: Get more people walking and bicycling. 

Actions were also characterized by one of four process-oriented types: 

• Capacity Building: Providing guidance and educational resources that increase the 

ability of transportation professionals and advocates to plan, design, fund, build, 

maintain, and operate bicycle and pedestrian networks. 

• Policy: Clearly defining principles, requirements, and desired outcomes for Federal 

agencies, States, MPOs, localities, transit agencies, and other entities on the use of 

Federal resources toward advancing bicycle and pedestrian transportation. 

• Data: Working with partner agencies to define, collect, assemble, store, maintain, 

interpret, and use information about bicycle and pedestrian safety and system usage. 

• Research: Working with partner agencies to identify and investigate issues that affect 

bicycle and pedestrian safety and system usage. 

A 2021 review of the status of actions identified in the 2016 Strategic Agenda identified that the 

majority of actions (53) identified in the agenda are in progress, about a third (32) are complete 

or complete with continuing activities in progress, and 13 actions are not yet started. Example 

actions from the 2016 Strategic Agenda and 2021 Program Plan highlighting work completed to 

date, work that is currently underway, and work that is planned for the future are identified in the 

Research Priorities section of this report. 

22 Short trips are defined as trips 5 miles or less for bicyclists and 1 mile or less for pedestrians. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 44 

FHWA Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program Plan 

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program Plan (“2021 Program Plan”)23 incorporates the Safe 

System Approach, systemic safety, and equity as overarching themes and has been developed 

around five primary principles: 

• Directly address fatalities and serious injuries through data-driven prioritization; 

• Build on the state of research, considering the state of the practice; 

• Focus on outreach and implementation; 

• Focus on the user; and 

• Integrate the Safe System Approach. 

The plan organizes proposed activities that FHWA could undertake to improve active 

transportation safety into five categories: 

• Research: Includes basic problem identification, developing methodologies, evaluating 

technologies. 

• Guidance Development: Includes building on research results by developing how-to 

guides, noteworthy documents, informational guides, or prototype tools for methods, and 

conducting additional targeted research to complement results. 

• Awareness and Outreach: Includes informing practitioners about available guidance, 

noteworthy practices, and new resources through outreach activities. 

• Implementation Assistance: Includes helping agencies put guidance and products into 

practice through training, case study or pilot implementation assistance, hands-on use of 

new methods, advanced development of software tools, and standards development. 

• Mainstreaming: Includes supporting the widespread use of actions proven to be 

effective in improving pedestrian and bicyclist safety through activities geared towards 

integrating safety into agency core practices and standard procedures. 

AASHTO Research Roadmap 

Topics of particular interest for this Vulnerable Road User Research Plan include accessibility 

for pedestrians and cyclists with disabilities; connected and autonomous vehicles; bicycle and 

pedestrian data; economic benefits of walking and bicycling; equity and bicycling, pedestrian 

travel, and personal safety; micromobility; modeling; and speed management. 

23 The 2021 Program Plan is an internal planning and management document. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 45 

Appendix D. Additional Background on Relevant External Research

This appendix compiles recent vulnerable road user research conducted by University Transportation Centers (UTCs) and through the 

National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP), as identified in the AASHTO CAT Research Roadmap. 

Table D-1. Relevant Current UTC Research 

Project Title Proponent Brief Description

Exploring Data Fusion Techniques to 

Derive Bicycle Volumes on a Network

National Institute for 

Transportation and 

Communities (UTC)

Research project aimed at fusing traditional and emerging 

data sources together to derive bicycle volumes for an 

entire transportation network. 

Transportation Equity Needs 

Assessment Toolkit

Center for Transportation, 

Equity, Decisions & 

Dollars (UTC)

A resource for MPOs, transportation agencies, and 

communities as they work to advance equity in 

traditionally underserved communities. Provides a 

framework for a transportation equity needs assessment 

and an equity-based project identification and 

prioritization process. 

Safe Intersection Crossing for 

Pedestrians with Disabilities

Mobility21 (UTC) Addresses remaining obstacles to the general deployment 

of PedPal, a smartphone app that assists pedestrians with 

disabilities in safely crossing signalized intersections. 

