18.2.1 Bicycle Planning Principles

Effective bikeway design and network planning often leads to more people bicycling by creating routes that are efficient, seamless, and easy to use. Having a clear understanding of good planning and design principles is important as these concepts will ultimately be the foundation for the design intention and potential trade-offs that may occur. Bicycle planning principles that can be used include safety, comfort, connectivity, and cohesiveness. Descriptions of these principles are provided in
Table 18-1
.
Table 18-1: Bicycle Planning Principles
Principle
Notes
Safety
  • Physically separate bicycles from motorized traffic where the speed differential and traffic volumes are higher.
  • Reduce conflicts between bicycles and pedestrian traffic on shared use paths (sidepaths).
  • Minimize speed differential at conflict points where practical to minimize or eliminate injury.
  • Provide sufficient clearances to obstacles to avoid crashes.
  • Reduce or eliminate conflicts along the route including intersecting roads and driveways
Comfort
  • Recognize that different bicycle users have varying levels of comfort for various roadway conditions.
  • Minimize exposure to traffic, noise, and emissions
  • Minimize or avoid conditions that require bicyclists to dismount during a trip.
  • Minimize or avoid conflicts with pedestrian traffic.
  • Provide sufficient shy distance to obstacles.
  • Establish geometric criteria that provide a comfortable facility to operate a bicycle including:
    • smooth vertical transitions with stable and slip resistant surfaces (Section 18.3.7),
    • accommodating side-by-side riding and passing at higher volume locations through provision of wider bikeways.
Connectivity
  • Accommodate local bicycle and transit transportation routes and networks.
  • Connect bikeways and intersecting streets at a local scale for access to destinations, and at a regional scale for mobility.
  • Allow for user choice of routes by providing a dense and connected network.
  • Provide seamless transitions between different on-road and off-road facility types
  • Eliminate barriers and provide continuous bikeways to support network connectivity.
  • Integrate design with local bicycle transportation plans.
  • Carry bikeways through intersections of on-system roads with off-system roads.
Cohesiveness
  • Employ a direct and logical structure that minimizes turns and promotes staying on the network
  • Inform all roadway users clearly of the presence of bicyclists and other bikeway users, especially at conflict points.
  • Provide clear and intuitive transitions between different yet connected bicycle facility types.
  • Extend bikeways to logical and safe termini.