ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION USERS SEIZE THE DAY TO SET SAFE SPEED LIMITS

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ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION USERS SEIZE THE DAY TO SET SAFE SPEED LIMITS

John Lower

Carpe diem, which is Latin for "seize the day," is an appropriate bicyclist perspective on the 2017 adoption of California's first ever statewide plan for active modes of transportation, Toward an Active California. This plan was adopted last month as part of efforts to double walking and triple bicycling between 2010 and 2020. It establishes opportunities to work with state and local partners to improve cycling safety by finding alternative methods for setting safe speed limits. The 2020 horizon year for doubling walking and tripling bicycling leaves us less than three years to achieve mode shares of 4.5% for bicycles and 33% for pedestrians. To achieve these aggressive mode shares, the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians is proposed to be improved by moderating automobile speeds. Toward an Active California includes strategies to research methods for setting and enforcing speed limits, including Caltrans' exploration of options to the 85th percentile for setting speed limits.