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intro safety planning engineering : design : operations education & awareness ongoing research landmark FHWA bicycle reports

Below is a list of reports and webpages that deal with innovative treatments, bicycle compatibility of roads and capacity analysis. Documents and resources are provided as PDF files (Adobe Acrobat reader required), HTML files and Microsoft Excel files.   Evaluation of the Blue Bike Lane Treatment used in Bicycle-Motor Vehicle Conflicts Areas in Portland, Oregon         Evaluation of an Innovative Application of the Bike Box         Bicycle Compatibility Index: A Level of Service Concept         Capacity Analysis of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities: Recommended Procedures for the "Bicycles" Chapter of the Highway Capacity Manual         Capacity Analysis of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities: Recommended Procedures for the "Signalized Intersections" Chapter of the Highway Capacity Manual   Evaluation of the Blue Bike Lane Treatment used in Bicycle-Motor Vehicle Conflicts Areas in Portland, Oregon:   Sponsor: Federal Highway Administration Abstract: Many European cities use colored markings at bicycle/motor vehicle crossings to reduce conflicts. To determine whether such colored markings help improve safety at American bicycle/motor vehicle crossings, the City of Portland, OR studied the use of blue pavement markings and a novel signing system to delineate selected conflict areas. The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC), under contract to the Federal Highway Administration, analyzed the project data. From 1997 to 1999, Portland marked 10 conflict areas with paint and blue thermoplastic and an accompanying �Yield to Bikes� sign. All of the sites had a high level of bicyclist and motorist interaction, as well as a history of complaints. The crossings were all locations where the bicyclist travels straight and the motorist crosses the bicycle lane to exit a roadway (such as an off-ramp situation), enters a right-turn lane, or merges onto a street from a ramp. The study used videotape analysis and found most behavior changes to be positive. Significantly more motorists yielded to bicyclists and slowed or stopped before entering the blue pavement area, and more bicyclists followed the colored bike-lane path. However, the blue pavement also resulted in fewer bicyclists turning their heads to scan for traffic or using hand signals, perhaps signifying an increased comfort level. The overwhelming majority of bicyclists and close to the majority of motorists surveyed felt that the blue areas enhanced safety. Colored pavement and signing should continue to be used and evaluated in bicycle/motor vehicle conflict areas. Available Document: Evaluation of the Blue Bike Lane Treatment used in Bicycle-Motor Vehicle Conflicts Areas in Portland, Oregon (PDF format, 516 k) - provides completed report for viewing and printing.   Evaluation of an Innovative Application of the Bike Box   Sponsor: Federal Highway Administration Summary: In the last few years, a variety of innovative on-street bicycle treatments have been implemented. These include bike boxes; raised bicycle lanes; bicycle boulevards; use of paint to delineate paths through intersections, define bicycle-motor vehicle weaving areas, and highlight paved shoulders; and others. This report focuses on bike boxes � a special pavement-marking scheme that was pilot-tested in Eugene, OR. Available Document: Evaluation of an Innovative Application of the Bike Box (PDF format, 1,028 k) - provides completed report for viewing and printing.   Bicycle Compatibility Index: A Level of Service Concept:   Sponsor: Federal Highway Administration Summary: Determining how existing traffic operations and geometric conditions impact a bicyclist's decision to use or not use a specific roadway is the first step in determining the bicycle compatibility of the roadway. This research effort was undertaken to develop a bicycle compatibility index (BCI) methodology that can be used by practitioners to evaluate the capability of specific roadways to accommodate both motorists and bicyclists. The BCI methodology was developed for urban and suburban roadway segments (midblock locations, excluding major intersections). It incorporated variables that bicyclists typically use to assess the "bicycle friendliness" of a roadway (such as curb lane width, traffic volume, and vehicle speeds). The BCI methodology will allow practitioners to evaluate existing facilities in order to determine what improvements may be required. It can also be used to determine the geometric and operational requirements for new facilities. Available Documents: Bicycle Compatibility Index: A Level of Service Concept, Summary Report (PDF format, 304 k) - provides completed report for viewing and printing. Bicycle Compatibility Index: A Level of Service Concept, Final Report (HTML format) - provides completed report for viewing. Bicycle Compatibility Index: A Level of Service Concept, Implementation Manual (HTML format) - provides completed report for viewing. Bicycle Compatibility Index: Excel Worksheets - provides version of data in metric units or English units. To download, right click on preferred link below and choose "save target as" if your browser is Internet Explorer or "Save Link as" if you browser is Netscape. Excel Worksheet in Metric Units Excel Worksheet in English Units   Capacity Analysis of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities: Recommended Procedures for the "Bicycles" Chapter of the Highway Capacity Manual   Sponsor: Federal Highway Administration Summary: The following are the procedures recommended by the research team for future versions of Chapter 14, "Bicycles," of the Highway Capacity Manual (TRB, 1994). These procedures are recommended to determine the Level of Service (LOS) for bicycle facilities based on previous domestic and international bicycle operations research conducted to date as presented in the Bicycle Literature Review Section of the Research Report for this project (Rouphail et al., 1997). This document only addresses procedures for streets, roads, and intersections with designated bicycle facilities. Those without designated bicycle facilities will not be addressed here because they normally do not attract enough bicycle users to warrant operational analyses from the bicycle perspective. For an analysis of the characteristics of bicycle facilities that attract/deter cyclists, the reader is referred to a recent study by Harkey et al. (1998). Available Resource: Capacity Analysis of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities: Recommended Procedures for the "Bicycles" Chapter of the Highway Capacity Manual (HTML format) - complete report in web form.   Capacity Analysis of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities: Recommended Procedures for the "Signalized Intersections" Chapter of the Highway Capacity Manual   Sponsor: Federal Highway Administration Summary: In the United States, the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) published by the Transportation Research Board, a unit of the National Research Council, provides guidance for the analysis of transportation facilities. Chapter 9 of the 1994 (update to the 1985) HCM discusses the operational and planning analysis of signalized intersections. Based on the results of a multi-regional data collection effort conducted by the research team, this paper offers procedures that describe the effect of pedestrians and bicycles on turning vehicles and thus signalized intersection capacity. Available Resources: Recommended Procedures for the "Signalized Intersections" Chapter of the Highway Capacity Manual (HTML format) - complete report in web form.