Skip to main content

Research reveals perceptions, safety and use of protected bike lanes

A research study released by the US National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) program offers the most comprehensive evaluation of protected cycle lanes to date. The study, Lessons from the Green Lanes, examines recently installed protected bike lanes in five of the six founding PeopleForBikes Green Lane Project cities and provides the scientific basis for decisions that could improve bicycling in cities across the United States. Protected bike lanes, sometimes called cycle tracks, are
June 6, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
A research study released by the US National Institute for Transportation and Communities (NITC) program offers the most comprehensive evaluation of protected cycle lanes to date. The study, Lessons from the Green Lanes, examines recently installed protected bike lanes in five of the six founding PeopleForBikes Green Lane Project cities and provides the scientific basis for decisions that could improve bicycling in cities across the United States.

Protected bike lanes, sometimes called cycle tracks, are on-street lanes separated from traffic by kerbs, planters, parked cars or posts to help organise the street and make riding a bike appealing for people of all ages and abilities. Because protected bike lanes are relatively new to the US, little academic research has existed to help leaders evaluate the risks and rewards of the investment in putting the facilities on the ground.

Researchers visited each of the five participating cities — Austin, Texas; Chicago; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; and Washington, DC — and selected one to two protected bike lanes to study in each city. They set up cameras at two to three locations on each protected lane to gather data including bicycle counts and conflicts. They analysed 168 hours of video where 16,393 bicyclists and 19,724 turning and merging vehicles were observed.

Cyclists said it feels safer to bicycle on the new facilities and all categories of road users said the safety of cycling on the street had increased. Perceptions of the effect on the safety of walking and driving on the street were mixed.

In the 144 hours of video analysed for safety, with nearly 12,900 bicycles through the intersections, no collisions or near collisions were observed. This included both intersections with turn lanes and those with bicycle-specific traffic signals.

Overall, large majorities of all road users supported adding more protected lanes. Of people living near protected bike lanes, 76 per cent support adding the lanes in additional locations, whether they use them or not.

Researchers found that people understand how to use the new protected lanes and what to do at intersections. Because the studied cities took different approaches to intersections, where automobiles and bicycles mix, the response of road users varied. Still, large majorities of cyclists felt safe going through all types of intersection design.

This study provides definitive evidence that people feel safe riding in protected lanes and that people travelling by car or foot also support building more protected lanes to separate bicycles and automobiles. It also provides insight on the safety, use and economic effect of protected lanes.

“This study fills a critical gap in the research and can influence national guidance on protected bike lanes,” said research team leader Christopher Monsere said. “Policymakers can look to this research to see how they could best use protected bike lanes to meet their mobility, safety and economic goals.”
UTC

Related Content

  • March 17, 2017
    Better websites build smarter transport participation
    Transport initiatives are gaining traction through well-designed websites. Four European smart transport-oriented websites have gained honours in the 2016 .eu Web Awards, an online competition inaugurated in 2014 to recognise the most impressive sites within the .eu internet domain in terms of their design and content. The four were among 15 finalists across all five categories of the scheme, giving the transport sector a high profile for its proactive use of sites as communications tools for driving major
  • March 19, 2018
    Iteris highlights SmartCycle Bike Indicator
    Iteris is highlighting the new SmartCycle Bike Indicator. A first of its kind, the indicator is a low-cost solution to cyclist uncertainty at red lights. It provides confirmation to vulnerable bike riders that their presence has been detected and they will be given the appropriate green light timing to safely get through the intersection. The illumination control module seamlessly works with Iteris video detection processors that employ the SmartCycle algorithm. The highly accurate algorithm, currently in
  • November 28, 2016
    Fast moving walkways could move 7,000 people per hour
    Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) researchers have been studying futuristic transport solutions for car-free urban centres and have come up with an optimal design for a network of accelerating moving walkways. This is not a new concept – the first moving walkways were seen in Chicago in 1893 and seven years later they were used at the world’s fair in Paris. They are also regularly used the world over in airports and transport terminals. As part of the PostCarW
  • August 13, 2015
    Syracuse models post-industrial revival for US cities
    A connective corridor in Syracuse, New York State, could be a model for other post-industrial cities, as David Crawford discovers. The aim of the city of Syracuse’ 5.6km-long Connective Corridor in Onandaga County in upstate New York is to create a model ‘complete street’ for use in wider regeneration schemes. Key transport-sector components are traffic calming, high-quality transit with accessible passenger information, plus walkability and bike-friendliness.