The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) Awards honor individuals who have demonstrated excellence, leadership, and innovation in the bicycle and pedestrian profession, as well as APBP chapters that have significantly contributed to the organization by fostering local engagement, professional growth, and visibility.

The 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, five Professional of the Year Awards, and one Chapter Award were presented during  APBP’s 2025 Conference on August 11, 2026 in Pittsburgh, PA. Their acceptance videos can be viewed by visiting APBP's Annual Awards page. 

Lifetime Achievement Award 

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has made a substantial commitment to the profession during their lifetime and who has shown excellence in the field of bicycle and pedestrian planning, design, advocacy, research, or education. The award distinguishes those whose vision and determination have made their communities better places to bicycle and walk and who inspire the rest of us. 

Lisa Austin is the recipient of the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. Retired as of May 2025, she was previously the Director, Center for Community Connections at the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

Lisa has been a change-maker in the active transportation space throughout Minnesota for decades. Her leadership began with the Twin Cities Bicycle Club, where she realized that there was a lack of local opportunities to learn safe cycling practices. To address this, Lisa became a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) and organized Smart Cycling classes that helped establish a network of instructors throughout Minnesota. She later joined the State Bicycle Advisory Committee (SBAC), where she worked to expand bicycle education and advocacy across the state.

One of Lisa’s most significant achievements was helping create the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN). After identifying the absence of a statewide bicycle advocacy organization, she collaborated with others to organize a 130-person workshop that brought together public, private, and community stakeholders. The effort gained crucial momentum when Quality Bicycle Products committed funding for the organization’s first executive director. Lisa has remained involved with BikeMN as a board member since its founding.

In 2008, Lisa joined the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT), where she helped launch and strengthen numerous initiatives. Her accomplishments included establishing a scholar-in-residence program that evolved into MnDOT’s bicycle and pedestrian highly regarded data collection program, co-developing the “Share the Road” educational campaign, and leading early Safe Routes to School efforts - branded Walk!Bike!Fun!. Throughout her career, Lisa has fostered partnerships and lead initiatives including Bikeable Community Workshops, the Bicycling Around Minnesota (BAM) touring ride, evolving downtown parking ramps into multimodal hubs, advancing the Nice Ride Bike Share program, and planting the seed for the beginning of the Minnesota High School Bicycling League.

In reflecting back on her career and engagement in active transportation work, Lisa shared that she loves to work with other people to identify a critical need or idea, get things off the ground and rolling, and then handing them off to the next wave of people who can continue to carry the work forward. Her legacy is defined by identifying opportunities, building collaborations, and launching programs that have set Minnesota up for long-term success advancing walking and bicycling in communities large and small.

Professional of the Year Awards 

The APBP Professional of the Year Awards recognize the achievements of pedestrian and bicycle professionals made in the last 12 months in the private, public, nonprofit and research sectors. 

• 2026 Professional of the Year – Private Sector: Conor Semler is a generational leader in active transportation. He draws upon deep expertise in urban planning, traffic engineering, and technical research in Complete Streets to design community-focused transportation systems that promote health and livability. Throughout his career, he’s been highly regarded for his research and designs that inspire cities to adopt safer, innovative, and more inviting bicycle facilities.
  
  Conor’s work includes citywide bicycle and pedestrian plans, corridor redesigns, quick-build implementation projects, and multimodal studies that integrate land use and transportation. He has also contributed to national design guidance, including the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, FHWA Separated Bike Lane Planning and Design Guide, and FHWA Guidebook for Developing Pedestrian and Bicycle Performance Measures. His recent work as Principal Investigator for NCHRP Research Report 1036: Roadway Cross-Section Reallocation: A Guide, and as Project Principal for the follow-up implementation project NCHRP 20-44(52): Implementing a Guide for Urban and Suburban Roadway Cross-Section Reallocation, has transformed how agencies approach street design and decision-making.
  
  Beyond project work, Conor is dedicated to developing the next generation of transportation professionals. Along with his team, he has led more than 20 workshops and presentations on NCHRP 1036, trained over 1,000 professionals through MassDOT’s Complete Streets Training Program, and co-developed the Street Design Leadership Training program for municipal staff in smaller communities who may lack formal transportation backgrounds.
  
  Conor served on the APBP Board of Directors from 2016 – 2020. During his time on the APBP Board, Conor was a champion for the creation of the Policy Committee, recognizing the importance of connecting technical expertise to policy outcomes that shape communities far beyond any single project.
  
