Caltrans Quick-Build Pilot

CALTRANS QUICK-BUILD PILOT

CalBike is sponsoring a bill to pilot quick-build improvements on state-controlled routes.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

Move fast and fix things

Quick-build projects have accelerated local road safety by allowing public agencies to rapidly deploy paint, planter boxes, soft-hit bollards, and other cost-effective infrastructure to enhance bicycle and pedestrian safety. But quick-build has rarely been used on roadways that Caltrans repairs and maintains. Many state routes double as local streets, and they are often among the most dangerous streets in a town or city, especially for people walking and biking.

CalBike sponsored the Caltrans Quick-Build Project Pilot Program Bill, AB 891. This bill would have created a pilot, allowing Caltrans to use quick-build techniques to address unsafe conditions on state routes in months rather than years, bypassing the protracted planning and funding cycles typically required for Caltrans projects.

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CALBIKE CONTINUES THE CAMPAIGN

Making quick fixes of road hazards that threaten the safety of people biking and walking is essential, especially on the state routes that run through many California neighborhoods. Our 2025 Quick-Build on Caltrans Streets Bill didn’t make it out of Senate Appropriations. We feel it’s important for Caltrans to adopt quick-build methods, and we will continue to look for ways to encourage our state DOT to use it through administrative and legislative routes.

Local governments already use quick-build to pilot new bikeways and other active transportation infrastructure. The Caltrans Quick-Build Pilot Program would bring fast, effective safety improvements to some of the streets that need them most.

WHAT WE’RE FIGHTING FOR

While we wait years — or decades — for safe streets, vulnerable road users continue to be injured and killed.

Around 4,000 people die on California roads each year; a quarter of those are vulnerable road users, primarily pedestrians. Many of our state routes are used by people in all transportation modes, not just driving cars or trucks. Caltrans needs the ability to move fast to fix a dangerous intersection or section of roadway. Quick-build methods with give the agency the power to move fast — and save lives.

Download CalBike’s Quick-Build Design Guide.