Bicycle Colorado applauds the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for its endorsement to state road designers and engineers of the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Urban Street Design Guides. This announcement makes Colorado the seventh state to endorse the guides, which provide details on how to install the latest innovations in bike infrastructure, such as green lanes, cycle tracks and bike boxes.

Bicycle Colorado partners with CDOT on improving bicycle safety and encouraged adoption of these guidelines. “Using the NACTO guides to apply the most recent proven innovations in bicycle infrastructure will make the streets safer and more efficient for all road users,” says Dan Grunig, executive director of Bicycle Colorado.

In 2012, Bicycle Colorado collaborated with CDOT’s effort to add an extensive bicycle facility design chapter to their Roadway Design Guide, a big step forward to incorporate best practices for bike infrastructure on state roads and highways. However, design of safe bikeways is a rapidly evolving field in which new improvements are continually in development.

The NACTO guides are frequently updated, giving road designers the opportunity to apply the newest proven bikeway designs. Bicycle Colorado encourages leaders to consult the NACTO guides when considering options for state highways that run through their communities. Additionally, we encourage local governments to join the state’s endorsement of the guides—as Boulder and Denver have previously done—to create a safer roadway network across the state.

Endorsement of the NACTO guides was a key recommendation for improvement in the state’s bicycle friendliness ranking administered by the League of American Bicyclists. Colorado dropped to number 6 in the rankings from number 2 last year. Governor Hickenlooper has set a state goal to become the most bicycle friendly state in the nation.