Safe System Approach.

The safe system approach consists of six principles, which form the framework for the United States Department of Transportation's National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS).  This approach differs from a conventional safety approach in that it focuses both on human mistakes and on human vulnerability.  The six principles are:  (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.  The implementation of the NRSS is built upon five objectives derived from the principles:  (1) safer vehicles; (2) safer roads; (3) safer speeds; (4) safer people; and (5) postcrash care.

Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Council.

The Cooper Jones Active Transportation Safety Council (council) is comprised of stakeholders who have a unique interest or expertise in the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonmotorists.  The council's purpose is to review and analyze data and programs related to fatalities and serious injuries involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonmotorists to identify points at which the transportation system can be improved including, whenever possible, privately owned areas of the system, and to identify patterns in pedestrian, bicyclist, and other nonmotorist fatalities and serious injuries.  The council must meet at least quarterly, and issue an annual report detailing any findings and recommendations to the Governor and the Transportation Committees of the Legislature.  The council's 2023 report recommended statutory changes to provisions addressing recreational trails and paths.  The council's 2024 report recommended statutory changes to provisions defining a roundabout, and crosswalk and intersection within the context of roundabouts.

Active Transportation Infrastructure Trails and Paths.

If the construction of a highway will sever or destroy an existing recreational trail of substantial usage for pedestrians or bicyclists, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) must reestablish such trail or, if no alternative route exists, must design the facility and acquire sufficient right-of-way to accommodate future construction of the trail.

The WSDOT must also use signage sufficient to ensure safety on highways that cross recreational trails.

Bicycle and pedestrian facilities must be incorporated into the design of highways in corridors where these facilities do not exist, based upon a finding that the facility would be of use and conform with public agency comprehensive plans, would not duplicate existing or proposed routes, and that safety would be enhanced for all corridor users.

The WSDOT or the local jurisdiction with control over facilities for pedestrians, equestrians, or bicyclists that are part of a comprehensive trail plan may expend reasonable amounts of funds received from statewide fuel taxes for the planning, accommodation, establishment, and maintenance of the facilities.

Public safety, a benefit-cost analysis based on the cost of the project as compared to the need or probable use, and the inclusion in a comprehensive trail system plan are criteria that must be considered when establishing paths and trails.

For the state transportation system, a shared-use path is a facility designed for active transportation use and physically separated from motorized vehicular traffic within the highway right-of-way or on an exclusive right-of-way with minimal crossflow by motor vehicles.  Shared-use paths are primarily used by pedestrians and people using bicycles or micromobility devices, including those who use nonmotorized or motorized wheeled mobility or assistive devices.  With appropriate design considerations, equestrians may also be accommodated by a shared-use path facility.

Crosswalks and Intersections.

As applied to the state transportation system and general rules of the road:

• a crosswalk is any portion of the roadway between the intersection area and a prolongation or connection of the farthest sidewalk line or, if no sidewalks, between the intersection area and a line 10 feet from such area, except as modified by a marked crosswalk; and
• an intersection area is an area:

• embraced within the prolongation or connection of the lateral curb lines or, if no curb lines, the lateral boundary lines of the roadways of two or more highways that join one another at right angles; or
• within which vehicles traveling upon different highways joining at any other angle may come in conflict.

For rules of the road purposes, circular intersection is an intersection characterized by a circulatory roadway, generally circular in design, located in the center of the intersection, and encompasses the area bounded by the outermost curb line or, if there is no curb, the edge of the pavement, and includes crosswalks on any entering or exiting roadway.  Circular intersection includes roundabouts, rotaries, and traffic circles.

Complete Streets Program.

For transportation projects that are $500,000 or more, the WSDOT must:

• identify locations on state rights-of-way without a complete sidewalk or shared-use path registered under the Americans with Disabilities Act, without certain bicycle facilities, with a posted speed limit of more than 30-miles per hour and no buffer or physical separation between vehicular traffic and pedestrians or bicyclists, or have a design impairing the ability for drivers to see crossing pedestrians and stop in time;
• consult with local jurisdictions to confirm any existing and planned active transportation connections at such locations, any connections to existing and planned public transportation services, any existing and planned facilities connecting to such locations, and any potential use of speed management techniques;
• adjust to a lower speed limit while modifying roadway design and operations to achieve the desired operating speed in such locations; and
• plan, design, and construct facilities to ensure network connectivity and safety for active transportation and public transportation users.

Transportation projects required to reopen state highways due to a natural disaster or other emergency are exempt from program requirements.

Safe Routes to School Program.

