By Charles Pekow — Cyclists are more likely to crash in a mixed land use area than in a zone dedicated to a single use, be it recreation or industry. Perhaps counterintuitively, however, the more traffic lanes on the street you’re riding, the less chance of a bicycle crash; although this could be due to route choice. And if no parking is allowed on the road (at least on one side), the safer the bicycle rider. Additionally, flexible delineated posts to demarcate separated bike lanes reduced crashes significantly.
These conclusions come from a study sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration designed to provide guidance on placement of separated bike lanes. The study looked at lanes in five cities, including Denver and San Francisco. While separated bike lanes proved safer than traditional ones, the location findings proved the same no matter what type of bike lane.
Find “Tech Brief Developing Crash Modification Factors for Separated Bicycle Lanes” at https://highways.dot.gov/sites/fhwa.dot.gov/files/FHWA-HRT-23-025.pdf