  Through innovative research, impactful training, high-quality design, and an unwavering commitment to equity, Conor continues to shape the future of active transportation and create safer, more inclusive streets for all.
  
  
• 2026 Professional of the Year – Public Sector: Since 2018, Matthew Sweet has served as Manager of Active Transportation for the City of Mississauga, providing strategic leadership across a broad portfolio that includes cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, transportation demand management, and shared micromobility. Over the past year, he has played a pivotal role in advancing the City’s Cycling Master Plan, helping strengthen Mississauga’s commitment to a safe, connected, and accessible transportation network integrated with broader mobility and land-use goals. Under his leadership, the City has implemented 179 km of cycling facilities since 2017. Additionally, through his leadership on the CMP update, he’s built support for rolling out an additional 190 km of all-ages-and-abilities cycling infrastructure over the next five years, all while under the Ontario provincial constraints of Bill 60/212 environment that aims to limit bike lanes that require removal of vehicle lanes.
  
  A defining accomplishment of Matthew’s recent work is his leadership in developing and launching Mississauga’s shared micromobility program, culminating in a 2024 partnership with private operators to deliver a citywide e-bike and e-scooter system. His work demonstrates how municipalities can operationalize innovation—transitioning from pilot projects to scalable, long-term mobility services.
  
  Beyond his municipal role, Matthew has demonstrated significant leadership within the broader transportation profession. He has served as Chair of the Ontario Traffic Council Active Transportation Committee and continues to be actively involved in professional organizations including the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) and the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association (NABSA), where he co-founded and cochaired the Canadian Policy Working Group. Through these roles, he has influenced policy discussions, supported knowledge exchange across jurisdictions, and helped shape emerging practices in micromobility across Canada. As a mentor within the APBP Mentorship Program and a former post-secondary instructor in active transportation and urban mobility, he has helped educate and inspire the next generation of practitioners. This commitment to professional development strengthens the capacity of the field and reflects his dedication to advancing the profession.
  
  Matthew has played a pivotal role in advancing pedestrian and bicycle planning in one of Canada’s largest and most diverse cities. He consistently advances equity, innovation, and excellence in public sector transportation planning through leading complex initiatives, influencing institutional change, sharing knowledge widely, and mentoring future leaders.

• 2026 Professional of the Year – Nonprofit Sector: Evan Schmidtke has been a transformative leader in advancing cycling access, transportation equity, and community engagement in Cedar Rapids, Iowa through his leadership of Chain Reaction Bike Hub (CRBH), a community bike shop. Through his leadership, CRBH has grown to over 175 community volunteers and 4,600 volunteer hours in 2025 alone. By expanding the organization beyond just bicycle repair and education, Evan has helped create a community-centered resource that empowers residents of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities to choose active transportation.
  
  Under Evan’s leadership, CRBH has become a trusted partner to the City of Cedar Rapids, supporting initiatives that advance active transportation, sustainability, and quality of life. As a member of the City’s Active Transportation Advisory Commission (ATAC), he has played a key role in expanding Bike to Work Week into a month-long celebration of cycling and active mobility, while also leading educational programs that help residents confidently commute by bicycle.
  
  Evan’s impact is evident through innovative partnerships and programs that remove barriers to transportation. He facilitated the refurbishment and distribution of retired City shared-mobility bicycles to local residents; secured funding to support the City’s new Building Resilience Through Transportation Voucher Program; and, has helped connect hundreds of community members with reliable transportation options through CRBH initiatives such as the Cycle for Change initiative, annual Kids Bike Drive, and Earn-A-Bike program.
  
  From local bike shop owner and CRBH Board Member Logan Orcutt: "There might not be another person in our community more anchored and invested in lowering the barriers to bicycles in our community today. The Cedar Rapids cycling community has grown to be more diverse, inclusive, and accessible because of the energy Evan has spent here in the past 3 years."

