[OMS_MANAGERS] Bike Lanes

[Manvel, Evan]

I'd say that the difference between your situation (protected bike lanes) and standard bike lanes (unprotected bike lanes) is that it sounds like your bike lane is between two curbs (between the curb and the planting strip).

The old 5' lanes next to speeding traffic aren't super-comfortable for most people to use (including me with my five-year-old), but the design has a presumption that people on bikes can leave the lane and move into the car lane to swerve, etc. around obstructions that tend to accumulate there (gravel, sticks, trash, puddles, etc.). If you have curbs on both sides and vertical elements (trees, lights, etc.) making the lane 6.5' provides a bit of buffer.

In other countries bike lanes can be 8+ft to encourage social cycling (biking side by side).

But yes, you're right, there is some guidance 5' is a bare minimum (to 7' for areas with lots of bike traffic or hills).
https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/cycle-tracks/one-way-protected-cycle-tracks/

I'd call Roger Geller in Portland if you want further opinions. 503-823-7671

If you still have the bulb-outs and generally slow traffic with stop lights, etc., it's not likely to be a draw for high-speed cyclists.

It's not entirely clear from google street view what's going on, but I'm happy to chat. How wide are the other lanes? Are your car lanes more than 10' wide? Can you grab some width there? If you're redoing the whole streetscape, there are lots of other dimensions to consider.

And as always, if you want to look at helping your city have more people walking and biking, TGM is happy to help!
www.oregon.gov/LCD/TGM<http://www.oregon.gov/LCD/TGM>

Cheers,

Evan

[cid:image001.jpg at 01D56ECA.0D981EE0]

Evan Manvel
Land Use and Transportation Planner
Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development
635 Capitol Street NE, Suite 150 | Salem, OR 97301-2540
Direct: 503-934-0059 | Main: 503-373-0050
evan.manvel at state.or.us<mailto:evan.manvel at state.or.us> | www.oregon.gov/LCD<http://www.oregon.gov/LCD>



From: OMS_MANAGERS [mailto:oms_managers-bounces at listsmart.osl.state.or.us] On Behalf Of historicwillamette at gmail.com
Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2019 4:54 PM
To: oms_managers at listsmart.osl.state.or.us
Subject: [OMS_MANAGERS] Bike Lanes

We are going through a streetscape with the city and arguing over bike lanes.  We know they are required, but the city is forcing us to have 6.5' bike lane on each side of the road in our Main Street. All the standards I can fine both state and national are anywhere from 5' to 6.5' as the "recommended" widths, but nothing "requiring" 6.5'.  Most standards say 5' is the minimum and that larger ones are recommended for passing (which we don't need as we are not on a hill and have a 20mph shopping district).    We are in a small suburb with only 3 bike trips a day recorded so no one will be using these bike lanes. Our topography is such that you have to be a serious cyclist or have an e-bike to traverse most of the town. We feel this is a lot of real estate to devote to bike lanes that no one will use and having a large bike lane will just encourage high speed cyclists in our area.  We feel the if the lanes were smaller, we could expand outdoor patio seating on the sidewalks which is more important to our main street district. These are protected "cycle tracks" as well so a dedicated lane for the cyclists which to me tells me they don't need to be as large when they are not mixing with cars.  There is angled parking, a 3 foot planter strip, then the bike lane.  Bikes are 10 feet from cars and next to the sidewalk.  We don't think they need that large of a lane.

Anyone else have experience with bike lane width/standards in your city?  Looking for other cities who have done smaller bike lanes to justify that the lanes don't need to be this big in our town of non-commuters.   I'm being told this is the standard but have no proof to substantiate this. If other cities have done smaller lanes, maybe I can prove the smaller lanes are done to council and the size needs to be revisited.

Thanks
Shannen
President
Historic Willamette Main Street
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