A GUIDE TO INFLUENCING DECISIONS TO IMPROVE BICYCLING in rural communities 

Rural advocacy can be a whole different ball game. Rural communities rarely have resources available to develop an active transportation plan and often have less funding available to build bicycle facilities. However, strategic bicycle facilities can improve rural tourist economies and transportation. In this section, we offer a few innovative suggestions to help get things going in your rural community.

• Connect to other communities

• Challenges and solutions

• Southern Utah success

• Funding opportunities

As a singular, rural community, you may not have enough resources or a high enough population to make an active transportation plan make sense. However, connecting with surrounding rural areas who are in the same boat might help give you what you need.

Coming together can also be helpful because many rural roads are either state or county roads. Advocating together could give you more power to highlight the needs of your communities.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) created a detailed document outlining problems faced by rural communities and small towns while also giving ideas on types of infrastructure that could work in various rural situations. This document is extensive (though worth looking at), so we will outline a few concepts we found helpful.

Common Challenges in Small Towns and Rural Areas

Before tackling an advocacy project, it’s important to understand the challenges faced by your community. Your town’s challenges may be different than these, but here are the four main challenges faced by small towns and rural areas (as determined by the FHWA):

• Constrained Terrain – Rural highways often have physical constraints that make the provision of cost-effective facilities for bicycling and walking difficult. An example of this could be a canyon road with no room for road widening.

• Safety – Some rural communities omit safety measures like pedestrian crossings because they may be difficult to warrant based on low existing use.

• Highway as the Main Street – Especially prevalent throughout Utah, state highways often pass through the heart of small towns and may prioritize through traffic over local access. The structure of these types of roads sometimes makes it difficult to adjust to accommodate active transportation needs.

• Climate and Maintenance – Most parts of Utah require winter road maintenance. Road maintenance creates a burden for small towns and counties that do not have adequate resources to pay for equipment to clear certain types of active transportation facilities.  

Propose ways to slow down traffic

Many bicycle and pedestrian safety issues are caused by traffic speed. At higher speeds, motorists are less likely to see and react to a pedestrian, and are even less likely to be able to stop in time to avoid hitting one. Higher speeds also increase the likelihood of collisions being fatal or serious.

To help increase safety in your community, try to look for ways to slow down traffic in places where pedestrians could be on or near the road. Here are some ideas the FHWA gives:

• Physical measures, such as vertical deflections, horizontal shifts, and roadway narrowing, intended to reduce speed and enhance the street environment safety for non-motorists.

• Non-physical measures using signs and markings are intended to raise awareness and reduce speed through visual indicators.

• Diversion treatments to reduce cut-through traffic by obstructing or otherwise preventing traffic movements in one or more directions.

Moab — the southern Utah town that started out as a mining town has evolved to a recreation-based economy attracting millions of visitors each year because of its national parks and unique recreational opportunities. In response to congestion and safety concerns due to tourism, a coalition of public and private agencies initiated the North Moab Recreation Area Alternative Transportation System in 1999.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, this project expands the walking and biking network, enabling transportation by non-motorized modes. The entire project is just under $12 million and has resulted in about 12 miles of shared use paths, a bike and pedestrian bridge over the Colorado River, transit hubs, and 14 miles of wide shoulders. This infrastructure connects Moab to the Colorado Riverway, Arches National Park, Deadhorse Point State Park, Canyonlands National Park, and popular trailheads and campgrounds on BLM lands.

While Moab and this area of Utah do have the advantage of tourism (and potential funds that come with it), it is possible for other rural areas to achieve similar success!

Having great ideas can only take you so far. You will need to identify appropriate funding opportunities that can help turn your ideas into reality.

Our 1,000 Miles program director, Chris Wiltsie, can help you get funding for planning or assist in the creation of a plan. Once your plans are in place, we can work together to help you find funding to begin implementing your plan. Reach out to him at chris@bikeutah.org.