2004 Illinois State Legislator Survey

The following was sent to all Illinois state legislators (House and Senate). Background information on these issues is below.

Survey Questions

1. Please circle different ways you have used a bicycle during your lifetime:
   Get to school     Get to work      Errands      Visiting friends     Recreation/Exercise
   
   Do you bicycle now?
   
   
2. Do you believe it is important to provide transportation choices, such as bicycling and walking, to meet the needs of the community?
3. Often, key destinations in town are only accessible using IDOT roads, and other local travel requires the use (or crossing) of these streets. Reconstruction or widening projects can either improve transportation choices, or worsen a barrier for biking and walking in the community. Where bicyclists and pedestrians are likely (especially in suburban/urban areas, and in rural towns), should IDOT road projects improve their safety?



4. Would you support "Complete Streets" legislation improving IDOT policies in these areas:
   • Proactively designing in appropriate bike/pedestrian accommodations, where needed
   • Applying the same local cost-share rates on bike/pedestrian elements as for the overall project
   • Evaluating existing bike/ped policies with national trends and federal (FHWA) guidance
   • Requiring training of staff and consultants on bicycle and pedestrian issues
   
   
5. Bicycling can be a lifelong activity that combats expensive obesity and health problems, air pollution, and local traffic congestion, yet education of cyclists and motorists is severely lacking. Would you support initiatives that teach safe bicycling practices to school children and instruct new drivers on how to share the road with cyclists?



6. Illinois is the only state where local government is immune from liability for bicyclist injury due to road condition, unless they provide bike lanes or designate bike routes. This court-induced liability disincentive has dissuaded dozens of towns from improving on-road safety for cyclists. Do you support continued attempts to find a fair legislative solution to this problem?



7. IDNR has facilitated local Greenways & Trails efforts to improve Illinois' quality-of-life and attractiveness to new businesses, through cost-efficient grants and technical assistance. Yet, these funds have been disproportionately cut in the state budget crisis. Do you support IDNR's trails efforts?

Survey Issues - Further Details

Providing transportation choices

Too often, roads are built or expanded with only cars in mind. There is significant demand for other options, such as bicycling and walking. Almost half of the respondents to a 2003 Gallup poll said they are very or somewhat dissatisfied with how their communities are designed for bicycling. Safely walking along or across streets is an even broader issue, as almost everyone is a pedestrian.

Bicycle improvements are popular with residents, but not only for recreation. 43% of bike trips are to get to destinations - either by choice or by necessity. Transit alone does not solve the transportation needs of individuals who must rely on biking or walking because of economic, age, or other reasons. We have an obligation to improve safety for this growing segment of the population.

There are economic benefits. The presence of bikes and pedestrians is often seen as an indicator of a community's livability and quality-of-life - a key factor for businesses in location decisions. [more]

"Complete Streets" and IDOT policies

For years, LIB has reviewed IDOT designs from a bicycle (and pedestrian) perspective, and then watched the results. It has been our observation that - especially for urban areas - the accommodation of both bicyclists and pedestrians on newly improved roadways has often been inadequate, with some exceptions. In general, Illinois lags behind other states on these issues, particularly in regard to sidewalks, and we do not meet federal FHWA's recommendations or the intent of the TEA-21 federal transportation legislation.

We have looked for systematic reasons for this, especially at the policy level. Based on this examination, specific requests have already been made in previous letters/meetings, with minimal results. The following provide details:

• Request on sidewalk cost-share, other policies - January 2003
• Meeting with IDOT's Tim Martin, Lt. Gov Quinn - February 2003
• LIB input for IDOT's Context Sensitive Solutions policy - November 2003

We know that money is always an issue, and that both IDOT and the state are facing very tough times. However, it is our contention that if money is not available to do a road project "right" - to improve (not worsen) the safety of all users and to prevent the isolation of segments of the population - then it shouldn't be done at all. And - these features are much cheaper as a small fraction of the original project than as safety retrofits later.

Bicyclist and motorist education

A dual approach of bike facilities and education improves both the perception and reality of bicycle safety. Teaching kids to bike safely (much more than just wearing helmets) is an important task that should receive higher priority in schools. The benefits include more people able to confidently and safely enjoy this lifelong, moderate exercise while better following the rules of the road.

Likewise, motorists need to be educated on sharing the road with bicyclists and pedestrians. Illinois' driver's education programs should do more to teach techniques to avoid common accidents, and the bicycling community can help. Combined efforts (with the Illinois Secretary of State) to get state-administered federal grant money for this have failed so far.

Liability disincentive for on-road bike safety improvements

The 1998 Illinois Supreme Court's Boub v. Wayne ruling gave local governments immunity for bicyclist injury due to road condition, unless there are indications that bikes are intended to be there. Since then, many local agencies have been afraid to provide on-road bike lanes for cyclists, put up "Share the Road" or "Bike Route" signs, or sometimes to even mark routes on a map! Local bike planning efforts, as well as economic generators such as the Grand Illinois Trail and the Mississippi River Trail, are suffering. We believe the policy issues of increasing citizen safety outweigh the incremental liability exposure. Illinois is unique in having this disincentive, truly a "black eye" for the state.

Years of negotiation and legislative attempts to correct the situation have failed so far, as it has been extremely difficult to find an acceptable solution for all involved. We would like local governments to accept what we believe is a very small amount of increased liability exposure on "regular" roads, while we accept lower liability protection on designated routes. We definitely do not want to burden local agencies with the high costs of maintaining roads to a higher standard for bikes, and this is clearly stated in the latest language. We must and will continue to seek an answer to this problem - we are the only state so blatantly discouraging safer on-road bikeways!

IDNR's Greenways and Trails efforts

The IDNR stimulates local and statewide trail development, in effective and cost-efficient ways:

• Local bikeway grant program. IDNR administers a 50/50 grant program for local agencies to develop their own trails and bikeways. Compared to other options, this relatively small funding source is very cost-efficient and flexible.
• Greenways and trails planning assistance. IDNR proactively encourages counties/regions to develop their own trail plans. This includes working as a catalyst in bringing together local government and citizen groups, providing small grants to help fund planning work, and serving as a technical resource throughout and after the process.
• Trails workshops. In close cooperation with government and citizen groups, IDNR conducts technical training sessions for government agencies, interested citizens, and others. This is just one part of their very successful outreach program.
• Large trail systems. IDNR has led the way in the development of high-profile trail systems such as the Grand Illinois Trail and Mississippi River Trail. These large-scale efforts spur Illinois tourism opportunities and more local trails. IDNR provides the essential overall coordination through extensive collaboration with local governments. IDNR also helps fill trail gaps between participating local agencies - mostly with federal 80% matching funds.

Since the early 1990's, the dedicated Park & Conservation Bikeway source has funded many of IDNR's projects and the very popular State Bike Path local grant program. These funds have been diverted and disproportionately cut (from $4.5-5.2M down to $3M) the past two years - greatly reducing IDNR's effectiveness and ability to leverage federal funds.

The state must recognize the IDNR's positive and cost-efficient impact on improving quality of life and economic development opportunities in Illinois - and restore the lost funding.

For further information on these issues, please contact:
Ed Barsotti
Executive Director
League of Illinois Bicyclists
630-978-0583
ed@bikelib.org