Quantification of Societal Bicycle 

Impacts (Phase III)

Center for Advanced 

Multimodal Mobility 

Solutions and Education 

(UTC)

Research to identify positive bicycle facility impacts by 

estimating bicycle facility usage. Usage predictions can 

form the basis for broad spectrum estimates of bicycle 

facility impacts upon health, food availability, 

employment access and ultimately regional sustainability. 

Shared Bus/Bike Lane Safety Analysis: 

Assessing Multimodal Access and 

Conflicts

Urban Mobility and 

Equity Center (UTC)

Using video observation and survey data, this study 

analyzed cyclist safety on shared bus bike lanes as a 

function of geometric configuration, bus frequency, and 

level of service. 

Estimation of Pedestrian Compliance at

Signalized Intersections Considering 

Demographic and Geographic Factors

Center for Advanced 

Multimodal Mobility 

Solutions and Education 

(UTC)

Study developed estimation models to predict pedestrian 

compliance at traffic signals as a function of traffic, 

demographic, geospatial and road design factors. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 46 

Project Title Proponent Brief Description

Investigating Bicyclist Safety 

Perceptions and Behaviors at 

Roundabouts

Mountain-Plains 

Consortium (UTC)

Characterized and evaluated how bicyclists perceive the 

safety of roundabouts overall and of specific design and 

operational characteristics of roundabouts. Research 

aimed to inform intersection design practices to improve 

bicycling safety outcomes. 

Pedestrian Behavior and Interaction 

with Autonomous Vehicles

Center for Advanced 

Multimodal Mobility 

Solutions and Education 

(UTC)

Proposed the use of virtual reality as a means to overcome 

the safety challenges inherent in studying pedestrianvehicle interactions and focused on identifying any 

differences in pedestrian behavior when connected and 

autonomous vehicles are introduced to the traffic stream. 

Managing Increased Demand for Curb 

Space in the City of the Future

PacTrans (UTC) Research to increase the understanding of existing curb 

usage and provide new solutions to the individuals and 

agencies responsible for managing this scarce resource. 

Consumer Attitudes and Behavioral 

Implications in the New Era of Shared 

Mobility

Center for Teaching Old 

Models New Tricks

(UTC)

Examined attitudes, perceptions, and preferences of user’s 

mobility choices toward dockless bike share and the 

associated impacts on other modes of transportation as 

well as the local economy. 

Dock-based and Dockless Bikesharing 

Systems: Analysis of Equitable Access 

for Disadvantaged Communities 

National Center for 

Sustainable 

Transportation (UTC)

Evaluated the potential benefits of dockless bike sharing 

systems to improve accessibility to disadvantaged 

communities, and to compare them with dock‐based 

systems. 

Examining Market Segmentation to 

Increase Bike-share Use: The Case of 

the Greater Sacramento Region

National Center for 

Sustainable 

Transportation (UTC) 

Aimed to deepen understanding of how bike sharing 

systems could expand opportunities of the most 

underserved in transportation. Study used data from 

household and bike-share user surveys in the Sacramento 

region to perform behavioral modeling and market 

segmentation. 

Mobility for the People: Evaluating 

Equity Requirements in Shared 

Mobility Programs 

National Institute for 

Transportation and 

Communities (UTC)

Documented equity requirements from 239 shared 

micromobility programs across the U.S. and compiled 

into an online dashboard, which city officials can use to 

find what other similar-sized cities are doing. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 47 

Project Title Proponent Brief Description

Evaluation of Transportation Network 

Infrastructure, Safety, and Travel 

Route Characteristics of Bike Share, 

Electric-Powered Pedal-Assist Bike 

Share, and Electric Scooter System 

Operation

Southeastern 

Transportation Research, 

Innovation, Development 

and Education Center 

(UTC)

Study to establish a better understanding of mobility as a 

service (MaaS) option to accommodate shared mobility 

demand. 

E-bike sharing and the infrastructure 

implications and environmental impacts 

of new technology in transportation 

systems

Center for Transportation, 

Equity, Decisions & 

Dollars (UTC)

Framework towards quantitatively assessing the impact of 

adopting e-bikes from an environmental and operational 

perspective. 

