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Urban Bikeway Design Guide Index

Urban Bikeway Design Guide
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Strategies to Reduce Other Sources of Stress

Strategies to Reduce Other Sources of Stress

In addition to motor vehicle speed and volume, All Ages & Abilities bikeway facility selection should respond to street conditions that increase bicycling stress and often degrade comfort and safety for all people using the street. These sources of stress can be addressed through design, operations, and network solutions that either remove the source of stress or separate it from bicycle traffic.

Multiple Motor Vehicle Lanes

Source of Stress

Design Strategy
Motor vehicle traffic on multi-lane streets, whether two-way or one-way, is less predictable than on streets with a single lane per direction of travel. Lane changes, acceleration and passing, and multiple-threat visibility issues degrade both comfort and safety. Corridors with a major through-traffic function and multiple motor vehicle lanes are inherently unpredictable biking environments. Reduce the cross-section to one motor vehicle travel lane per direction, where possible. On streets where multiple through lanes in one direction are used to allocate very high motor vehicle traffic capacity, provide physical protection and manage turns across the bikeway. 4-to-3 or 5-to-3 lane conversions paired with protected bikeways are transformative for both bicycling and walking safety and comfort.

 

Motor Vehicle Queuing

Source of Stress

Design Strategy
Motor vehicle congestion presents safety and comfort issues for people bicycling. Queued traffic moves at unpredictable speeds and will often invade conventional or buffered bike lanes. Protected bike lanes should be implemented where motor vehicle invasion of the bike lane is likely to occur otherwise. Visual and physical barriers can prevent encroachment on the bikeway.
Queuing encourages both motorists and bicyclists to engage in unpredictable movements. Bicyclists may weave through queued cars when bicycle facilities are obstructed, where motorists are also prone to move unexpectedly. Bicycle facilities should be designed with capacity for growing ridership, including passing of slow-moving cargo bicycles.

 

Intersections

Source of Stress

Design Strategy
Motor vehicles turning across the bikeway typically require people bicycling to negotiate with motor vehicles, a significant stressor at all but the very lowest speed conditions. Bicycle design treatments that require people biking to cross or mix with motor vehicle traffic are stressful at all but low volumes. Provide separation in space and time between bicycles and vehicles to the extent possible, or reduce speed and maximize visibility between drivers and bicyclists. Tighter effective corner radii, raised crossings, and protected intersection designs are effective in slowing motor vehicle turning speed and placing bicyclists in a priority position.
Bicycle left turns, especially on busy streets, can be very stressful or even dangerous for bicyclists, especially if bikes are expected to merge with fast-moving traffic or turn across multiple lanes. Provide appropriate intersection treatments to accommodate desired turning movements, including bike boxes, two-stage queue boxes, phase separation, or protected intersections (also known as “offset” or “bend-out” crossings) that organize and give priority to people bicycling.
Sharp grade or direction changes, such as sharp lateral transitions approaching the intersection, require people biking to slow down and may increase fall risks. Frequent starts and stops also create instability at intersections. Reduce or mitigate situations that increase risk of falling and instability. Design intersection approaches and transitions with bicycle-friendly geometry; place bicycle movements first in the signal phase; time signal progressions to bike-friendly speeds; and rotate stop signs to face cross streets.

 

Trucks & Large Vehicles

Source of Stress

Design Strategy
High volumes of truck traffic degrade adjacent bicycling safety and comfort. This is often the case on major streets, or in commercial or industrial places. Provide protected bicycle facilities—or, at minimum, buffered bike lanes—on observed or designated trucking routes, regardless of general motor vehicle speed and volume.
Large vehicles have large blind spots, increasing risk of side-swipe and right-hook crashes. Use buffers to increase the distance between truck and bicycle travel paths. Consider protected intersection geometry (also known as “offset” or “bend-out”).
Large vehicle noise and exhaust increase bicycling stress and present public health issues. Provide wide lateral separation—such as with wide buffers, planters or planting strips, or parking-protected facilities—to dissipate pollutants entering the bikeway.

 

Curbside Activity

Source of Stress

Design Strategy
Frequent freight and passenger loading either happens in the bikeway or adjacent in the curbside lane. Loading activities increase conflicts crossing the bike lane, or even blockages by double-parked vehicles that imperil bicyclists and rapidly decrease assurances of safety. Provide designated truck loading zones and provide space for other curbside uses to prevent blockages of the bicycle lane. Consider restricting freight loading to off-peak periods. If frequent freight or passenger loading is observed, provide protected bicycle facilities regardless of speed and volume, or move passenger and freight loading uses to a cross-street.
High parking turnover results in frequent weaving and door zone conflicts. Where parking turnover is high, provide protected bikeways regardless of speed to avoid sudden conflicts and reduce injury risk, or remove parking. Cities should establish local guidance on acceptable levels of parking maneuvers across bicycle lanes.
Freight loading is present throughout the day, but motor vehicle speed and volume are consistently low. Implement a robust bike boulevard or shared street treatment with traffic calming strategies to provide comfort and safety across the entire roadway.
Car doors open into the bicycle travel path during vehicle exit and entry, but parking turnover is low to moderate. Provide a wide marked buffer adjacent to the vehicle door zone to guide bicyclists clear of dooring conflicts for both buffered and protected bike lanes.

 

Frequent Transit

Source of Stress

Design Strategy
Buses merge across conventional bike lanes to access curbside stops. At all but the lowest bus frequencies, conventional “pull-out” transit stops degrade bicycling comfort and increase transit delay. Provide spot protection using transit boarding islands, which are compatible with protected, buffered, and conventional bicycle lanes. Boarding islands create in-lane transit stops, which improve bus reliability and travel time.
Bikes and transit travel at similar average speeds but different moving speeds, as buses stop and accelerate frequently. Overtaking buses and bicycle leapfrogging decrease riding comfort in mixed conditions. Provide dedicated bicycle facilities. On one-way streets, left-side bicycle facilities can be used to separate bikes and transit vehicles.
Core transit routes and trunklines often operate on streets with dense destinations and demand for bicycle access. In some cases, right-of-way width may constrain design decisions and facility types that can be implemented. On trunkline transit streets, it is even more important to accommodate users in dedicated lanes, since the major streets are where people need to get to their destinations. If the primary demand for the corridor is through travel, it may be possible to consider providing high-quality bike infrastructure on parallel, nearby, and continuous routes, while allowing local bicycle access on the transit street. To improve All Ages & Abilities bicycling conditions, use low-speed signal progressions and other calming measures consistent with transit effectiveness. As on all transit routes, pedestrian safety is the foremost design need.

 

The NACTO Transit Street Design Guide provides detailed guidance for streets with frequent bus transit routes.

Adapted from the Urban Bikeway Design Guide, published by Island Press.

References

References for Strategies to Reduce Other Sources of Stress: 4 found.