• 2026 Young Professional of the Year: Ayden Cohen has distinguished herself as an emerging leader in active transportation. As a Planner at Toole Design Group, she has spent the past 4.5 years advancing safe and accessible transportation systems for all roadway users. Across multiple projects, her work has reflected a combination of technical expertise, collaborative leadership, and a deep commitment to vulnerable road users, including pedestrians, people experiencing housing insecurity, low-income communities, and communities of color. While working on a regional safety action plan, she played a pivotal role in guiding client conversations toward prioritizing vulnerable road users, and contributed to developing an implementation grant that secured $24.5 million for implementation. She has maintained long-term engagement with clients beyond project completion, providing ongoing technical support and problem-solving. Her credibility and collaborative approach have earned trust from senior engineering professionals who now seek her input on additional projects and request her involvement in future leadership roles.
  
  Colleagues appreciate Ayden’s enthusiasm, attention to detail, and creative problem solving. They note that Ayden is skilled and dependable at leading tasks, developing new systems and processes, and invests in her colleagues and peers in meaningful ways. Her commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace is also appreciated and respected - she is the office lead for Silver Spring in companywide work related to Fairness, Access, Inclusion, and Representation (FAIR).
  
  Beyond her project work, Ayden contributes to the broader profession through presentations at local and national conferences and webinars, making complex Safe System concepts accessible to diverse audiences: She is also a co-author of the 2023 publication Safe System Approach for the Urban Core.
  
  Ayden truly exemplifies the qualities recognized by the APBP Young Professional of the Year Award.

• 2026 Young Professional of the Year: As a transportation planner at Toole Design Group and a leader in the Greater Boston bicycle and mobility community, Alexis Vidaurreta-Zhu exemplifies the next generation of practitioners advancing safer, more equitable, and more community-centered transportation systems.
  
  Alexis has quickly distinguished herself through the production of thoughtful and high-quality multimodal transportation and safety plans and studies that improve safety, accessibility, and equitable mobility outcomes. Her work consistently demonstrates strong technical expertise paired with a deep commitment to meaningful community engagement and equitable decision-making. Alexis has been most drawn to opportunities to support local-level capacity building – particularly in communities where transportation safety and affordable transportation are linked with social equity, public health, economic development, and quality of life goals. In addition to her work on planning projects to support these communities, since 2024 Alexis has worked with a Massachusetts foundation to provide free-to-communities technical assistance to apply for funding through the USDOT Safe Streets and Roads for All Program (SS4A).
  
  Alexis also stands out for her dedication to mentoring and supporting emerging professionals in the field. She supervises two early-career planners at Toole Design, and is serving as the companywide intern coordinator for 2026. Outside of her professional responsibilities, Alexis is an exceptionally active volunteer and leader in the mobility advocacy community, serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Bikes Not Bombs, an organization centered on economic mobility for Black and brown youth in Boston. Alexis has also been a staff member with the Somerville Bike Kitchen (SBK) for 5 years, helping manage SBK as a community resource and working directly with hundreds of community members per year to teach them how to work on their bikes.
  
  Alexis combines technical excellence with humility, mentorship, community-building, and a genuine commitment to making transportation systems work better for everyone. She truly exemplifies the qualities recognized by the APBP Young Professional of the Year Award.

 Chapter of the Year Award 

APBP Chapter Awards recognize the achievements of APBP chapters that have added value to the organization by creating opportunities for local APBP members to grow, engage and connect. 

The APBP Utah Chapter is awarded the 2026 Chapter of the Year Award for its exceptional commitment to member engagement, professional development, and community building.

The Chapter fosters a strong, inclusive professional community through networking events, guided bike tours, and social gatherings. Their various networking events support knowledge sharing across organizations, strengthen relationships, and foster a sense of local community within APBP. Professional development is fostered through member discussions around active transportation best practices, policy, and emerging issues in Utah. A recent highlight was the AASHTO Book Club, where members shared key takeaways from assigned chapters, followed by sponsored meals that encouraged community discussion and peer learning.

Hands-on field activities reinforced the Chapter's mission over the past year, including bike tours of projects such as the 9-Line Trail and 700 East Bikeway, an Earth Day trail cleanup, and a multimodal group ride to the Utah Bike Summit via the FrontRunner train. These activities promoted experiential learning, sustainability, and active transportation as a practical everyday choice.

The Chapter invests in the next generation of professionals by empowering student leadership. With a University of Utah student serving as Social Media Chair, outreach is expanded to university programs. This in turn has led to increased student participation in Chapter rides, networking opportunities, and Chapter events.

Led by two young professional women, the APBP Utah Chapter experienced remarkable growth during the past year. Their leadership reactivated the Chapter, more than doubled membership, and introduced consistent programming and intentional outreach. Today, APBP Utah serves as a vibrant, inclusive hub connecting professionals, students, and advocates dedicated to improving walking and bicycling throughout Utah.

