Sidewalk Bikeways:A Safety Problem,

Not a Safety Solution

Basic Principles

Operating any vehicle in traffic (whether on a roadway or a path) requires:

• Skills• Knowledge• Judgment

Basic Principles

Knowledge• Rules of the Road• Defensive Driving Techniques

Judgment• Applying Knowledge and

Skills to Existing Conditions

Skills for Cycling on Neighborhood Streets• Starting• Steering/Balance• Braking• Scanning Ahead• Judging Speed of Other Vehicles• Scanning Behind Without

Swerving• Driving One-Handed to Signal

Skills for Collector & Arterial Streets• Starting• Steering/Balance• Braking• Scanning Ahead• Judging Speed of Other Vehicles• Scanning Behind Without

Swerving• Driving One-Handed to Signal

Skills for Cycling on Sidepaths• Starting• Steering/Balance• Braking• Scanning Ahead• Judging Speed of Other Vehicles• Scanning Behind Without Swerving• Simultaneously scanning ahead

and behind• Driving One-Handed to Signal

Which is Safer -- the Street or the Sidewalk?

Streets WithBike Lanes

DesignatedBike Routes

Multi-UseTrails

Minor Streets Major Streets Sidewalks

0.5 0.5

5.32

1.261.040.67

Relative Risk of Bicycle Facility Types Source: National Bicycle Commuter Survey, William Moritz, University of Washington, Seattle, Human Powered Transportation

Program

Higher Number Indicates Higher Risk of Bicyclist Crash with a Motorist

Problems with Sidewalk Bikeways

• Treat bicyclists as pedestrians – however, bicyclists are less maneuverable than pedestrians and therefore less able to deal with the conflicts experienced by pedestrians

Problems with Sidewalk Bikeways

• Require users to scan both ahead and behind at intersections

• Motorists more likely to block sidepaths than bike lanes or wide curb lanes

Problems with Sidewalk Bikeways

• Motorists must scan wider areas than they normally would

• Cyclists who choose to stay on the roadway will be harassed

The Skills Myth: “On-Road Cycling Requires More Skill than Sidepath

Cycling”• The scanning skills

necessary for cycling on a sidepath are MORE COMPLEX than for cycling on the roadway

The Skills Myth: “On-Road Cycling Requires More Skill than Sidepath

Cycling”• The motorist’s side of the

equation – sidepaths require motorists to scan for cyclists MORE THOROUGHLY than on-road facilities

• This often occurs at the same time and place where cyclists are required to conduct more complex scans

The Skills Myth: “On-Road Cycling Requires More Skill than Sidepath

Cycling”• For some conflicts, bicyclists

on sidepaths must have BETTER braking or steering skills than if they were on the roadway

Conflicts on Unidirectional

Sidepaths Compared to Conflicts on

Roadways

Left Turns

Unidirectional Paths Are Not Unidirectional

• On multi-lane highways, cyclists with a destination a short distance away on the same side of the street will often avoid crossing the street by driving facing traffic

Unidirectional Paths Are Not Unidirectional

• A standard five-foot unidirectional path will not safely accommodate two cyclists approaching head-on

• Who will enforce it?

Right Turns

Right Turns

Cyclist Failureto Yield Motorist

Failure to Yield Cyclist FacingTraffic Motorist

Overtaking

42

1517

12

5

Fatalities

Incapacitating Injuries

What are the Causes of the Most Serious Injuries? (Daytime)

What are the Causes of the Most Serious Injuries? (Nighttime)

CyclistFailure to

YieldMotoristFailure to

YieldCyclistFacingTraffic

MotoristOvertaking

21

7 427

3

7

Fatalities

Incapacitating Injuries

A Choice:Greater Increase in

Perceived Safety but with a Decrease in Real Safety

(sidepath)or a

Lesser Increase in Perceived Safety with an

Increase in Real Safety

(bike lane or wide curb lane)