Designing for Bicycle Safety

Best Practices for Bike Infrastructure Workshop

Champaign County Regional Planning Commission
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois – October 10, 2012

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-1

 Logistics
 Health and safety (emergency exits,
procedures for evacuation, etc.)
 Please silence your cell phones/pagers
 Breaks (when, restrooms, snacks)
 Lunch arrangements
 Other site-specific issues

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-2

Instructor:

John LaPlante, PE, PTOE

Director of Traffic Engineering
T.Y. Lin International, Inc.
jlaplante@tylin.com

With credits to Michael Ronkin

and Michael Moule
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-3
 Self Introductions
Please tell us:
1. Who you are
2. Who you work for and what you do
3. How your work relates to bicycle issues:
 What would you like to know more about?

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-4

 What we will learn
1. Planning issues that affect bicycling
2. The basics principles of on-road cycling
3. How to design roads to accommodate cyclists
4. How to design bicycle-friendly intersections
5. How to design shared-use paths in the built
environment

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-5

Planning/design issues that impact bicycling:

1. A few words about streets

2. Access Management
3. Street connectivity

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-6

 A complete street can meet these
needs, with some tradeoffs
Portland OR Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-7
 Pedestrian/bicyclist-oriented street: low risk
Vancouver BC Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-8
 Auto-oriented street: high risk
Las Vegas NV Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-9
 Access
Management

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-10

 Access Management:
Every driveway is a potential conflict
Corvallis OR Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-11
Benefits of A.M. - Fewer conflicts at driveways
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-12
 Street
Connectivity

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-13

 <- 1 mile square -> <- 1 mile square ->
3 left turns!

Connected Streets Lollipop pattern

Connectivity creates a bicycle-friendly street system:
 Reduced biking distances;
 More route choices, more quiet local streets;
 Dispersed traffic/reduced reliance on arterials for all trips

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-14

Can you increase
connectivity with paths,
greenways?

 Reduces biking distances:

YES
 Offers more route choices:
YES
 Disperses traffic:
NO

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-15

High Connectivity Travel Lanes Required

Moderate Connectivity

Low Connectivity

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-16

Connecting severed streets reestablishes
biking routes
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-17
The basic principles
of on-road cycling

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-18

Who are these bicyclists?

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-19

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-20
H.G. Wells: “When I see an adult on a bicycle,
I realize there is hope for civilization.”

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-21

Bicyclists come in all skill levels
Designing Streets for Bicyclists – Bicycling Principles 22
Bicyclists come from all walks of life
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-23
For Whom Are You Building
A Bikeway Network?

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-24

 Bicyclist Characteristics
Four Bicyclist Types*

• Strong & Fearless <1%

• Enthused & Confident 7%
• Interested but Concerned 60%
(Includes children)
• No Way, No How 33%
* Roger Geller, Portland, OR
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-26
 Understand Your “Market”
1. Four Types of Cyclists
 Strong & Fearless
 Confident & Enthused
 Interested but Concerned
 Adults
 Children
 No Way, No How
2. Different Needs & Concerns for Each
3. How To Design for Each Type
4. Mix of Design & Strategic Issues
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-27
 Levels of Traffic Stress (LTS)
• LTS 1: Suitable for almost all cyclists, including
children trained to safely cross intersections (paths,
low volume streets).
• LTS 2: Suitable to most adult cyclists but
demanding more attention than expected from
children (bike lanes, sharrows).
• LTS 3: More traffic stress than LTS 2, but less
stress than integrating with multilane traffic (bike
lanes/sharrows on arterials).
• LTS 4: Strong and fearless.
Source: Mekuria, Furth & Nixon- “Low-Stress Bicycling and Network
Connectivity” – Mineta Transportation Institute, May 2012
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-28
 PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN
1. Allow cyclists to use the road
 Provide a smooth riding surface
 Make room for cyclists
2. Make road inviting to cyclists
 Slow traffic down
 Reallocate roadway space
3. Make drivers aware of bicycle presence
 Stripe or mark or sign when needed
4. Build paths where appropriate
 To supplement to the street system
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-29
At what age should kids ride the streets?
It’s a parental decision, not engineering;
12 +/- about right
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-30
An adult bicyclist on a sidewalk: Not a good sign!
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-31
A cyclist on a sidewalk interferes with pedestrians
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-32
A cyclist on a sidewalk places himself at risk

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-33

Especially when riding against traffic!

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-34

 Provide space on streets …

Corvallis OR Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-35

… or slow traffic down

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-36

Most traffic-calming is compatible with cycling
Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-37
 Is diagonal parking compatible with bicycling?
Salem OR Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-38
 Mitigate with back-in diagonal parking
Vancouver WA Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-39
Vancouver WA Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-40
Why isn’t this rider in the bike lane?

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-41

 BASIC BICYCLING PRINCIPLE
Cyclists are vehicle operators
Corvallis OR Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-42
 Rules of the Road
• Bicyclists ride as close as practicable to the
right hand edge of the roadway

Designing for Bicycle Safety - Introduction

 Rules of the Road
• Keep to right (or in a bike lane) except:
– When overtaking another bike
– When preparing to turn left
– When going straight next to a right turn
lane
– When the right hand edge or bike lane is
unsafe or unusable
– Or if the lane is too narrow to permit a
vehicle to overtake and pass a bicycle

Designing for Bicycle Safety - Introduction

 Rules of the Road
• State law:
– Bicyclists have same rights and
responsibilities as drivers of motor vehicles
– Allowed to use public streets and
highways, except controlled access
freeways
– Motorists passing bicyclists must provide
three feet minimum clearance

Designing for Bicycle Safety - Introduction

 Well-Designed Roads
Make Room for Bicyclists
Portland OR Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-46
Don’t Ask: “Where Should We Put Cyclists?”

Bend OR Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-47

Don’t Ask: “Where Should We Put Cyclists?”

Ask: “How Can We Design the Road to

Better Accommodate Bicyclists?”
Bend OR Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-48
 Conclusion: Bicyclists can be
accommodated on the streets through
good design

Portland OR Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-49

Questions?

Designing for Bicycle Safety – Introduction 1-50