8/26/2015

BikeLanes:ProsandConsofBicycleLanes

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BicycleLanes:Ano
brainer?
Youmightthinkthatallcyclingadvocates
wouldsupportbicyclelanes.You'dbe
wrong.Somecyclistsopposebikelanesonthe

OffsetBushingsfrom10
offsetbushings.com

OffsetandStandardshock
hardwareMachinedtofityour
bike!

groundsthattheyprotectonlyfromrearend
collisions(whicharerare),andincreasethe
likelihoodofcollisionsatintersections(which
aremorecommon).Theresearchdataisabit
conflicting.HereatBicycleUniversewe
generallysupportbicyclelanesbecause:

BicyclestorentonCrete
outdoortravel.gr

Beactive!Rentabicycleat
MatalaalsoInline
skates,Scooters,Nordik

1. Theymakecyclingfeelsafer.The
surveysalwaysshowthat#1reason
whypeoplesaytheydon'tbikeis
becausetheyfeelit'stoodangerous,

Googlepicksthe
ads,
notme.

Start
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andthe#1thingthatwouldmake
themfeelsaferismorebikelanes.

PhysioNewcastle
physiohaus.co.uk

PhysioSportsInjurySpecialists.
Forallyourmultisportneeds

2. Evenifbikelanesdon'thelp,it's
unlikelythattheyhurt.Some
researchshowsthatstreetswithand
withoutbikelanesareaboutthesame
riskforcyclists.Inthatcase,there'sno
harmininstallingthelanes,especiallyif

ContekSolutionsLLC
contekllc.com

3rdpartyproviderofEngineering,
Environmental,Safety,Mgmt.
Sys.

theyencouragemorepeopletobike.
3. Bikelanesmeanmorecyclists.
Citiesthatinstallbikelanesseean
increaseinthenumberofcyclists.
(source)
4. Bikelaneskeepcyclistsoff
sideswalks.Ridingonthesidewalk
dropswhenbikelanesareavailable.
Ridingonthesidewalkisdangerousto
pedestrians,andactuallydangerous
eventocyclistsbecausethey're
vulnerabletogettinghitbyturningcars
whencomingoffthesidewalktocross
thestreet.
5. Othercountrieshavethem.Other

http://bicycleuniverse.info/transpo/bikelanes.html

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countrieswithhigherratesofcycling
(andlowerratesofcyclistinjuries)
employbikelanes.
Someoftheresearchintothesafetyofbike
lanesislistedbelow.

BikeLanes:Pros&
Cons
Researchsupportingthe
safetyofbikelanes
BicycleQuarterly.CitesEuropeandata
whichshowsthatseparatedbikelanes
(withaphysicalbarrier)cuttheaccident
riskinhalfonhighspeedroads(45
mph).
AmericanJournalofPublicHealth,
2012.Bikelanescutinjuryriskby
50%,dedicatedbikelanescutitby
90%.JohnForesterchallengedits
conclusions,sayinginpart:"Inthe
muchmoreimpressivecycletrackissue,
theauthorsproclaimedenormouscrash
reductionwithoutinformingthereaders
[thattheystudiedonlyasingle
installationwhich]wasnotalonga
typicalcitystreetbut[was]theonly
situationinwhichaplaincycletrack
couldpossiblybesafe,aplacewithout
crossingorturningmovementsby
motorists,cyclists,orpedestrians.The
authorsrefertothefortyyearoldcycle
trackcontroversyasiftheyhadstudied
it,butclearlytheydontunderstandit."
Forresternotestheabsenceofonstreet
parkingiscorrelatedwithsafetyfor
cyclists.
UniversityofTexasstudy,2006.Study
showsimprovedsafetyformotorists
whenbikelanesexist,becausedrivers
passingcyclistsonroadswithoutbike
lanesveerfartherleftintothenextlane
oftraffic.Italsofoundthatbikelanes
promotesafetyforcyclistssincebikers
inbikelanesdon'thugthecurbas
muchasthoseonunmarkedstreets.
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Moritz'1996studygivesstrong
evidencethatstreetswithbikelanesare
saferthanthosewithout.
Thecommunitydevelopment
departmentofCambridge,MAhas
evidenceaboutthesafetyofbikelanes.
BicycleLanesvs.WideOutsideCurb
lanes.StudybytheU.S.Dept.of
Transportation.(Andhere'sacritiqueof
thatstudybyJohnForrester.)
MikeDahmusdidasmallsamplingto
seehowcloselycarspassedhimon
ShoalCreekBlvd.inAustin,Texas,
whentherewasnobikelaneandthen
againafterthebikelanewasstriped.He
observedthatcarskeptagreater
distancefromhimonaveragewhen
therewasnobikelane,butthatwithout
abikelanecarswouldoccasionallypass
muchcloserthanwhenthebikelane
wasthere.Hisconclusionwasthatthe
bikelaneprovidesameasureofsafety,
becausewiththebikelanecarsare
morelikelytomaintainaminimumsafe
distancefromcyclists.
TexasTransportationInstititute,2000
(PDF).Studyfoundthatthewiderthe
lane,thefasterdriversdrive.
BicycleCoalitionofPhiladelphia.
Sidewalkridingdroppedfrom19.8%on
streetswithnobikelaneto8.6%on
streetswithabikelaneto2.4%on
streetswithabufferedbikelane.

