Non-motorised transport facility guidelines : what is new and why?

Abstract

During 2013, the Department of Transport realised that one of the issues contributing to the lack of appropriate Non-Motorised Transport (NMT) infrastructure, is the fact that the 2003 Pedestrian and Bicycle Facility Guidelines were outdated. Although the Pedestrian and Cycling Facility Guidelines (DOT, 2003) included some very good information, there were gaps that needed to be addressed. One of these gaps was the lack of design examples. Furthermore, the DOT realised that Universal Access principles need to be adopted, and that implementation will only follow if guidelines are all inclusive. The new guidelines provide guidance on the accommodation of NMT under all conditions. This includes NMT only routes (which follow the NMT desire lines), completely separated NMT (for example along freeways), adjacent NMT facility on arterials and collectors and party mixed motorised and NMT traffic (specifically for cyclists and the likes) at local streets. Other aspects included in the guidelines are the integration with public transport (PT) and the need for facilities (for example bicycle parking) at the trip ends. Furthermore, surface design, maintenance and operations of NMT facilities are now included in the NMT Facility Guidelines (DoT, 2014). This paper provides a summary of the content of the new NMT Facility Guidelines (DOT, 2014) and the reasoning behind choices that were made regarding the various design aspects.