Slowly Coming to the U.S.
Cycling is extremely green, and there are all kinds of tools in the arsenal of city planners to encourage more of it. One of the newest (in the U.S.) tools is the bike boulevard, a concept that is relatively common in Europe. To get an idea of what a bike boulevard is, you can have a look at the Portland Planning & Design Guidebook for Bike Boulevards, or even better, check out the great video via StreetFilms.
From The Green Changemakers
Cycling is extremely green, and there are all kinds of tools in the arsenal of city planners to encourage more of it. One of the newest (in the U.S.) tools is the bike boulevard, a concept that is relatively common in Europe. To get an idea of what a bike boulevard is, you can have a look at the Portland Planning & Design Guidebook for Bike Boulevards, or even better, check out the great video via StreetFilms.
Overview of this report
This
report is intended to serve as a planning and conceptual design guide
for planners, engineers, citizens, advocates, and decision makers who
are considering bicycle boulevards in their community. Data for this
guide was developed from literature review, case study interviews, and
input from a panel of professional experts.
Section
two of this guide contains information on bicycle boulevard planning,
including considerations for route selection, public involvement, and
funding. Section three provides information on design elements commonly
used on bicycle boulevards including descriptions, design and
implementation recommendations, images, and cost range estimates as
available. Section four discusses marketing, maintenance, and safety
considerations for bicycle boulevards. Finally, Section five presents
individual case studies of bicycle boulevards from across the United
States. Additional resources, including a bicycle boulevard audit, can
be found in the appendices.
What are Bicycle Boulevards?
Bicycle
boulevards take the shared roadway bike facility to a new level,
creating an attractive, convenient, and comfortable cycling environment
that is welcoming to cyclists of all ages and skill levels.
In
essence, bicycle boulevards are low-volume and low-speed streets that
have been optimized for bicycle travel through treatments such as
traffic calming and traffic reduction, signage and pavement markings,
and intersection crossing treatments. These treatments allow through
movements for cyclists while discouraging similar through trips by
nonlocal motorized traffic. Motor vehicle access to properties along
the route is maintained.
Traffic
engineers, planners, and bicycle activists often frame the development
of their bikeway network around three types of bicycle facilities:
- Bicycle Path – a paved bicycle path physically separated from motor vehicle traffic (generally outside the road’s right of way). It is often shared with pedestrians and other non-motorized users, and occasionally equestrians.
- Bicycle Lane – one-way on-street lanes that are signed and marked to designate the space occupied by cyclists on the roadway.
- Shared Roadway – A bike facility in which cyclists share the roadway with motor vehicles, cycling in a paved shoulder or a wide outside curb lane. It may or may not be signed as a preferred bicycle route.
From The Green Changemakers