Mixedpro/con
ListeningtoBikeLanesbyJeffreyHiles
strikesabalancebetweenthosewho
supportandthosewhoopposebike
lanes.Lotsofgooddatahere.
BicyclingInfo.org'sbalancedarticle
ProsandConsofBikeLanesbyAlan
Wachtel.

Opposedtobikelanes
BicycleQuarterly.CitesEuropeandata
whichshowsthatpaintedbikelanes
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offernobenefitonmosturbanroads
(3045mph),andaremuchmore
dangerousonlowspeedroads
(12/20mph)thannobikelane.
BlundersinPlanningandEngineering,
byanEffectiveCyclingInstructor
CritiqueofUSDoTstudyonbikelanes&
wideoutsidecurblanes,byJohn
Forrester

Relatedresources&ideas
Bikelanedesignguide(PDF)bytheUS
DoT
Technicalinfoaboutbikelane
dimensions,andexamplesofcitiesthat
usevariouskindsofbikelanes,from
BicyclingInfo.org
"Sharrows"are"sharedlanearrows"
paintedontothestreettoshow
motoristsandcycliststhatthey're
supposedtosharethelane.They're
beingpromotedasanalternativetobike
lanes,especiallyonroadwayswhere
thereisn'tenoughspaceforadedicated
bikelane.AltaPlanningconducteda
detailedstudyofsharrows(PDF)in
2004.

ProsandConsofBike
Lanes
byMikeDahmus,April2,2005

Therearenogoodstudiesprovingthatbike
lanesorwidecurblanesarebetterthanthe
other.ALLtheoriesyouhearonwhichoneis
betterarerestingonsomebody'sopinion.
[Update,Feb.2007:Afewmonthsago,a
studydidcomeoutwhichclaimedtoshowa
nontrivialsafetyenhancementformarked
bikelanesvs.widecurblanes.]
I'moneofthepeoplewhothinkswe
overprescribebikelanes,butitbugsmethatso
manyForsteritesaresohostiletothemin
general.Bothbikelanesandwidecurblanes
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havetheirplace.
I'moperatingundertheassumptionthatwe're
comparingbikelanestowidecurblanesnot
narrowcurblanes.Thetheorythatwecan
reengineerthe98%ofAustinthatneedsitto
agridpatternlikeHydeParkwherewedon't
needEITHERfacilityisjustludicrous.

Mygeneralfeelingonwhenbikelanes
areappropriate:
1. Wheretherearelotsofinexperienced
bicyclists
2. Wherespeeddifferentialisfairlyhigh
3. Wherevolumeofbicyclistsisveryhigh

Mygeneralfeelingonwhenwidecurb
lanesareappropriate:
1. Wherespeeddifferentialislower
2. Wherebicyclevolume(alltypes)is
moderatetolow

Wherenottoputbikelanes:
1. Lowspeedorcongestedroadways
whereturningvolumeisveryhigh
2. Residentialstreets(NOTE:DESPITE
NEIGHBORHOOD
MISREPRESENTATIONS,"RESIDENTIAL
STREET"ISACATEGORYOFROADWAY
SEVERALLEVELSBELOWSHOALCREEK
BOULEVARD).
3. Wheretheycan'tbesweptorotherwise
maintained
4. Whereyoucan'tcommitto"no
parking".