Driver Behavior in the Presence of EScooters within Varying InfrastructureSAFER-SIM (UTC) Investigated how transportation infrastructure and escooter riding behavior affect driver behavior. In 

addition, assessed whether driver attitudes can be 

associated with certain driving behaviors. 

E-Scooters and Public Health: 

Understanding the Implications of EScooters on Chronic Disease

National Institute for 

Transportation and 

Communities (UTC)

Used the Integrated Transport and Health Impact Model 

(ITHIM) to perform the first known analysis of EScooters on a range of morbidity outcomes. Also 

investigated the sensitivity of assumptions such as length 

of walk to reach scooters, parked cars, and other modes. 

Impacts of Speed on Dockless Electric 

Scooter Crashes

Center for Advanced 

Multimodal Mobility 

Solutions and Education 

(UTC)

Based upon safety concerns for riders and pedestrians, the 

University of Texas implemented an agreement with escooter vendors to electronically reduce maximum escooter speeds to 8 mph on most of the campus. The 

study investigates whether the mandatory speed reduction 

has had any impact on the number of e-scooter involved 

crashes and their severity. 

Micromobility Safety Regulation: 

Municipal Best Practices Review

SAFE-D (UTC) Explored what types of regulations municipalities and 

regions are imposing in an effort to address the safe 

deployment of e-scooters. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 48 

Project Title Proponent Brief Description

Understanding micromobility safety 

behavior and standardizing safety 

metrics for transportation system 

integration 

Collaborative Sciences 

Center for Road Safety

(UTC)

Explored micromobility safety data and methods to 

improve injury surveillance. 

Barriers and Opportunities for Using 

Rail-Trails for Safe Travel in Rural, 

Isolated, and Tribal Communities

Center for Safety Equity 

in Transportation (UTC)

Explored barriers and opportunities for more effectively 

using rail-trails for safe travel in rural, isolated, tribal, and 

indigenous communities. Used crowdsourced data from a 

fitness app to estimate bicycle volumes on trails. 

Assessing the Relative Risks of School 

Travel in Rural Communities

Center for Safety Equity 

in Transportation (UTC) 

Assesses the rural community roadway environment 

which introduces several safety challenges for schoolaged children, parents, the local community, and 

commuters, particularly during morning arrival and 

afternoon dismissal periods when pedestrian and vehicular 

traffic and pedestrian-vehicle interaction are at its highest. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 49 

Table D-2. Relevant Current NCHRP Research 

Project Title Proponent Brief Description

Measuring Investments and Benefits of Active 

Transportation Investments When 

Accomplished as Part of Other Roadway 

Projects (20-05)

Transportation 

Research Board

Synthesis program that documents the current state of 

knowledge and practice on specific topics. 

Implementation Support Program (20-44) Various Provides funding to facilitate the use of NCHRP research 

by state DOTs and other transportation agencies. 

Legal Studies Program (20-06) Transportation 

Research Board

Conducts research on legal issues with highway and 

transportation projects. 

Guidebook on Pedestrian and Bicycle Volume 

Data Collection (Report 797) 

Transportation 

Research Board

Focused on the broad range of pedestrian and bicycle 

counters and noted that active transportation count data can 

be used to monitor facility usage, inform before-and-after 

assessments to determine facility impacts, monitor travel 

patterns, inform safety analyses to quantify exposure for 

interpreting crash data, project prioritization, and 

multimodal model development. 

State DOT Usage of Bicycle and Pedestrian 

Data: Practices, Sources, Needs, and Gaps

(07-31)

Anticipated 

project

Provides important information on data availability, 

storage, maintenance, and gaps, and what data agencies 

need. 

Data Visualization Methods for 

Transportation Agencies (Web-Only 

Document 226) 

Transportation 

Research Board

Offers another model for a data application tool. Although 

not specific to active transportation, and focused on the end 

product of data presentation, the report demonstrates the 

importance of specialized data skills and effective data 

presentation. 

Safety Performance for Active Transportation 

Modes using Exposure Models (17-102) 

Not yet awarded Advance the predictive safety performance methodologies 

for pedestrians, bicyclists, and those using mobilityassistive devices through exposure estimates and prediction 

models that can be used by state and local DOTs to help 

evaluate the likely safety performance at a given location. 

