A Comparative Analysis of Bicycle Lanes Versus Wide Curb Lanes: Final Report PUBLICATION NO. FHWA-RD-99-034 DECEMBER 1999 Research, Development, and Technology Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center 6300 Georgetown Pike McLean, VA 22101-2296 Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FHWA-RD-99–034 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BICYCLE LANES VERSUS WIDE CURB LANES: FINAL REPORT 6. Performing Organization Code 8. Performing Organization Report No. 7. Author(s) William W. Hunter, J. Richard Stewart, Jane C. Stutts, Herman H. Huang, and Wayne E. Pein 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center 730 Airport Road, CB #3430 11. Contract or Grant No. Chapel Hill, NC 27599 DTFH61-92-C-00138 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Office of Safety and Traffic Operations Research & Development Final Report Federal Highway Administration March 1995 - May 1998 6300 Georgetown Pike 14. Sponsoring Agency Code McLean, VA 22101-2296 15. Supplementary Notes Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR): Carol Tan Esse, HSR-20 Subcontractor: Bicycle Federation of America 16. Abstract This report is a comparative analysis of bicycle lanes (BLs) versus wide curb lanes (WCLs). The primary analysis was based on videotapes of almost 4,600 bicyclists (2,700 riding in BLs and 1,900 in WCLs) in the cities of Santa Barbara, CA, Gainesville, FL, and Austin, TX, as the bicyclists approached and rode through eight BL and eight WCL intersections with varying speed and traffic conditions. The intent was to videotape bicyclists who regularly ride in traffic. The videotapes were coded to learn about operational characteristics (e.g., intersection approach position and subsequent maneuvers) and conflicts with motor vehicles, other bicycles, or pedestrians. A conflict was defined as an interaction between a bicycle and motor vehicle, pedestrian, or other bicycle such that at least one of the parties had to change speed or direction to avoid the other. Both bicyclist and motorist maneuvers in conflict situations were coded and analyzed. This covered maneuvers such as a bicyclist moving incorrectly from the bicycle lane into the traffic lane prior to making a left turn, or conversely, a motor vehicle passing a bicyclist and then abruptly turning right across its path. Bicyclist experience data were also collected separately from the videotaping at each of the 16 data collection sites in each city through use of a short oral survey. Slightly more than 2,900 surveys were completed. These data were analyzed to learn about the age, riding habits, and experience levels of the bicyclists riding through these intersections. Bicycle-motor vehicle crash data were also analyzed to determine if there were parallels to the videotape data. In addition to this final report, there is a separate report (FHWA-RD-99-035) containing a synopsis of the key findings of the final report and recommended countermeasures, as well as a guidebook (FHWA-RD-99-036) about innovative bicycle accommodations. 17. Key Words: 18. Distribution Statement Bicycle lane, wide curb lane, bicycle operations, bicycle No restrictions. This document is available to the maneuvers, conflicts public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified vii, 104 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of form and completed page is authorized Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Introduction .......................................1 Background ..................................................1 Objective and Scope ............................................2 Brief Literature Review .........................................3 Bicycle lanes ...............................................3 Wide curb lanes ............................................4 Other facilities .............................................5 Intersection treatments ......................................5 Organization of the Report ......................................9 Chapter 2 - Methods .........................................11 Overview ....................................................11 City Selection ................................................11 Santa Barbara, California ...................................12 Gainesville, Florida ........................................12 Austin, Texas .............................................12 Site Characteristics ...........................................12 Videotaping of Bicyclists .......................................14 Bicyclist Experience Data ......................................15 Coding of Videotape Data ......................................16 Creation of Project Database ...................................16 Coding and Analysis of Crash Data ..............................16 Chapter 3 - Results ...........................................19 Bicyclist Characteristics .......................................19 Videotape data ............................................19 Bicyclist experience survey results ............................21 Midblock Actions .............................................23 Movements ...............................................23 Midblock spacing between bicycles and motor vehicles ...........25 Behaviors ................................................27 Intersection Actions ...........................................29 Movements ...............................................29 iv Table of Contents Behaviors ................................................34 Conflicts ....................................................36 Midblock .................................................36 Intersections ..............................................39 Midblock and intersection combined conflict rates ...............43 Statistical Modeling of Conflicts Data ............................43 Analysis of midblock bike/motor vehicle conflicts ................43 Intersection car/bike /motor vehicle conflicts ....................46 Reanalysis of conflicts based on data from more “typical” sites ............................................49 A Clinical Analysis of High Conflict BL and WCL Sites ..............50 Midblock conflicts .........................................50 Intersection conflicts .......................................55 Examination of Serious Conflicts ................................62 Serious midblock conflicts ...................................62 Serious intersection conflicts .................................62 Comparisons with Crash Data ...................................66 Chapter 4. Discussion ........................................69 Summary of Main Results ......................................69 Bicyclist characteristics .....................................69 Midblock movements .......................................69 Statistical modeling of spacing between bicycles and motor vehicles ........................................69 Intersection movements .....................................70 Midblock conflicts .........................................71 Intersection conflicts .......................................71 Statistical modeling of conflict data ............................72 Clinical examination of high conflict rate sites ...................72 Clinical examination of serious conflicts ........................73 Comparisons with crash data .................................73 Further Comment .............................................73 Level of experience ........................................73 Wrong-way riding ..........................................74 Turning and other maneuvers at intersections ...................74 Conflicts .................................................74 Recommended Countermeasures for Certain High Conflict Rate Problems ..............................................75 Parked motor vehicles ......................................75 Table of Contents v Driveways and intersecting streets ............................76 Additional lanes at intersections ..............................77 Conclusions ..................................................78 Appendix A - Experience Form ...............................81 Appendix B - Coding Form ...................................83 References ........................................95 vi Table of Contents List of Figures Figure 1. Typical bike lane .....................................................1 Figure 2. Typical wide curb lane .................................................1 Figure 3. Oregon bike lane standards ............................................3 Figure 4. Oregon wide curb lane standards ........................................4 Figure 5. Profiled marking at a bus stop to separate bicyclists from bus passengers .......5 Figure 6. Oregon rumble strip ..................................................6 Figure 7. BL dashed to intersection ..............................................6 Figure 8. Colored bicycle crossing in Montreal .....................................7 Figure 9. A European raised and painted bike path (crossing) .........................7 Figure 10. T-intersection marking in Denmark .....................................7 Figure 11. Modern roundabout ..................................................8 Figure 12. Bike box ...........................................................8