Concurrent with federal law, the WSDOT administers a Safe Routes to School Program to:

• enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school;
• make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative; and
• facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution near schools.

Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Program.

The WSDOT administers the Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Program to:

• provide safe, continuous routes for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonvehicle users;
• mitigate the health, safety, and access impacts of transportation infrastructure bisecting communities and creating obstacles in the local active transportation network;
• invest in greenways that provide protected routes for nonvehicular users; and
• facilitate projects and activities that will improve the connectivity and safety of the active transportation network.

The WSDOT is required to select projects to propose to the Legislature for funding, and must consider certain criteria in the selection process, including but not limited to, facility access, service in overburdened communities and for vulnerable populations, environmental health disparities, and proximity to tribal lands.

Bicyclist and Pedestrian Grant Program.

The WSDOT administers a Bicyclist and Pedestrian Grant Program to improve pedestrian and bicyclist safety and mobility, and increase active transportation trips, with projects to include buffered bike lanes, sidewalks, speed management, and crossing improvements.

Active Transportation Infrastructure.

The policies and remedies addressing limited access highway construction severing or destroying existing or planned recreational trails are extended to existing or planned shared-use paths.  Where a highway crosses a recreational trail or shared-use path, signage, including consideration for the use of traffic control devices, must be provided to promote safety.

The incorporation of active transportation facilities in highway design when such facilities do not exist in the highway corridor is modified, such that the incorporation would apply when there is a finding that the facilities will conform to an adopted plan and will provide connections to existing or proposed routes.  The provision of active transportation facilities, including shared-use paths, is authorized when separation of vehicular traffic and active transportation users increase the safety of users of all modes of travel.

Trails or shared-use paths in a trail or active transportation plan adopted by any government authority with jurisdiction over the trail or path must be considered before establishing such trails or paths.  The benefit-cost analysis is removed from mandatory consideration.

Roundabouts.

As applied to the state transportation system and general rules of the road, roundabout is defined as an intersection of two or more joining highways characterized by a one-way traffic pattern that travels counterclockwise around a central island, and in which traffic entering the intersection must yield to circulating traffic within the intersection as indicated by official traffic control devices.  A roundabout, including the central island, circulating traffic pattern, and all connections to joining highways, is a single intersection of all joining highways.

Definitions for crosswalk and intersection area are updated to include within the context of a roundabout.  The definition of circular intersection is removed.

Rules of the road provisions regarding lane direction and deviation are modified to include roundabouts.

Complete Streets Program.

For Complete Streets projects, the WSDOT must consult with local jurisdictions to confirm existing or planned active transportation facilities on local routes providing access to the same destinations as the state route.  The WSDOT must also identify any existing or planned active transportation facility on public or tribal lands.  If the WSDOT determines that such facility provides equal or better access to destinations, the WSDOT may identify such facility as an appropriate active transportation network connection providing mitigation in lieu of fulfilling Complete Streets requirements, but subject to a cooperative agreement with the local jurisdiction or tribe with responsibility for the facility where:

• the facility is identified in an adopted local or tribal active transportation plan or other relevant plan, or community engagement with facility users most impacted takes place to inform a local plan update;
• the facility as an alternative meets or exceeds WSDOT's standards for Complete Streets design;
• the facility's real property is free of encumbrances, including utilities; and
• the facility provides equal or better safety improvements to decrease crashes involving vulnerable road users.

The WSDOT may use Complete Streets project funds to participate in local or tribal system projects and construct necessary wayfinding connections from the state highway to the local or tribal facility if:

• the cost of participation needed to meet the terms of the cooperative agreement is deemed reasonable by the WSDOT; and
• use of state funds do not supplant committed program funding to the project.

The WSDOT may identify an active transportation facility as an appropriate network connection providing mitigation in lieu of satisfying Complete Streets requirements only when:

• available state rights-of-way do not reasonably permit construction of an adequate facility;
• an appropriate facility exists or may be constructed within a local jurisdiction or tribal lands within a timely manner;
• completion of, or connection to the local or tribal facility provides active transportation connectivity sooner than completion of the state highway project under consideration; or
• the local jurisdiction or tribe has proposed such improvements as an alternative.

The WSDOT may expend reasonable amounts received from statewide fuel tax collection revenue for the planning, construction, and operation of active transportation facilities for purposes of the Complete Streets Program.

The WSDOT may implement and require compliance on Complete Streets requirements for Safe Routes to School Program, Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Program, and Bike and Pedestrian Grant Program recipients, when there are changes on state rights-of-way.