Develop information and resources that can be used to 

inform multimodal decision-making in different design and 

land use contexts, and different modal priorities. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 50 

Project Title Proponent Brief Description

Guidebook for Urban and Suburban Roadway 

Cross-Sectional Reallocation (15-78) 

Kittelson & 

Associates

Develop a guidebook and decision-making framework for 

roadway designers, planners, and others for identifying, 

comparing, evaluating, and justifying context-based crosssectional reallocations of existing urban and suburban 

roadway space for multimodal safety, access, and mobility. 

Midblock Pedestrian Signal Warning and 

Operation (03-141) 

Texas A&M 

Transportation 

Institute

Research focused on when signals are suitable for midblock 

crossings. 

Strategies to Improve Pedestrian Safety at 

Night (17-97) 

Toole Design 

Group 

Research on lighting for shared-use path intersections. 

Traffic Signal Design and Operations 

Strategies for Non-Motorized Users (03-133) 

Kittelson & 

Associates

Developed a guide for traffic signal design and operations 

strategies that addressed the needs of non-motorized users 

and increased their respective multimodal connectivity. 

Design Options to Reduce Turning Motor 

Vehicle - Bicycle Conflicts at Controlled 

Intersections (15-73) 

Toole Design 

Group 

Develop information and tools for transportation 

practitioners to use to reduce turning conflicts between 

motor vehicles and bicycles at controlled intersections. 

Safety Evaluation of On-Street Bicycle Facility 

Design Features (15-74) 

Texas A&M 

Transportation 

Institute

Provide practitioners at state DOTs and other transportation 

agencies with data-driven guidelines for selecting contextappropriate design features for safety improvements to 

existing separated and non-separated on-street bicycle 

facilities and for the planning of new facilities. 

Warrants for a Pedestrian Traffic Control 

Signal and for Other Pedestrian Traffic 

Control Devices (03-143) 

Anticipated 

project

Crossing treatment selection at transit crossings. 

Impacts of Active Transportation Network 

Gaps (08-149) 

Alta Planning + 

Design

Focuses on understanding the causes of gaps in networks, 

how to complete gaps, and the impacts of completion using 

a variety of performance measures. 

Development of a Manual for Assessing Safety 

Hardward (MASH) Barrier to Shield 

Pedestrians, Bicyclists, and Other Vulnerable 

Users from Motor Vehicle (22-37) 

Texas A&M

Transportation 

Institute

Research on barrier selection in select circumstances, 

including on highway and major arterial locations. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 51 

Project Title Proponent Brief Description

Motorist behavior and safety impacts on 

bicyclists from centerline and shoulder rumble 

strips on high-speed two-lane highways (17-

106) 

Not yet awarded Develop a guide on various rumble strip applications, with 

a focus on their impact on bicyclists’ safety. 

Valuation of Transportation Equity in Active 

Transportation and Safety Investments (08-

150) 

Anticipated 

project

Develop data-driven tools and guidelines for use by 

practitioners in safety decision making and in supporting 

Safe System principles. 

Strategies for advancing equity in 

transportation planning by increasing 

diversity, equity, and inclusiveness in the 

transportation planning profession (08-152) 

Not yet awarded Identify meaningful and effective strategies for state DOTs 

and other transportation agencies to increase and sustain 

diversity, equity, and inclusion of their transportation 

planning staff. Strategies will be specific, focused, and 

designed to foster an inclusive work culture for agencies 

where DEI in transportation planning is a priority. 

Identify emerging approaches for public 

engagement to meaningfully involve 

minorities, low-income, and other vulnerable 

populations (08-161) 

Not yet awarded Develop a manual with practical strategies, processes, 

methods, and procedures for understanding and establishing 

meaningful public engagement in transportation decisionmaking with an emphasis on the engagement of vulnerable 

communities. 

Identify practices and policies to advance 

social justice and equity into transportation 

decision-making (08-162) 

Thrivance Group, 

LLC

Identify effective policies, strategies, or actions for DOTs 

and MPOs that evolve from well-intentioned policy 

gestures toward intentional approaches and actionable 

mechanisms, with metrics of accountability, to strategically 

reduce harms and adverse impacts, and continuously 

increase equity in future transportation investments, both 

operational and capital, and for new mobility and 

innovative technologies. 

