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Abstract
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An increasing number of cities and states are looking to bicycle transportation to achieve community goals related to health, safety, and the environment. Research over the past few decades has shown that bikeways improve safety and comfort and increase ridership for bicyclists. While practitioners focused on planning and designing for bicyclists are already familiar with the range of design options, they seek more guidance for selecting the type of design that will meet the needs of a broad spectrum of current, and potential, bicyclists.
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) supports a flexible approach to bicycle facility design and agencies can access a variety of design guidance from organizations like American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), and National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO). In 2015, FHWA released its Separated Bike Lane Planning and Design Guide. The new FHWA Bikeway Selection Guide complements these guides and fills a gap for transportation agencies by providing a resource that helps practitioners consider and make informed decisions about design that are grounded in the reality of complex user needs, fiscal constraints, and often limited rights-of-way.
The Bikeway Selection Guide provides guidance for determining the appropriate level of bicyclist separation based on factors like roadway characteristics and traffic use (i.e., speed, volume, heavy vehicle mix), land use, and bicyclist profile (i.e., level of comfort or skill). The Guide also emphasizes that practitioners should consider bicyclists' preferences and in doing so this will encourage bicycle ridership and use of facilities. This approach stands in contrast to decades of transportation planning and design focused on the mobility of motor vehicles...
Language: en |