Citation

ITE J. 1980; 50(12): 26-33.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1980, Institute of Transportation Engineers)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In a survey by the Committee on Planning for Bicycle Transportation of the Institute of Transportation Engineers, a questionnaire was mailed to 99 traffic engineers in the U.S. (adequate response) and 25 in the U.K. (low response) concerning current practice in bicycle planning. The questionnaire requested references used in design of bicycle facilities (varied response). Recreation travel received the highest priority in the U.S. and the lowest in the U.K. in terms of bicycle project selection, while commuter trips were ranked highest in Britain and third in the U.S. Sixty-six percent of the U.S. communities and 90% of those in the U.K. reported collecting detailed bicycle accident data. Provision of bicycle parking facilities was not given high priority by either country. Separate paths were the preferred bicycle improvement option, although they were felt to be applicable in only a few situations. The U.S. survey preferred use of the extreme right lane and alternate routing to accommodate the bicyclist on roadways with narrow outside lanes. Although there are bicycle lane delineation standards, several different treatments were reported. Inadequate bicycle detection and inability of the cyclist to see signals were reported as problems at signalized intersections. Typical bike lane widths in the U.S. varied from a minimum of three ft. to a maximum of 12 ft. The majority of respondents were applying bike lane intersection designs in agreement with current standards. Most jurisdictions did not provide improvements for bicycle safety at railroad grade crossings or at recognized barrier points.