Practices to Promote Equity in Transportation 

Funding (Synthesis 53-01) 

University of 

Texas at 

Arlington 

Document state DOT practices to promote equity in 

programmatic and discretionary funding plans, policies, and 

processes for both capital and operational projects, 

potentially through distribution methodologies, formulas, 

tools, or evaluation criteria. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 52 

Project Title Proponent Brief Description

Understand how access to employment, health 

care, education, and other vital needs varies 

for different population groups in different 

settings, and methods for effectively assessing 

mobility and accessibility needs (NCHRP 08-

159) 

Not yet awarded Develop a guide that provides specific direction on how to 

advance equity in accessibility through transportation. 

Include appropriate analytical and instructional resources 

for agencies to use to identify gaps in equity of access and 

determine appropriate transportation solutions to bridge 

those gaps within their own service jurisdictions. 

Crossing Solutions at Roundabouts and 

Channelized Turn Lanes (Report 834)

Transportation 

Research Board

Presents guidance on the application of crossing solutions at 

roundabouts and channelized turn lanes at signalized 

intersections for pedestrians with vision disabilities. 

Guide for Roundabouts (03-130) Kittelson & 

Associates

Develop a guide that will serve as the primary source for 

guidance on all aspects of roundabouts. 

Incorporating New Mobility Options into 

Transportation Demand Modeling (20-

102(29)) 

University of 

Central Florida

Push non-standard transportation demand modeling 

forward, including methods that could be useful for 

pedestrian and bicycling modeling, but will likely leave 

significant needs for modeling walking and bicycling. 

Understand the role of transportation 

infrastructure investment in gentrification and 

displacement and identify effective policies 

and strategies to address these effects (08-160) 

Not yet awarded Develop a guide and supportive resources that provide 

practical instruction on how to predict, avoid, and mitigate 

the negative gentrification effects of transportation 

investment. 

Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Performance 

Functions for the Highway Safety Manual (17-

84) 

MRI Global Developed pedestrian and bicycle SPFs using risk-based or 

predictive methods, for transportation practitioners at all 

levels to better inform planning, design, and operations 

decisions. The research team addressed a broad range of 

issues related to evaluating pedestrian and bicycle safety 

such as, but not limited to, analyzing the barriers to 

collecting pedestrian and bicycle safety performance data 

and developing performance-based decisions in the United 

States. 
VULNERABLE ROAD USER RESEARCH PLAN 53 

Project Title Proponent Brief Description

Estimating Effectiveness of Safety Treatments 

in the Absence of Crash Data (17-86) 

Vanasse Hangen 

Brustlin

Develop a procedural guide for using alternative measures 

of safety in the absence of crash data for developing crash 

modification factors and functions and other quantifiable 

measures in the absence of crash data. The procedural 

guide will support informed decision-making during project 

planning, project development, and other road safety 

management activities. 

How to Measure and Communicate the Value 

of Access Management (25-47) 

University of 

South Florida 

Developed guidance for transportation agencies on 

identifying and communicating the value of access 

management at the program, corridor, and project levels. 

The guidance involves techniques to identify, measure, and 

assess the benefits and costs of access management using 

both quantitative and qualitative metrics. 

Safety of Vulnerable Road Users in a C/AV 

Future (20-102(33)) 

Anticipated 

project

Explore how vulnerable road users could be protected by 

C/AV and infrastructure technologies in the absence of 

user-carried smartphone or wearables (e.g., audio, external 

vehicle displays). 

Dynamic Curbside Management in the Era of 

CAVs, SAVs, Scooters, Transportation 

Network Companies (TNCs), and Traditional 

Vehicles (NCHRP 20-102(26)) 

Fehr & Peers Develop a guidebook for state, regional, and local 

transportation agencies on developing and implementing a 

dynamic curbside management program. 

Micromobility Policies, Permits, and Practices 

(Synthesis 20-05/Topic 52-13) 

University of 

South Florida 

(CUTR)

Documents policies, permits, and practices that state DOTs 

are engaged with in regard to micromobility.