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Date

3-19-2015

Description

As cities move to increase levels of bicycling for transportation, many practitioners and advocates have promoted the use of protected bike lanes (also known as “cycle tracks” or “protected bikeways”) as an important component in providing high-quality urban infrastructure for cyclists. These on-street lanes provide more space and physical separation between the bike lane and motor vehicle lane compared with traditional striped bike lanes. However, few U.S. cities have direct experiences with their design and operations, in part because of the limited design guidance provided in the past. There is limited research from North America on protected bike lanes, but preliminary evidence suggests that they can both improve the level of comfort of cyclists and potentially increase the number of people cycling. This research evaluates protected bike lanes in five distinct contexts varying in population, driving and cycling rates and cultures, and weather: Austin, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco, California; and, Washington, District of Columbia.

These five cities participated in the inaugural "Green Lane Project" (GLP) sponsored by People for Bikes (formerly known as Bikes Belong). This evaluation focused on six questions:

  • Do the facilities attract more cyclists?
  • How well do the design features of the facilities work? In particular, do both the users of the protected bicycle facility and adjacent travel lanes understand the design intents of the facility, especially unique or experimental treatments at intersections?
  • Do the protected lanes improve users’ perceptions of safety?
  • What are the perceptions of nearby residents?
  • How attractive are the protected lanes to different groups of people?
  • Is the installation of the lanes associated with measurable increases in economic activity?

Biographical

Dr. Christopher M. Monsere is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in the Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science at Portland State University. Dr. Monsere’s primary research interests are in the areas of multimodal transportation safety; management and dissemination of large transportation datasets; and improvements in transportation operations. Dr Monsere is co-chair of the Transportation Research Board's Safety Data, Analysis, and Evaluation committee (ANB20), on the editorial board of Journal of Transportation Safety and Security, and a past member of the TRB Task Force to develop the Highway Safety Manual (ANB25T). Monsere received his BCE from the University of Detroit Mercy; his MSCE and Ph.D.with an emphasis in transportation from Iowa State University. Dr. Monsere is a licensed professional engineer in the state of Oregon.

Subjects

Bicycle commuting -- United States, Urban transportation -- United States, Cycling -- Route choice

Disciplines

Transportation | Urban Studies | Urban Studies and Planning

Persistent Identifier

http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/18518

Webinar: A Comprehensive Evaluation of Protected Cycling Facilities: Lessons from Five Cities

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