Looking to dive deeper into active transportation and understand the many considerations of a planner? This section explores more advanced topics and touches upon the technical aspects and nuances of active transportation planning.

• Who manages the street/path you are concerned with?

• What is active transportation?

• Active transportation vs. recreation

How to identify which organization manages the street or path you are concerned with:

Roads are owned and managed by different organizations throughout the state. Some roads may have oversight by the state through the Utah Department of Transportation, while others are owned by the city or county. Whoever owns the road typically plans, builds, and maintains the bicycle lane too.

UDOT

• State highways are Class A roads identified on maps with S. R. and on road signs with a white beehive or shield with the State Route number in black.

• UDOT also manages interstate roads that are identified with an “I” before the road number (e.g., I-84).

• UDOT map

County

• County roads are Class B roads and include all public highways, roads, and streets within the state that are situated outside of incorporated municipalities and not designated as state highways. Some exceptions are roads that have been designated as county roads, or are located on property under the control of a federal agency and constructed or maintained by the county under agreement with the appropriate federal agency.

• Cities can also contract with a county to manage roads that would normally be under the city’s jurisdiction.

• If you think a road might be managed by a county, contact your county public works department.

City

• City roads are designated as Class C roads and make up highways, roads, circulator alleys, and streets within the corporate limits of the municipalities that are not designated as class A state roads or as class B roads.

Read more in detail on how roads are classified here.

You will often hear this term as you enter the bicycle advocacy world. Active Transportation Plans, also known as Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans, are guiding documents adopted by different government entities. They lay the foundation for what types of bicycle infrastructure will be built, where it will be built, and how it will be built. Generally, if it isn’t planned, it won’t be built.

If you want your community to be a better place to ride, developing and adopting an active transportation plan is the starting point. Find your local active transportation plan here (AT plans) or view this interactive map to see recent updates to your community’s active transportation plan. Another great resource is the Active Transportation Data Maps from the Wasatch Front Regional Council, which has combined all the AT plans for the entire Wasatch region. We will be using their map data set below to walk you through how to read an active transportation plan.

WFRC’s Active Transportation Data Maps is an interactive set of maps that includes multiple tabs to view different aspects of the planning process for the Wasatch region. For example, by clicking on the “Existing Features” tab you can view the bicycle “features” or facilities that are currently in place on a particular roadway. The “Planned Features” tab includes bicycle facilities that are planned for a road and are on the community’s active transportation plan. The tab “Future AT Networks” combines the planned bicycle facilities as well as the current facilities.

You will also notice that sometimes a plan may not have a bicycle facility on a major roadway. Oftentimes city planners try to identify specific routes for cyclists to take. This is often an affordability and priority strategy. When you are advocating for infrastructure, keep in mind that it is not feasible to put a buffered or protected bicycle lane on every major roadway. When you talk to planners or ask them questions, remember to keep the whole plan in mind. If you see a better alternative, share it — your feedback as someone who rides the route is invaluable!

How to Read an Active Transportation Plan or Map

Active transportation plans can look different depending on the municipality or consulting group who created them. They usually have a portion showing what the existing conditions are and a section or map showing what the planned facilities should be.

Each plan includes the different types of bicycle facilities that are planned. The information and graphic below explain the levels of protection that different bicycle facilities can offer.

• Level 3 protection are roadways shared between cars and bicycles; sometimes they are marked with paint on the road or a sign.

• Level 2 protection is a painted space for a bike lane. This sometimes indicates a shoulder space for bicyclists, a typical bike lane, or a buffered bike lane that has increased space between cars and bicyclists.

• Level 1 offers the most protection for bicyclists and includes examples like a cycle track, which is a lane on the same level as the road but has the buffered bike lane and parked cars to separate the bicyclists and pedestrians from vehicles.

Understanding these differences will help you understand the types of facilities planned on your local active transportation plans.

One of the greatest obstacles to getting appropriate facilities built is helping all stakeholders understand the difference between facilities and how they are used. Painted bike lanes or multi-use paths comprise much of what has been and is being built in Utah. Each has its place, but between those two extremes exists a world of possibilities that allow for current users to be safer and new riders to feel comfortable as they start riding. Much of the confusion is centered around the conflation of active transportation and recreation. 

Active transportation facilities are generally concerned with getting people from point A to point B as safely and quickly as possible for practical purposes (e.g. work, shopping). Recreational facilities are made for exercise or pleasure (e.g. meandering multi-use paths, painted bike lanes on a popular training route). 

Whether you want recreation or active transportation focused facilities, you will benefit from helping stakeholders understand their differences. Without providing focus and clarity we tend to create “transportation futons” — they do everything, but none of it well. 

Many communities are concerned with active transportation and recreational bike facilities as a way to attract businesses or tourism. For this to be successful across the state, each community needs to determine a distinct vision that will set them apart from other communities. In other words, branding on parity will not be successful, but too often this is what we see. 

Branding

There are numerous types of cycling that have been untapped to their fullest potential in Utah, and doing so could make your community a unique global attraction much like Moab has become over the past few decades. During your visioning process, it is important that you have discussions to determine what your overall goals are. Determine what you would like to have as your cycling brand for your community: “family friendly,” “all ability,” or “adventure is out there.” Establishing this could help your community determine what projects to prioritize and also help with any marketing efforts for tourism in the future.