ThingsIbelievethatarePROsforbike
lanes:
1. Bikelanesattractnewcyclistswide
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curblanesdonot.Ithinkthisisself
evident.Patrickagreed,andsodomost
peoplewhoactuallyworkinthefield
(notthepeoplewhocommuteand
criticizebutthepeoplewhoarepaidto
trytoincreasecyclingintheirparticular
city).
2. Noamountofeducationsofarhasbeen
abletomatchupagainstthebikelane
stripeasawaytogetpeopleouton
theirbikes.Ofcourse,thismaybea
goodthingifyouthinkwedon'tneed
moreuneducatedcyclistsoutthere.
3. Youcan'tattractnewcycliststoaroad
likeJollyvillewithoutabikelanestripe.
Period.Theautomobiletrafficmovestoo
fast.Awidecurblanesimplydoesn't
providethespacethatnewcycliststhink
theyneedinawaywhichmakessense
tothem,comingfromtheworldofthe
automobile.(Wedon'tmaketheright
handlaneupahilltwiceaswideso
truckscanpulltothesidewestripe
anotherlane).
4. Ifyouacceptridingonshoulderson
360,youshouldacceptridinginbike
lanesonJollyville.Theargumentative
convulsionssomeForsteritesgothrough
todefendshouldersfromthesamelogic
theyuseagainstbikelanesare
breathtaking.(Theydothis,Ithink,
becausetheyknowthatevenmost
Forsteritesdon'twanttosharealaneat
65thesameantibikelanereasoning
withafewexceptionswouldlogically
applytoshoulderriding).
5. Mostcyclistsforwhombikefacilitiesare
builtarenottheexpertcycliststhatyou
andImightbe.Theyareinsteadthe
novicecyclistthatIusedtobe(and
presumablyyouusedtobe).
6. Evenonlowspeedroadways,utilityfor
thepopulationASAWHOLEsometimes
demandsthechannelizationoflow
speedtraffic.Forinstance,Speedway
andDuvalnorthofUTcarspeedsare
2530bikespeedsare10thisisn't
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normallyenoughspeeddifferentialto
justifyseparation,butthevolumesof
carsandbikesarebothhigh,andthe
corridor'sthoroughputforbothcarsAND
bikesisthusimprovedbypartial
separationofthemodes.
7. (thisisfromthelinkIgaveafewdays
ago)itispossibletohaveabetter
averagepassingdistanceonaroadway
withawidecurblane,butstillhavea
betteroveralllevelofsafetyinpassing
distancewithabikelane.Whetherthis
happensinpracticeisdebatablebutit
isafactthatyoushouldn'tuse"average
passingdistance"tocomparethe
facilities.
8. Theidea(stolenfromasemiForsterite)
thatwecaneasilygetroadsrestriped
withwidecurblanesisinrealitynot
true.Ifyouwantspaceforbikestobe
takenfromcarlanes,itgenerallyhasto
beabikelane.(Idon'tknowwhythisis,
butitseemstobetrue,althoughAustin
hasanexceptionortwohere).
CONSforbikelanes
1. Cardriversdotendtothinkyouneedto
stayinthebikelane(evenwhen
obstructed,unsafe,whateverthey
usuallycan'tseetheobstruction).Also,
cardriversoftenthinkyoushouldonly
rideonroadsthathavebikelanes.This
problemexistswithwidecurblanestoo,
bytheway.
2. Bikelanesaretheoreticallymore
obstructedthanwidecurblanes.Idon't
believethistobetrue,butmostpeople
do,soI'mlistingithere.Forinstance,
BullCreekdoesn'tseemanyless
obstructednorthof45thwherethere
arewidecurblanes.InAustin,atleast,
BOTHfacilitiesneedvastamountsof
sweepingwhichthey'rejustnotgetting.
3. Sometimescyclistswillstayinabike
lanewhentheyneedtoleaveitdueto
anobstructionorintersectionapproach.
Thisisasignofbadbikelanedesignin
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mostcasesandcanbeovercome,butis
hardtogetright,judgingfromhow
oftenit'sdonewrong.
4. Sometimescyclistswillstayinabike
lanewhentheyshouldbeleavingitto
turn(the"turnleftoutofthefarright
lane"phenomenon).Theproblemhere
isthatIseethishappenonwidecurb
lanesfairlyoftenaswell.Theonly
solutionhereisheavyenforcement.
5. Bikelanessupposedlyencouragewrong
waycycling.(Whateverhappenedto
paintingarrows,bytheway?Jollyville
didn'tgetthem...)again,Iseethis
oftenwithwidecurblanestoo.Heavy
enforcementandmorearrows.