APBP believes safe and dignified mobility is a human right. Within this, equitable enforcement for people moving around public space is essential.

APBP recognizes the enormous toll of traffic injuries and deaths that are the direct result of dangerous driving. This includes but is not limited to: speeding, red light running, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, disregarding the requirement to yield to vulnerable road users, and positioning vehicles (stopping, parking, etc.) in ways that create unsafe situations and prevent access (e.g., blocking crosswalks, bus lanes, or bike lanes).

APBP recognizes that past practices around enforcement have not always been applied equitably, and that enforcement authority has been abused by some actors.¹ However, dropping enforcement as a tool, which has occurred in the time frame of the past five years or so in some places in the US, has also resulted in higher death rates, especially for those most vulnerable. Continue reading the full policy statement

APBP revised this Policy Statement in May 2026, previously revised in April 2023.  

APBP believes that policies aimed at making active transportation modes safer, more accessible, and more equitable –or those that encourage their use– play a key role in shifting mode use away from motorized passenger vehicles (excluding low-speed micromobility such as e-bikes). While such policies measurably reduce GHG emissions, they are most effective when paired with direct disincentives to driving, such as charging the market rate cost for traffic congestion or vehicle parking, eliminating minimum vehicular parking requirements or setting maximums, increasing the federal gas tax, and implementing mileage-based fees.

APBP encourages policymakers to consider measures from a variety of spheres (e.g., land use policies, increasing access to bicycles and e-bikes through bikeshare programs and financial incentives, equitable roadway pricing strategies, etc.), a combination of infrastructure and non-infrastructure measures, and multiple levels of scale (i.e., individual parcel level, corridor-level, and community-wide) to implement programs that will result in meaningful VMT reduction.

APBP has revised this Policy Statement in March 2026, originally published in April 2023. Read the full policy statement.

The APBP Policy Committee regularly reviews and updates our statements. The original policy statement on Complete Streets was published in February 2019. This revision was approved by the Board of Directors in December 2025 and can be found here.

APBP supports the Complete Streets approach and recommends that municipalities, agencies, and advocates adopt and strive to implement projects in alignment with this framework. 

APBP believes that the Complete Streets approach reflects a commitment to a shared vision for a safer, and more accessible transportation system that responds to the needs of communities that have not been fully served through traditional transportation planning while also advancing healthy communities, resilience, and economic vitality¹.

APBP recognizes the need to design streets for all potential users that include people of all ages and abilities, transit riders, drivers, and people walking, biking, and rolling, ensuring they can reach the places they need and want to go. Prioritizing these vulnerable road users is essential because they face the greatest risk on streets with record-high levels of fatalities and injuries.²

APBP encourages jurisdictions to evaluate existing policies and practices and to update their planning, design, and project delivery processes to fully realize the benefits of Complete Streets. APBP also emphasizes that proactive Complete Streets planning strengthens implementation by helping communities align available funding with the priorities established in their Complete Streets approach.

The APBP Policy Committee regularly reviews and updates our statements. The original policy statement on Shared Micromobility Programs was published in November 2019. This revision was approved by the Board of Directors in October 2025 and can be found here.

APBP supports the development of shared micromobility programs and supporting policies as key elements of a community’s comprehensive transportation system. APBP believes that shared micromobility programs have the potential to improve access and reduce barriers to destinations; increase transportation options; reduce congestion on city streets; act as a catalyst for infrastructure that increases safety for all road users; improve air quality; and support local economic development. To ensure an effective, equitable, and sustainable program, communities must be actively involved with the implementation and governance of shared micromobility. 

The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) Awards honor individuals who have demonstrated excellence, leadership, and innovation in the bicycle and pedestrian profession, as well as APBP chapters that have significantly contributed to the organization by fostering local engagement, professional growth, and visibility.

The 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, four Professional of the Year Awards, and one Chapter Award were presented during the final day of APBP’s 2025 Virtual Summit: A Path to Progress, Sept. 25 - 26, 2025. Their acceptance videos can be viewed by visiting APBP's Annual Awards page. 

Lifetime Achievement Award 

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has made a substantial commitment to the profession during their lifetime and who has shown excellence in the field of bicycle and pedestrian planning, design, advocacy, research, or education. The award distinguishes those whose vision and determination have made their communities better places to bicycle and walk and who inspire the rest of us. 

