The Bicycle and Pedestrian TIP Process

Transportation projects in North Carolina progress through a standard process of planning, design and construction. Improvements for bicycling and walking may be included in the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) as part of the construction of a highway project or, where no highway project is programmed, as an independent project. Bicycle and pedestrian projects follow essentially the same TIP process as do highway projects.

The Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation (DBPT) works with localities to create a four-year schedule of projects using the locality’s priority listing of needs along with the adopted project selection criteria. The DBPT compiles candidate bicycle projects to be considered for inclusion in the TIP from the following sources:

• The prioritized Local Transportation Improvement Program (LTIP) lists produced by the 17 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), which have been derived from separate lists produced by communities comprising the MPO.
  
  
• Project requests that are made at the biennial TIP meetings or through written requests within 30 days of the meetings from the state’s small urban areas, counties, public and private entities, and citizens.
  
  
• Internal DBPT assessment of statewide bicycle and pedestrian project needs.
  

All project requests are documented and distinguished as independent or incidental (part of a highway project). Independent project requests are evaluated by DBPT using project selection criteria. A prioritized list of these projects is presented to the North Carolina Bicycle Committee. The Committee reviews the list, makes revisions and recommendations, and adopts a four-year schedule of projects. The adopted schedule is sent to the North Carolina Board of Transportation for approval and inclusion in the state’s TIP.

Inclusion of a bicycle or pedestrian project in the TIP does not guarantee that it will be implemented; rather, it means that it will receive further study and will be implemented if feasible. Incidental projects are considered in conjunction with the planning study for the given highway or bridge project and implemented, if feasible.

List of Bicycle and Pedestrian TIP Projects
Click below to access the lists of independent and incidental projects currently in the TIP, which are listed by division, county and locality.

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Independent Projects (PDF, 96k)
Incidental Projects (PDF, 56k)

The Transportation Improvement Program Process:
From Need to Bicycle Improvement
The Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) is the process through which local areas and citizens are asked to present their transportation needs to state government. Bicycle facility and safety needs are an important part of this process. Every other year, a series of TIP meetings is scheduled around the state. Following the conclusion of these meetings, all requests are evaluated. Bicycle improvement requests, which meet project selection criteria, are then scheduled into a four-year program as part of the state’s long-term transportation program.

Incidental projects — those where the bicycle request is an incidental feature of a planned highway improvement — are built with a mixture of state and federal funds as part of overall highway improvement. Independent bicycle projects — those which are separate from any other scheduled highway improvement — are paid for from funds allocated for that purpose by the North Carolina Board of Transportation.

Examples of bicycle projects already underway include signed bike routes, greenway/multi-use paths, roadways with widened outside lanes, widened paved shoulders, bicycle parking, replacement of hazardous drainage grates, mapping and signing projects, and producing bicycle route maps.

Steps in the Process

1. Recognizing a need for a bicycle improvement project. Somewhere in a local area there may be unsafe or difficult riding conditions for bicyclists that highlight a need for bicycle transportation improvements. Such improvements may be an on-road improvement such as wide paved shoulders, an off-road bike path, bicycle parking, or printed materials such as maps or safety brochures.
   
   
2. The need is presented to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. If it is a citizen or private group such as a local bicycle club, there are several ways to present the need to transportation officials. First, a citizen or local club may present their request to appropriate local government officials—aldermen, town council members, county commissioners, local planning boards, Transportation Advisory Committees, or other group appropriate to that local area. These agencies may or may not choose to include the request in their transportation improvement plan to be presented to NC Department of Transportation at the biennial Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) meeting.
   
   If an official of an agency desires to make a request at a division TIP meeting but is unable to attend on the date of the meeting, a written request may be submitted within 30 days of the scheduled TIP meeting. The request should be addressed to the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Transportation. All requests will receive the same degree of consideration.
   
   
3. All bicycle requests are documented. Following the public TIP meetings, requests for bicycle transportation improvement projects will be organized and documented by the NCDOT Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation.
   
   
4. Some bicycle improvement projects are selected for construction. The Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation first evaluates and prioritizes all requests; then a summary of the project requests is presented to the NCDOT Bicycle Committee for its review. The Committee then forwards recommendations on the scheduling of some of the requested projects to the North Carolina Board of Transportation, which makes the final decision on projects to be included in the Transportation Improvement Program. Inclusion in the TIP Plan does not in any way guarantee that a requested project will be implemented. Rather, it means that the project will receive further study and will be implemented if feasible.
   
   
5. Projects listed in the TIP fall into two categories. Bicycle and pedestrian projects that can be incorporated into a planned and scheduled highway improvement are categorized as incidental projects. The bicycle or pedestrian element will be considered during the planning and design phases of the total project. Incidental projects are built with a combination of state and federal funds in the same manner as the larger highway project is constructed. Projects not incorporated into a planned and scheduled highway improvement are categorized as independent projects. These projects are constructed using 80% federal and 20% state money.
   
   
6. Finally, some TIP projects are implemented. In the case of a scheduled incidental bicycle improvement, inclusion in the TIP means that the project will be considered in conjunction with the planning and environmental studies for the given highway project. If the bicycle component is judged to be feasible, it will be scheduled for construction.
   
   Following inclusion in the TIP, each independent project will undergo a detailed planning study that includes the evaluation of the feasibility of the project as well as the actual project cost. Upon completion and acceptance by the NCDOT, the planning study will be submitted to the North Carolina Board of Transportation for final approval and funding. A project must successfully pass through each of these levels in order to be implemented. During any of the above phases of project development, it may be necessary to alter or eliminate a proposed improvement due to regulatory or design constraints or because of unanticipated costs.
   
   
7. TIP bicycle projects may take many forms. A number of bicycle improvement projects involve construction of on-road or off-road facilities: wide paved shoulders (4-ft. minimum width); specially striped lanes for bicycles (minimum 4-foot width); wide outside lanes (14-ft. minimum width) which permit a safer mix of bicycles and motor vehicles); greenway-type bicycle paths; railroad crossing improvements for bicycle safety; and the addition of bicycle-safe bridge railings. The Projects section of this website provides more information.
   
   However, not all eligible bicycle improvements require a construction project. The following are examples of other acceptable projects: signing bicycle routes; producing maps and safety brochures for cyclists in local areas; replacing unsafe drainage grates; making spot improvements such as paving potholes or hazard marking of dangerous roadway features; and providing bicycle safety education materials for local areas.
   

11/11/02