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Appendix 7 <br /> Pedestrian and Bicycle Characteristics in Washington State <br /> Walking and bicycling are integral parts of the Washington State transportation system at the <br /> city, county, and state level. Every trip begins and ends as a pedestrian trip. People use bicycles <br /> to commute to work and school, for utilitarian trips such as visiting friends, shopping, or other <br /> personal errands, and to make connections to transit or other intermodal facilities. In fact, a <br /> benchmark of making a community a desirable place to live is its pedestrian access and bicycle <br /> facilities. The cities of Portland, Oregon, and Boulder, Colorado, are frequently cited as having <br /> vibrant downtown centers because of their concerted efforts to make the downtown area <br /> pedestrian and bicycle friendly. Another example is the planned community of Valencia, <br /> California, which is adding a pedestrian oriented "Main Street" in order to create a greater sense <br /> of community and strengthen its position as the regional hub of north Los Angeles County. <br /> BICYCLIST AND PEDESTRIAN DESCRIPTION <br /> Common Bicyclist Description <br /> (Source: Federal Highway Administration) <br /> Group A- Experienced—Desires direct access to destinations and is comfortable using <br /> Advanced , existing streets and highways. <br /> Group B- Casual,Novice, Occasional—Desires comfortable access to destinations <br /> Basic and prefers some separation from motor vehicles. <br /> Group C- Pre-teen—Residential areas with low volume traffic or physically separated <br /> Children facilities. <br /> Because everyone is a pedestrian, defining a pedestrian is difficult. The following is a <br /> summation of common pedestrian characteristics. <br /> Common Pedestrian Description <br /> Age 0 to 4 Learning to walk <br /> Requiring parental supervision <br /> Developing peripheral vision, depth perception <br /> Age 5-12 • Increasing independence <br /> Poor depth perception <br /> Susceptible to "dart-out"/intersection dash <br /> { <br /> Age 13-18 Sense of invulnerability <br /> Intersection dash <br /> Age 19-40 µ Active, fully aware of traffic environment <br /> Age 41-65 Slowing of reflexes <br /> Age 65+ ▪ Street crossing difficulty <br /> Poor vision <br /> Difficulty hearing vehicles approaching from behind <br /> High fatality rate <br /> W:\PLANNING\TRAILS\COMP96.DOC 54 <br />