Roger Millar, President of Millar Consulting Services, LLC is the recipient of APBP's 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award. The guiding theme throughout Roger's career has been planning and implementing transportation systems that are not ends unto themselves, but rather the means toward economic vitality, environmental stewardship, social equity, public health, and thriving communities where all are welcome. As Secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), Roger transformed the agency's approach to active transportation, directing the creation of WSDOT’s Active Transportation Division (ATD), the first such division in the nation positioned within a state DOT at the same level as other modes and major activities. His leadership sparked award-winning planning, innovative design, and historic investments in equity and safety. His strong advocacy helped secure new programs focused on underserved communities and guided statewide adoption of Complete Streets principles. A national leader, Roger served as AASHTO President from 2022-2023 and brought active transportation into the spotlight across major professional and advisory boards. Through it all, Roger remained committed to inclusion, spearheading anti-racism initiatives and fostering thoughtful dialogue on systemic inequities in transportation. Playwright John Fletcher said “Deeds, not words, shall speak me.” Roger’s actions encourage us all to do better and speak volumes for his commitment to advance diversity, inclusion and better multi-cultural awareness. His career has been a testament to the belief that transportation should serve people and communities. The APBP Lifetime Achievement Award exemplifies the heart of his work and the difference he has made.  

Professional of the Year Awards 

The APBP Professional of the Year Awards recognize the achievements of pedestrian and bicycle professionals made in the last 12 months in the private, public, nonprofit and research sectors. 

The APBP Policy Committee regularly reviews and updates our statements. The original policy statement on Victim Blaming was published in June 2022. This revision was approved by the Board of Directors in June 2025 and can be found here.

APBP believes it is our professional duty to make it safe for people to travel in their community, requiring us to incorporate this duty into our work wherever possible by focusing the conversation on systematic safety improvements, rather than only trying to identify a party at fault. We especially prioritize avoiding finding faults with or blaming crashes on the actions of those typically most vulnerable (those road users outside of a motor vehicle).

APBP encourages professional practitioners (such as traffic and transportation engineers and agency officials), as well as law enforcement and media to avoid reporting on crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists and other vulnerable travelers in a way that places undue blame on them for the traffic violence they suffer, especially when they are using a dangerously designed system shaped by our auto-dependent culture that does not adequately consider their needs or the context of the street. APBP supports developing a different mindset about crashes that is reflected in a new vocabulary with comprehensive descriptions in police crash reports, local government publications and presentations, and reporting by the media.

APBP supports Vision Zero and its use of a Safe System view of traffic crashes. The Safe System approach recognizes human imperfections and shared responsibility, and requires that systems be designed with those human qualities in mind. APBP recognizes that designers, policy makers, system operators, and system users share in this responsibility. As a group of practitioners, APBP acknowledges the responsibility to promote safe design.

The APBP Policy Committee regularly reviews and updates our statements. The original policy statement on Performance Measures was published in February 2020. This revision was approved by the Board of Directors in January 2025 and can be found here.

It is APBP’s position that:

Transportation agencies and governments consider the needs and desires of all users of the transportation system in line with a commitment to Complete Streets. To accomplish this, APBP recommends the use of multimodal performance measures that reflect community goals.

A holistic set of performance measures should derive from the goals of the community as determined through robust public engagement. Goals should consider the following themes and recognize the ways in which they are interconnected:

• Safety
• Public Health
• Access and Mobility
• Environment / Sustainability
• Economic vitality
• Equity
• Livable places

Performance measures should leverage both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Data collection and analysis methods should recognize that community engagement and qualitative information are valuable. Both types of information help decision makers and the public to understand trade-offs between alternatives and guide decisions that best align with community goals. Furthermore, performance measures and transportation data should be accessible to the public.

Goals and performance measures should apply to a wide variety of project types and at multiple tasks and checkpoints throughout the project.

APBP is pleased to share that Adam Wood from Toole Design Group has been elected to serve a three-year term on the Board of Directors starting in January 2025.

