AASHTO Journal - Montana DOT Works to Promote Safe Bicycling

The Montana Department of Transportation recently highlighted community outreach initiatives it regularly engages in to promote safe bicycling practices statewide.

[Above photo by Montana DOT]

Through various programs and events, Montana DOT regularly collaborates with local organizations to enhance bicycle safety, particularly among children. The agency also provides the Bicycling the Big Sky map – available in both print and electronic formats – that serves as a companion to the Official State Highway Map that includes highway information for bicyclists, state laws and regulations pertaining to bicyclists, and safety tips for sharing the road.

Additionally, Montana DOT noted in a statement that it distributes “Bicycle Tourism” packets via its website that contain an informational letter, its Bicycling the Big Sky map, the State Highway Map, and a bicycle law pocketbook.

The agency also regularly collaborates with local law enforcement, hospitals, and others to educate children on bicycle safety at local bike rodeos and safety fairs – events that provide children with the opportunity to learn essential biking skills in a controlled environment.

The Montana DOT said participants at those events engage in activities that teach them how to signal turns, navigate obstacles, and understand traffic laws, all while emphasizing the importance of wearing helmets and being visible to drivers.

Other state departments of transportation are engaged in similar efforts aimed at boosting active transportation in their respective regions of the country.

For example, in January, the Washington State Department of Transportation launched a new program designed to make electrically-powered bicycles or “e-bikes” more affordable to state residents.

WSDOT’s program – launched with its newly-selected vendor, APTIM, LLC – provides state residents with rebates through point-of-sale discounts on e-bikes and associated safety equipment, with funding for the rebates from $5 million allocated by the state legislature within its 2024 supplemental transportation budget.

In December 2024, the Hawaii Department of Transportation completed construction of the $15.7 million Leeward Bikeway, a dedicated bikeway within the former Oahu Railway & Land Company right-of-way between Philippine Sea Road in ‘Ewa and Waipahu Depot Street.

That new 3.5-mile path links together the previously unconnected West Loch Bike Path and the existing Pearl Harbor Historic Trail. Work included construction of 723 linear feet of retaining wall; utility relocation; demolition and construction of new bridge structures at Waikele Stream and Kapakahi Stream; paving the nine-to-10-foot path with asphalt concrete; and installation of concrete posts to prevent the use of the bikeway by motorized vehicles.

In October 2024, the New Mexico Department of Transportation constructed a “Traffic Safety Garden” at its Santa Fe campus as a way to convey “positive traffic safety behaviors” to young children.

The agency explained that a “traffic safety garden” is a miniature transportation system that uses play as an educational tool whereby children can learn and practice traffic behaviors that will protect them, such as using crosswalks, looking both ways for oncoming traffic, recognizing stop and yield signs, and facing traffic while walking.

Additionally, in June, the Texas Department of Transportation’s El Paso District put together a free bicycle safety event in partnership with the Alpine Police Department – turning an empty college campus parking lot into a bike obstacle course at Sul Ross State University.

Before riding through the course – with Alpine police officers leading the way – participants took time for helmet and bike checks. Local riding experts volunteered their time and expertise to make minor repairs and adjustments for bikes belonging to young riders and their parents.