The transportation sector needs clear, accurate, and consistent active transportation messaging and communications. Active transportation encompasses complex and important issues, such as equity, accessibility, data, and safety. Communications and messaging can raise awareness of the benefits of active transportation and help transportation agency cultures accept the policies and practices needed to provide safe and equitable active transportation on highways, such as de-emphasizing (vehicular) mobility and accepting a lower level of service.

Providing consistent messaging and terminology for internal state department of transportation (DOT) communications will assist transportation professionals to better communicate the value of active transportation, including its role and co-benefits related to equity, safety, and sustainability, as they seek research, funding, and projects. Similarly, consistent communications will facilitate improved stakeholder communications related to benefits and methods of providing safe and effective active transportation. 

The purpose of this research is to develop a resource or set of resources for providing consistent messaging on active transportation within state DOT communications, policies, manuals, guidelines and other documents, and external communications with various stakeholder groups, including elected officials, communities, and the general public. The messaging should address the following topics:

• Benefits of active transportation;
• Support/justification for investment in active transportation; and
• Support/justification for investment in the countermeasures needed to provide safe and equitable active transportation, including speed management.