This is the second of a two-part series dedicated to designing bicycle-friendly cities. Click here to read part one.
Designing a city or community that can accommodate bicycles, let alone riders of all skill and confidence levels, is no easy task.
Which elements infrastructure teams prioritize depends on the city and its people, but the most important element is safety, says Ruijie “Rebecca” Bian, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE. She is an assistant professor of research in the department of civil and environmental engineering at Louisiana State University and a member of ASCE’s Active Transportation Committee, part of the Transportation and Development Institute.
Further reading:
- Smart bike system to improve cycling infrastructure
- Cycleway access point to be added to Sydney Harbour Bridge
- Underwater bicycling parking garage underway in Amsterdam
After safety, consider these seven elements in design and planning, as suggested by Cong Chen, Ph.D., P.E., M.ASCE. He is the ATC chair and a research associate at the University of South Florida’s Center for Urban Transportation Research.
Dedicated bicycle infrastructure: This includes at least one conventional and painted bike lane, a protected bike lane, a shared-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians, and bike boulevards, which give bicycle travel priority over motorist travel.
Intersection treatments: This involves safe designs at intersections to reduce conflicts with bicyclists, incorporating bicycle facilities to highlight the level of visibility, and denoting a clear right of way. Examples of intersection treatments include bike boxes, intersection cross markings, two-stage turn queue boxes, median refuge islands, through bike lanes, combined bike lane/turn lane, and a cycle track intersection approach.
Integration with public transit: This emphasizes the inclusion of 1) bike parking at transit stations or 2) a bike-sharing system as the last-mile travel mode between origins and destinations and nearest transit stops. Allowing bikes on buses and trains is another measure that makes mixed-mode commuting more feasible.
Network connectivity and accessibility: A complete bicycle network is continuous, with no gaps or breaks, meaning “biking to everywhere.” Creating a strong bike network means ensuring people can bike from their homes to common destinations using safe, convenient routes, and it includes building direct connected bike routes as well as providing clear and informative signs and pavement markings for safe and efficient navigation.
Law enforcement: Law enforcement is also essential to ensuring a bike-friendly network. Effective law enforcement can help reduce traffic speed and conflicts with bicyclists, addressing dangerous driving behavior, protecting bicycle rights of way, and promoting bicycle safety through awareness campaigns and other punitive or nonpunitive programs.
Education and community engagement: This involves a variety of events or programs such as 1) safety education programs that teach driving and cycling safety practices to promote a culture of respect between cyclists and motorists, and 2) community outreach events, including workshops, public event exhibits, and community bike rides, to enhance cycling awareness, adoption, and culture.
Policy and funding support: Dedicated policy and funding support are also indispensable to foster a bike-friendly roadway network. Dedicated policies address the rights of cyclists, establish standards for safe infrastructure, and encourage respectful interactions between cyclists, motorists, and pedestrians. On the other hand, continuous funding support is essential for all the above-mentioned facets, as it supports infrastructure development, maintenance, law enforcement, education, and community engagement initiatives.
‘Complete streets’
Another way to think about bicycle infrastructure is to consider what Bian calls complete streets.
“Complete streets intend to serve all road users, regardless of their ages and abilities,” she said. “How we get there might be challenging, but these ideas are helpful: reducing subjective bias, as in assessing experience and comfort levels; developing human-centered design standards to cater to different ages; and making executable benefit-cost analyses.”
A variety of resources for civil engineers and city planners can be found at the National Association of City Transportation Officials. NACTO has a network called Cities for Cycling, which includes transportation professionals across disciplines. The platform provides a space for technical conversation and connections that can help build more cities that value bicycle transport.
“Collaborating with other disciplines, like planners, to expand our problem-solving mindset and actively reaching out to local communities to understand their needs are important,” Bian said. “So is connecting with local officials to propose real problems and get their input.”
NACTO also offers easily accessible guidelines and seven working papers to teach engineers and planners “best practices for data collection, network design, equitable network design, and scaling success to better meet the challenges of our time,” according to the website.
Cong recommends Designing for Small Things with Wheels, a NACTO guide that he believes provides “valuable insights for traffic and transportation engineers to create and/or promote bike-friendly communities.”
He appreciates the guide’s specific insights into considering multiple micromobility devices like e-bikes and e-scooters, creating inclusive bike networks that promote safety and comfort for all riders, adding visibility and dedicated bike spaces at and around intersections to prevent collisions with other vehicles, and addressing road surface quality and maintenance to accommodate bicycles’ smaller wheels.