Questioningthesafetyof
bicyclelanes
byFredMeredith,May1,2003
YoumayFEELsafer,butitmaybeafalse
senseofsecurity.Theonlythingthatisgoing
toactuallymakeyousaferonthosestreetsis
howyouandtheotherroadusersbehave....
Ifthebikelaneispaintedtotheintersection,
areyougoingtostayinitifyougostraight
acrosstheintersection?
Whatshouldthecarturningatthat
intersectiondo?Shouldhe/shecomeoverinto
thebikelanetomaketheturn?Dotheyknow
that?
Areyougoingtostayinthebikelaneifitis
rightnexttoparkedcars[anyoneofwhich
couldopenitsdoorinyourpath]?Ifcarsare
parkedontheleftsideofaonewaystreetand
thereisabikelaneontheleftside,arethere
specialconsiderationsyoushouldkeepin
mind?
Whyisthebikelaneanysaferthanbeingout
inthemiddleofthetrafficlane?Therearelots
ofotherlanesfortherestoftheroadusers,
whyshouldn'tyouhaveone?Ifyoufeel
unsafeinatrafficlane,thenmaybeyouneed
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moreexperience/practice/orsomething.Maybe
lessparanoia.

byJeffreyThorne,Jan.4,2005
Ihavetoquestionsomeofthestatements
supportingbikelanesfromtheresearchabove.
"encouragebicycliststorideinthe
correctdirectionoftravel"

Thatdoesn'tmatchmyobservationsherein
Austin.JudgingbythenumberofridersIsee
ridingthebikelanesagainsttrafficflow,I'dsay
theyencouragethatbehaviorinstead.Idon't
seemuchridingagainsttrafficexceptinbike
lanes.Ihavetowonderaboutthe"national
study"concludingotherwise.Accordingto
JeffreyHiles'ListeningtoBikeLanes(see
below),morecyclistsridethewrongwayon
streetswithbikelanesthanonthosewithout.
"signalmotoriststhatcyclistshavea
righttotheroad"

Thatis,theysignalthatbikesbelonginbike
lanes,whichsomewouldtaketomeanONLY
inbikelanes,whichisafalsemessagefor
motoristsandcyclistsalike.
"remindmotoriststolookfor
cyclistswhenturning"

Inmyexperienceandintheconclusionsof
severalstudies,bikelanesmayactually
increasetheincidenceofmotoristshitting
cyclistswhileturninginfrontofthem.This
seemstobebecausethemotoristwho
normallywouldturnrightfromtherightedge
oftheroad,notcuttingoffthecyclist'spath
(thecyclistwouldbebehindorinfrontofthe
turningcar),isencouragedbythebikelane
stripetomaketheturnfromafartherleft
position,cuttingoffthecyclist'spath.
Idosupportbikelanesasatoolforsolving
trafficproblemswhereproblemsareoccurring.
Usually,Iseebikelanesbeingestablished
whereridingwassafeandenjoyablealready,
andinthoseplacestheyareatbestawasteof
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paintandatworstcreatingdangersthat
weren'tpresentbefore.

