Delivering Safer Streets in Weeks or Months, Not Years
Tags: Bike Lanes, Demonstration Projects, Cycling, Pedestrian Safety, Active Transportation

How to Meet Public Demand for Safe Bikeway Networks — Affordably, Quickly, and Inclusively.

This post was adapted from Alta and CalBike’s Quick-Build Guide

Cycling and walking numbers are up in many communities, as people seek out healthy and safe transportation and recreation. Community members are discovering they can be healthier and happier simply by getting outside on two feet or two wheels.

Meanwhile, many agency budgets are down. Plans to spend millions on infrastructure may no longer be realistic. More than ever, the public demands that transportation projects are equitable and responsive to the needs of communities impacted by historical disinvestment. Quick-build is a method of building bike and pedestrian safety improvements — protected bike lanes, pedestrian crossings, slow streets, parklets, and more — now, within your budget. In challenging times, quick-build projects are crucial to building trust in the government’s ability to deliver public benefit. And quick-build infrastructure can engage the public better than ever, and be more inclusive and equitable than traditional infrastructure.

Alta partnered with the California Bicycle Coalition to deliver this Quick-Build Guide so your community can meet public demand for safe active transportation networks affordably, quickly, and inclusively. Here’s a quick overview to help you get started.

The Basics of Quick-Build

Quick-build gets bicycling and walking infrastructure built quickly and affordably by condensing the timeline, cutting on planning and engineering costs, and using inexpensive materials to create safe bicycle infrastructure networks. Most of these projects can be constructed in just a few days or weeks, and they can go from conception to reality within months. This allows the community to benefit immediately, and builds enthusiasm and support for walking and bicycling, and for permanent infrastructure.

Quick-build projects use materials that can be installed quickly and at low cost, using posts, planters, and stripes of paint, versus new pavement or curb alignments. The full Quick-Build Guide provides thorough, detailed descriptions of materials that can make for an effective and inexpensive project to meet your community’s needs.

and at low cost, using posts, planters, and stripes of paint, versus new pavement or curb alignments. The full Quick-Build Guide provides thorough, detailed descriptions of materials that can make for an effective and inexpensive project to meet your community’s needs. Quick-build projects are installed on a trial basis. Temporary installations allow for adjusting or removing elements in response to public feedback. Successful projects may become permanent exactly as installed or upgraded with more durable materials.

Temporary installations allow for adjusting or removing elements in response to public feedback. Successful projects may become permanent exactly as installed or upgraded with more durable materials. Quick-build should incorporate rigorous community engagement. A project on the ground can serve much more effectively than a PowerPoint or rendering for trying something out and allowing community residents to respond. It’s an opportunity to gather feedback and input, and change designs accordingly.

How To Assemble Your Quick-Build Project Team

Team leader. Quick-build projects need a leader (usually agency staff) tasked with managing project facilitation, keeping the momentum going, establishing lines of communication, and accepting and evaluating feedback.

Quick-build projects need a leader (usually agency staff) tasked with managing project facilitation, keeping the momentum going, establishing lines of communication, and accepting and evaluating feedback. Community leaders. Because evaluation and adjustment are essential for successful quick-builds, make sure community leaders are on board from the beginning. Look to businesses, residential associations, places of worship, and nearby schools. Bring in bike/ped advocacy organizations and other community-based organizations, including those based in disadvantaged communities and led by people of color.

Because evaluation and adjustment are essential for successful quick-builds, make sure community leaders are on board from the beginning. Look to businesses, residential associations, places of worship, and nearby schools. Bring in bike/ped advocacy organizations and other community-based organizations, including those based in disadvantaged communities and led by people of color. Department liaisons. Your project may impact transit, street sweeping, parking enforcement, maintenance, waste management and recycling, and emergency response. Involve other agencies as necessary to ensure you don’t forget a critical aspect.

Your project may impact transit, street sweeping, parking enforcement, maintenance, waste management and recycling, and emergency response. Involve other agencies as necessary to ensure you don’t forget a critical aspect. Elected officials. They have the power to marshal funding for quick-build projects. They will hear from constituents, so communication channels between the project team and electeds must be open for effective project evaluation.

They have the power to marshal funding for quick-build projects. They will hear from constituents, so communication channels between the project team and electeds must be open for effective project evaluation. Communications. Ideally, include a dedicated communications person on your team. Because this is a new method, and people are used to years of discussion, publicize quick-build’s temporary nature. Talk about the project’s intended benefits, and listen to feedback about the actual impacts.

Community Engagement

Community engagement is essential and also very effective because it’s easy to engage people in providing feedback on real-world solutions that they can see and use. Here are the keys:

Start engaging with the community before you install the project so that residents’ opinions are included from the get-go.

before you install the project so that residents’ opinions are included from the get-go. Be inclusive in your outreach , including perspectives from disadvantaged communities and people of color.

, including perspectives from disadvantaged communities and people of color. Emphasize the project’s temporary nature , and the ability to change the project after it’s installed.

, and the ability to change the project after it’s installed. Implement effective feedback mechanisms during the project, making sure to plan and budget for project adjustments in response to input.

Which Projects are Best for Quick-Build?

Some projects are better than others for the quick-build method:

Look to existing plans. Your community’s current active transportation plan already identifies key improvements and priorities. Most such plans will take decades to complete with traditional methods and funding. Quick-build can take those plans to reality much sooner.

Your community’s current active transportation plan already identifies key improvements and priorities. Most such plans will take decades to complete with traditional methods and funding. Quick-build can take those plans to reality much sooner. Fill gaps in the bikeway and pedestrian network, especially now when more people are walking and bicycling. Look to improve challenging intersections and crossings, sections of crosstown routes that use busy streets, or long sections of streets that could become “slow streets” to connect neighborhoods.

Look to improve challenging intersections and crossings, sections of crosstown routes that use busy streets, or long sections of streets that could become “slow streets” to connect neighborhoods. Put disadvantaged communities first. If your plan doesn’t already incorporate an equity analysis to set priorities, this is your chance. Look at a model plan like Oakland’s “Let’s Bike Oakland” bicycle plan, which incorporates a framework of equity and a focus on improving well-being for the city’s most vulnerable groups.

The Quick Build Guide has all the resources you need to quickly and inexpensively create safe places for walking and biking. It will walk you through how to implement quick-build networks, addressing everything you need to know, including how to assemble the right team, engage the community, generate funding, find key network gaps where projects can have the most impact, navigate political considerations, access engineering tips, and learn best practices for maintenance. We hope you’ll read it and share it widely so that everyone will have the tools they need to move us toward a healthier, safer, and more sustainable future.

Get in touch if you’d like to learn more!