Adam is an Active Transportation Plan Practice Lead with Toole Design Group in Silver Spring, Maryland. In this role he advances the state of goal-oriented, data-driven bike and pedestrian planning. Adam has expertise in helping communities change their transportation paradigms, enhancing livability and advancing equity. He has created active transportation and Complete Streets plans for a diverse array of communities and agencies across North America, from platinum-level bicycle-friendly cities to communities embarking on their very first efforts to enhance their streets for everyone. Adam excels at translating community values into actionable policy and program strategies; crafting Complete Streets policies and implementation plans; and planning local, regional, and statewide bicycle and pedestrian transportation systems.

Adam and his family live in Madison, WI where they enjoy walking, biking, and being outdoors.

Welcome to the APBP Board of Directors, Adam!

The APBP Policy Committee regularly reviews and updates our statements. The original policy statement on Electric Bicycles was published in January 2019. This revision was approved by the Board of Directors in December 2023 and can be found here.

It is APBP’s position that:

1. E-bikes have the potential to unlock significant latent demand for cycling and should be considered an integral part of a more sustainable transportation strategy in the U.S. and Canada.
2. The U.S. and Canada should take legislative action at the federal level to better define e-bikes, create more uniformity in regulations, reduce regulatory burdens, and increase uptake of e-bikes across North America. In Canada, a harmonized legislative framework for e-bikes should be a national priority and the efficacy of devolving e-bike regulation to provinces should be subject to a full regulatory impact statement.
3. Further research and technical evaluation of the safety risks associated with e-bikes travelling at higher speeds is urgently needed. If sufficient evidence exists of a higher level of risk exposure arising from e-bikes with more powerful motors, then governments must act in the public interest to reduce risk through effective regulation of e-bike speed and/or motor power.
4. Further study of the interaction of e-bike riders, non-motorized bicyclists, and pedestrians is needed, particularly as it relates to existing and planned shared infrastructure such as sidewalks and shared use paths.
5. Widespread adoption of e-bikes has the potential to make a lasting and positive impact on major public health challenges, including diabetes and obesity across the continent.
6. Greater attention to the enforceability of e-bike legislation and regulation is needed, as is greater focus on the educational needs stemming from increasing e-bike adoption.
7. E-bikes have the potential to lower barriers to cycling for people with different transportation and physical activity needs, including people whose commute trip exceeds 15 to 18 minutes, and people who are reluctant or unable to use non-motorized bicycles due to the physical demands, but have the ability to handle an e-bike.

Read the full APBP Policy Statement on Electric Bicycles. Additional policy statements from APBP can be found here.

The APBP Policy Committee regularly reviews and updates our statements. The original policy statement on Automated Driving Systems was published in April 2018 with a first revision published in June 2019. This updated version of the policy statement can be found here.

Vision:
To ensure automated vehicle operations meet our shared goals for safe, efficient, and equitable transportation, vehicles with automated driving systems should meet or exceed core driving competencies of a human operator and all requirements of local, state, and national vehicle and transportation codes while consistently and safety operating around all roadway users, especially pedestrians, bicyclists, or other vulnerable road users.

Position:
APBP believes automated vehicles represent an emerging technology that carries great potential for both positive and negative outcomes and must be primarily designed and operated to ensure functional safety for all people using streets and highways. Beyond the specific responsibilities of AV manufacturers, APBP believes that an integrated safety management system must be put in place to properly collect, monitor, disseminate (in real-time where required and where appropriate) anonymized safety data from AVs and from other roadway, government, and user data sources. The anonymized data collected should be aggregated and shared with governmental agencies responsible for planning, building, operating, and maintaining transportation and safety systems.

Vehicles’ Automated Driving Systems (ADSs) must readily detect and protect all vulnerable road users including those walking, bicycling, and using a mobility device– regardless of age, race, ability, location, time of day, and other factors – from serious injury or death.

Read the full APBP Policy Statement on Automated Driving Systems. Additional policy statements from APBP can be found here.

The Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals (APBP) identifies reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as a critical measure in reducing our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from the transportation sector and the effects of climate change.

APBP believes that policies to make the use of active modes safer, easier, and more comfortable, or to promote the use of active modes, play a key role in shifting mode use away from passenger vehicles. While these policies have a quantifiable and positive effect to reduce GHG emissions, they are most effective when combined with direct disincentives for automobile use, such as charging the market rate cost for traffic congestion or vehicle parking and eliminating vehicular parking minimums or implementing vehicular parking maximums.