fromJeffreyHiles'ListeningtoBike
Lanes
Studiesofbicyclists'behaviorpointtoone
overridingrule:Themoreoptionscyclistshave,
themoreoptionstheytake.Thisistrue
whetherornotthoseoptionsareofficially
sanctioned.
Thesideofthestreetonwhichbicyclistsride,
forexample,isinfluencedbythekindofspace
theyhaveinwhichtoride.ThomandClayton
(1992a)observedbicyclistsridingatmostly
busyintersectionswithstandard12footlanes
andspeedlimitsmostlyeither50or60kph
(31or37mph).Afull97.6percentofthe
cyclistsrodeonthesideofthestreetwiththe
flowoftraffic(p.97).Onmostofthestreetsat
thesevenintersectionsstudied,bicyclists
wouldhavehadtorideclosetooncoming
trafficiftheyhadchosentheothersideofthe
street.
Thepicturechangeswherebicyclistshave
moreroom.Astudyofbicyclistsonnine
streetswithstripedbikelanes(Cycecki,Perry,
&Frangos,1993)foundthat22percentofthe
cyclistswhorodeonthestreetschosetoride
facingthemotortrafficontheirsideofthe
street.Ononestreetthebikelanewasmarked
withfourarrowspermile"toshowclearlythat
bicyclistsmustridewithtraffic."Apparentlythe
arrowsdidnotdeterwrongwayridingasmuch
astheextraspaceencouragedit23percent
stillrodefacingtraffic.Onanotherbikelaned
street,39percentcycledagainsttheflow
(pp.29,31).
fromTomWald,Feb.12,2007
Ifyou'vebikedonwest29thStbetweenRio
GrandeandShoalCrest(betweenGuadalupe
StandLamarBlvd),youprobablyrecognizea
casewherethepaintingofbikelanesishighly
questionable.
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Onthisstretchofroad,fromthecenterlineto
thecurbisabout14feet.(Notsoincidentally,
14feetisthemaximumlanewidthforwhich
TexasStateLaw*explicitly*allowsabicyclist
tousetheentirelane).However,thereare
currentlybikelanesmarkedonthisstretchof
road.Thesebikelanesmeasureabouttwoto
fourfeetwide,ifmyspatialmemoryiscorrect.
Myimpressionisthatsomemotoristsgetfairly
frustratedwhenIrideoutsideofthemarked
bikelaneonthisroad,asisevidencedbytheir
aggressivedriving,creatingunsafesituations
forallinvolved,andhornsignals.Idon'treally
fitinsidethebikelaneinsomeplaces,I
thinkanyofmybikesaretoowideforthelane.
Ofthethreechoicesbikelane,sharrows,and
nomarkingshavingmarkedbikelaneseasily
takeslastplace.Ifsharrowswereused,I'dlike
toseethemcenteredsomewherebetween40
50%fromthecenterlinesothatmotorists
don'tgetanyimpressionthatit'sreasonableto
pass.Perhapsthough,in2007,nomarkingsis
thebestchoice.

SupportingBikeLanes
MikeDahmus,Mar.30,2005
Mostofthepeoplewhoarguethatbikelanes
arealmostalwaysbadtendtobeinoneof
thesegroups(orcombinationsthereof):
1.focusedwithlasersharpprecisiononthe
needsofcurrent(experienced)transportational
cyclists(i.e.don'tthinkorcareaboutkids,
novices,elderly)tendtobepeoplewholivein
areaswherecyclingjusttendstohappenby
itselfanddoesn'tneedpromotionor
encouragement.
2.inexperiencedwithsuburbancycling
conditions(i.e.whywouldyoueverneedabike
laneormarkedshoulderifroadsarelaidoutin
agridpatternwithdesignspeedsof30mph)
tendtobedisproportionatelyEuropean,some
AmercanadherentsamongForsteritesmainly
inthenortheastormidwestUnitedStates
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areaswhichhaven'tseenmuchgrowthsince
the1960sorso.IEthesearepeoplewho
neverhavetorideonroadslikeJollyvilletoget
wheretheywanttogo.
3.carelessabouttheneedsofthecityto
ensuregoodtrafficflowforallusersofa
corridori.e.sometimesthebikelaneexiststo
increasethelikelihoodthatmotoristscan
maintainsomereasonablelevelofspeed,and
thisisn'tnecessarilyabadthing.IE,theseare
peoplewhothinkthecityshouldn'tcarethat
automobiletrafficwouldoftenandsuddenlybe
restrictedto10mphorsoonanygivenstreet
sincesomemotoristsdon'teffectivelyknow
howtopasscyclistswithoutthehelpofa
stripe.
Theyalsotendtoneglectstatisticalthinkingin
theirargumentsfocusing,forinstance,on
theaveragepassingdistancetheygetfrom
motoristsinwidecurblanesvsbikelanes,
ratherthanlookingdeepertothe10th
percentilecase.(moredetails).
Thoseofusintherealworldnotethatmany
ShoalCreekcorridorusersareveryyoungor
veryold,andthatittendstoattractnovice
cyclistsofallages(me,forinstance).It,while
theoreticallyalowspeedcorridor,hasan
apparentdesignspeedof40mphorso,and
servesasatransportationspinewhichcanbe
analternateforBurnetRoadandMopacfor
cyclists(improvingconditionsforcyclistsand
driversifitsucceedsinattractingmostcyclists
awayfromthosetwocorridors).Italso
functionsasaminorarterialitself(even
thoughboguslyreclassifiedasacollector)and
thusneedstoworryaboutflowofcarsin
additiontobikes.

AnothersitebyMichaelBluejay...

FramedWeddingInvitations.Theultimate
weddinggift:Theweddinginvitationbeautifullymounted
inanelegantframeandsurroundedwithreal,pressed
flowers.

Lastupdate:June2013
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