Study Evaluates Protected Bike Lanes in the United States

According to the study's abstract, "few U.S. cities have direct experiences with [protected bike lanes'] design and operations, in part because of the limited design guidance provided in the past," but preliminary research suggests that protected bike lanes can increase the number of bikers. "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."

Michael Andersen provides analysis of the study on the People for Bikes website, noting specifically (with a lot of helpful detail) three things protected bike lanes don't do, namely:

• They can't rapidly boost citywide bike ridership without a network.
• They can't always separate bikes and cars completely.
• They can't be created without at least a little opposition.

The study was led by Christopher Monsere and a team of researchers from Portland State University.