APBP supports policymakers to consider measures from a variety of spheres (e.g. land use policies, increasing access to bicycles and e-bikes through bikeshare programs and financial incentives, equitable roadway pricing strategies, etc.), a combination of measures both infrastructure and non-infrastructure, and level of scale (i.e. individual parcel level, corridor-level, or community–wide) in order to implement programs that will yield meaningful changes in VMT reduction.

Read the full APBP Policy Statement on Carbon Neutrality and VMT Reduction.

Contact: Lauren Santangelo, Executive Director
859-402-9819
[email protected]

LEXINGTON, KY -- The Association of Pedestrian & Bicycle Professionals (APBP) announces the winners of its annual awards program to honor excellence in the profession. Four Professional of the Year awards and the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award were presented during the final day of APBP’s Conference in Minneapolis, MN on August 24.

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes an individual who has made a substantial commitment to the profession during their lifetime and who has shown excellence in the field of bicycle and pedestrian planning, design, advocacy, and/or education. The award distinguishes those whose vision and determination have made their communities better places to bike and walk and who inspire others. The 2022 APBP Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Susan Sauvé, Transportation Demand Management Planner for the City of Peterborough.

Through her selfless, collaborative nature, Sue has built a community of people around her, magnifying the impact of her efforts far beyond what any single person can do. She is a known collaborator - truly motivated to work alongside other staff departments, consultants, agencies, organizations, and residents to deliver the best outcomes for people walking and cycling. Through her passion and perseverance, Sue has transformed the way it is possible to travel in Peterborough. Her work will impact the community for decades to come!

The APBP Professional of the Year Awards recognize the achievements of pedestrian and bicycle professionals made in the last twelve months in the private, public, research, and nonprofit sectors and one young professional under the age of 30.

Laura Sandt, Director of the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, UNC Highway Safety Research Center, receives the 2022 APBP Research Professional of the Year Award. Laura’s impressive background as an epidemiologist lends immense value to her perspective and ability as a transportation safety researcher. She leads a diverse portfolio of research projects with a focus on safety, mobility, and access for people who walk, bike, and roll of all ages and abilities. Laura encourages the uptake of research to practice by leading opportunities for knowledge exchange, as well as interfacing directly with leaders in multidisciplinary fields and informing adoption and implementation of ideas.

Darnel Harris, Executive Director of Our Greenway Conservancy is awarded the 2022 Nonprofit Professional of the Year Award. Darnel is a determined, resilient, forthright advocate and leader of social justice, equity, and equal opportunity for underprivileged and underserved racialized communities. For more than a decade, Darnel has been in the forefront of advocating for proper sustainable micromobility, cycling advocacy and the development of the cycle industry in North America as a whole. His ethical standard has forged bridges with important actors including major industrial investors, researchers, not-for-profit leaders, entrepreneurs, and cooperative leaders in the micromobility industry in Mexico, Canada, USA, and Europe.

Hannah Pritchard, Principal Pedestrian and Bicycle Engineer for the Minnesota Department of Transportation is awarded the 2022 Public Sector Professional of the Year Award. Hannah is a public sector professional with the unique skill of translating the needs of pedestrians and bicyclists to and between planners, engineers, and advocates. She understands the strategic steps necessary to design transportation facilities to meet the needs of people walking and biking. Her involvement within national guidance for pedestrian and bicycle facility design has strengthened MnDOT’s facility design guidance and has brought it into a new era. Hannah’s work has pushed the agency to figure out ways that all users of the transportation system can coexist, thus improving mobility for all people.

Austin Taylor, Redevelopment Agency Project Manager with the Salt Lake City Corporation, is named APBP’s 2022 Young Professional of the Year. In his work as a transportation planner at Park City Municipal Corporation, Austin empowered historically excluded communities to carry out tactical urbanism projects to reshape their neighborhood streets. Austin works closely with community residents, helping the public gain trust in transportation professionals. Outside of his work in municipal government, Austin spends free time advancing active transportation as Executive Director (now board member) of BikeWalk Provo, a nonprofit advocacy organization.

#  #  #

APBP is a community of practitioners working to create more walkable, bikeable places. We foster peer knowledge sharing, advance technical expertise, and support the professional development of our members. We offer multiple membership levels, and more information can be found at apbp.org.

APBP, the Center for Disability Rights (CDR), The Daniel Initiative (TDI), and 43 civil and human rights groups have written a sign-on letter encouraging Congress to move and pass legislation that addresses the lack of law enforcement accountability in the harm and killing of people and in particular Black people in this country. While this letter is not specific to traffic enforcement, it does align with APBP's Equity and Traffic Enforcement policy statement.

