A one-mile protected bike lane has been shown to decrease driver speeds and attract more cyclists to the route.
Data from a North Kansas City pilot project shows that adding a protected bike lane can play a significant role in reducing vehicle speeds and encouraging more biking. In addition to a one-mile protected bike lane on Armour Road in the summer of 2021, the city also added more visible crosswalks, landscaping, and pedestrian islands, writes Charles Pekow in Smart Cities Dive.
A study by Streetlight found that the number of cars going faster than 40 miles per hour on the mile-long stretch with a protected bike lane was reduced to almost zero. “Meanwhile, bike traffic more than doubled, from a daily average of 50 to 114. The report notes that bike traffic didn’t decrease on a parallel road that was used as a control for the project during that time, indicating that more people were riding, not transferring from nearby streets.”
The study did note that congestion worsened along the bike lane in the early part of the project, but started to dip in 2021.
FULL STORY: Protected bike lanes in North Kansas City slowed traffic, increased biking: study
New Mexico Could Require Protected Bike Lanes With Road Projects
A proposed bill would require larger towns to add protected bike lanes to any new road improvements and direct state funding to applicable projects.
E-Bikes and the Bike Infrastructure of the Future
What will the future hold for cycling and bike infrastructure? With the introduction of e-bikes, the landscape of cycling, and even the definition of a bike, is changing.
Omaha to Lose its Only Protected Bike Lane
With an 18-month pilot program coming to an end, local officials plan to dismantle the city’s only protected bike lane.
The Shifting Boomer Bulge: More Bad News for America’s Housing Crisis?
In the first of a two-part series, PlaceMakers’ Ben Brown interviews housing guru Arthur C. Nelson on the sweeping demographic changes complicating the housing market.
New York Governor Advances Housing Plan Amid Stiff Suburban Opposition
Governor Kathy Hochul’s ambitious proposal to create more housing has once again run into a brick wall of opposition in New York’s enormous suburbs, especially on Long Island. This year, however, the wall may have some cracks.
A Serious Critique of Congestion Costs and Induced Vehicle Travel Impacts
Some highway advocates continue to claim that roadway expansions are justified to reduce traffic congestion. That's not what the research shows. It's time to stop obsessing over congestion and instead strive for efficient accessibility.
Historically Redlined Neighborhoods Have Higher Rates of Pedestrian Deaths, Study Says
The consequences of historic redlining continue to have consequences in the present day United States. Add another example to the list.
Tolling All Lanes
Bay Area transportation planners are studying a radical idea to reduce traffic congestion and fund driving alternatives: tolling all lanes on a freeway. Even more radical, the plan considers tolling parallel roads.
Federal SMART Grants Awarded for Transportation Safety, Equity Projects
The grant program focuses on the use of technology to improve safety, accessibility, and efficiency in transportation.
City of Greenville
City of Greenville
Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps Program
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Mpact: Mobility, Community, Possibility
City of Spearfish
City of Lomita
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
