Safe and pleasant cycle paths

Protected bicycle lanes are a simple concept: they’re sidewalks for bikes. They make riding a bike a pleasant and practical means of transportation. But getting the design right, including choosing the right barriers, is essential for maximizing safety and aesthetics

Words | Irina Mella Burlacu, Vita International, Italy

Over the past 20 years, much attention has been paid to the use of bicycles in Europe and North America. It is an environmentally friendly, low-cost and healthy means of transportation. Typically, though, cycle traffic flows directly alongside motorized vehicles, thus dictating the need to carefully regulate the space used by different road users.

In North America, bike culture may seem more like a sub- or even counter-culture, popular among groups that differentiate themselves from the mainstream by touting healthier and more sustainable lifestyles.

In Europe, the culture is quite different, as cycling is more pervasive, and sometimes even constitutes the norm.

Pick up any American cycling magazine and you’ll see page after page of designer gear and accessory equipment championed by sponsored athletes. However, as the BBC’s online news magazine notes about Amsterdam riders, “The bike is an integral part of everyday life, rather than a specialist’s accessory or a symbol of a minority lifestyle, so Dutch people don’t concern themselves with having the very latest model of bike or high-tech gadgets.”

But although the American and European approaches to cycling are very different, safety is a common element that is certainly not in dispute.

Vita International focuses on making cycling safer, paying particular attention to infrastructure.

Defining ideal cycle lane design

The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has published a Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, which defines a bike lane as “a portion of a roadway that has been designated by striping, signing and pavement markings for the preferential or exclusive use of bicyclists.” Bike lanes are a preferred facility type in European countries and nearly every major city has made an effort in recent years to install cycle lanes.

Cycle lanes serve the needs of all types of cyclists in urban and suburban areas, providing them with their own travel lane. The minimum width of a bike lane should be 5ft (1.5m) against a curb or adjacent to a parking lane. Width measurements are taken from the curb face to the bicycle lane stripe. Since cyclists usually tend to ride a distance of 2.5-3.5ft (0.8-1.1m) from the curb face, it is very important that the pavement surface in this zone be smooth and free of structures.

Where the minimum widths listed above cannot be met, it may be possible to provide an unmarked lane. Studies have shown that a cyclist’s perceived level of comfort is higher when a striped area is provided; thus this method can raise the level of service for cyclists on a particular street. An unmarked lane is a striped area of 2ft (0.6m) wide or more that contains no additional markings or signage that would denote it as a bike lane. Particularly on busy streets, narrow unmarked lanes will not adequately serve the needs of the majority of cyclists.

Grade separation

Where it is not possible to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists with at-grade crossings (crossings at the same level),

grade separation should be considered. Grade-separated facilities (e.g. bridges) are expensive; they add out-of-direction travel and will not be used if the added distance is too great. This can create problems if pedestrians and bicyclists ignore the facility and try to negotiate the interchange at grade with no sidewalks, bike lanes, or crosswalks. In some instances, a separate path can be provided on only one side of the interchange, which leads to awkward crossing movements.

The desirable bike lane width adjacent to a guardrail or other physical barrier is 2ft (0.6m) wider than would otherwise be the case, in order to provide a minimum shy distance from the barrier.

On new structures (with railings), the minimum clear width should be the same as the approach paved shared-use path, plus the minimum 0.6m (2ft)-wide clear areas.

A natural solution

Road crash barriers are designed according to EN1317 for motorized vehicular traffic. When the carriageway runs along the cycle track, the bicycle is protected by the roadside barrier, but the infrastructure itself is dangerous because it

Opposite and above:

Vita’s Cidneo barrier with cycle path protection applied, at an installation in Slovenia

Above: Vita’s Cidneo barrier

with cycle path protection applied at an installation in the Netherlands

is typically made of steel, which can cause serious injuries if a cyclist crashes into it.

A solution is to install barriers that have sturdy steel frames, but are incased in a softer wood shell. Such barriers enhance road safety, while also helping to make the environment more beautiful, when compared with traditional steel-only barriers. For this reason, they are a particularly popular choice in areas of great natural beauty.

‘Safety of the road and respect for the environment’ is the philosophy that guides Vita International in its research and design of wood and steel safety barriers. The manufacturer boasts a comprehensive selection of barriers able to protect and enhance any kind of road.

The safety barriers manufactured by Vita International are designed to optimize cycle safety, while also improving the aesthetics of any cycle path. Furthermore they eliminate the danger posed to cyclists by the naked steel ‘blade’ of conventional safety barriers.

However, the wood structure does not interfere with the dynamic behavior of the barrier in the event of a vehicle impact, and it represents a minimization of the road space needed for the protection infrastructure.

If a bike path is not next to a busy road, it isn’t necessary to install full road safety barriers. However, fences of some kind are useful, even if only to segregate pedestrians from cyclists. The wooden barrier, in this case, does not require approval, but nevertheless must comply with certain safety standards. In situations like this, Vita International offers a solution where the solid wood component exceeds the quantity of steel used. n