Click here to read the full sign-on letter.

APBP submitted written testimony for the Maryland SAFE Roads Act (HB0656) which is one of the top two active transportation bills (along with HB0254) in the 2022 Maryland General Assembly session.  Written testimony would urge Environment and Transportation Committee members for favorable consideration of House Bill 656.

Bill Highlights - Safe Access for All (SAFE) Roads Act of 2022 requires MDOT State Highway Administration to:

1. Conduct an analysis of high pedestrian and bike injury corridors/ intersections and identify engineering improvements to address identified threats; publish the results by July 2023

• HB0656 Vulnerable Road User (VRU) assessment is consistent with federal law; specifically, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) SEC. 11111. HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, subsection 16 VRU Safety Assessment.

2. Provide specified minimum annual funding levels in budget areas involving pedestrian and bicycle safety

• SAFE Roads Act specified funding is a small fraction of the increased funding Maryland is expected to receive of the $4.6 billion over five years ($992 million per year) in IIJA Federal highway formula funding for highways and bridges. On an average annual basis, this is about 35.9% more than the State’s Federal-aid highway formula funding (USDOT  MAC Conduit Street Blog)

3. Review outstanding and upcoming preservation and maintenance projects for opportunities to implement Context Driven Design Elements and FHA Proven Safety Countermeasures

4. When implementing new safe infrastructure and engineering improvements that will take more than 12 months to complete, implement near-term, incremental improvements which enhance safety in the interim.

APBP believes safe and dignified mobility is a human right. Within this, equitable enforcement for people moving around public space is essential.

APBP believes the legacy practice of armed law enforcement officers enforcing traffic violations denies the communities we serve this right.

APBP supports the decisions made by several organizations to remove traffic enforcementas a component of safety initiatives.^[1] APBP endorses efforts to reinforce transportation safety with a more holistic definition that includes freedom from crash risk along with other forms of harm including harassment and racism.

APBP is supportive of alternatives to the traditional model of armed law enforcement of traffic laws. Such recent efforts include replacing armed law enforcement with other trained and unarmed staff to conduct traffic stops. Existing and emerging roadway and vehicle technology can also replace the safety function of traffic enforcement. APBP supports deployment of such technologies, provided that they are transparently and equitably planned and deployed.

APBP encourages an emphasis on self-reinforcing street designs which may reduce or eliminate the perceived need for enforcement (armed or otherwise) as a tool for roadway safety. Self-reinforcing design practices use geometric elements to encourage drivers to select speeds consistent with the posted speed limits and design intent of roadways.^[2]

APBP believes that any continued law enforcement related to traffic stops must be monitored and analyzed for bias and potential harm to Black people, Indigenous people, and people of color (BIPOC) and to the LGBTQ community.

APBP supports changes to federal funding programs related to safety that would improve transparency regarding expenditures and effectiveness, implement data reporting requirements related to racial and social equity impacts, and remove mandates for spending on enforcement activities.

Read the full APBP Equity and Traffic Enforcement Policy Statement.

The Helmet Law Working Group including Central Seattle Greenways, Real Change, Cascade Bicycle Club, and Beacon Hill Safe Streets, as well as members from other organizations has written a letter to the King County Board of Health recommending the repeal of the King County bicycle helmet law with endorsement from APBP.

The research, outreach, and discussion of the working group sought to understand the impacts of King County’s bicycle helmet law, including its disproportionate enforcement by Seattle police against people of color and homeless bicyclists. Findings were that Black cyclists have received citations at nearly four times the rate of white cyclists; homeless individuals have received nearly half of all recent helmet citations. Their research and advocacy were recently featured in The Seattle Times and The Guardian.

The King County Board of Health is now reviewing the helmet law beginning with a panel discussion at their meeting on June 17. The letter to the Board of Health urges them to keep all bicyclists safe from harmful policing by repealing the helmet law, or at the least, removing the possibility of punitive, armed enforcement.

 Read the full letter here.

Senator Schatz's (D-OH) office is working on a bill to codify the infrastructure and vehicle safety recommendations from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) 2018 Report on Pedestrian Safety and 2019 Report on Bicyclist Safety.  The bill also would require better data collection. APBP has signed on in support.