Bicycle Network: Good Design Guides
Green is the new black!
- Email me updates
- green, bike lanes, paint
This (not so) new tool allows road managers to clearly mark space for bike riders. Coloured bike lanes and other treatments (e.g. audio-tactile line marking) have increased the awareness of bicycles by people in vehicles and increase the perception of safety for people on bikes.
Evaulation finds green surface and other treatments reduce risk!
26 August 2011. VicRoads Metropolitan North West Region commissioned Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) to monitor the effectiveness of the improvements recently implemented along St Kilda Road and Royal Parade in Melbourne. Three treatments were evaluated:
1. Green coloured surface treatments within advanced storage boxes for cyclists.
2. Green surface treatments for bicycle lanes at conflict points.
3. Audio-tactile line marking to reinforce bicycle lanes at mid-block locations.
The report concludes that the treatments appear to reduce the risk of conflict between motorists and cyclists and improve the perceived safety of cyclists.
Click the following link to download the text of the report.
St Kilda Road and Royal Parade Bicycle Lane Monitoring - prepared by SKM, 2011.
General
Green paint on bike lanes can make them more visible. This is important in areas of potential conflict and/or where the bike lanes need to be made more prominent. Coloured surfaces are one way to provide visible separation of bikes from other vehicles.
Examples follow:
| Slip lanes
This helps remind drivers to give way to riders and not to cross the bike lane until it is safe to do so. Examples from Melbourne: * on the exiting slip lane above (Macarthur St, City of Melbourne) |
|
| * on the entering slip lane below (Royal Parade at College Crescent, City of Melbourne) |
|
|
Standup lanes These lanes help riders to travel straight ahead and to the right of drivers turning left at an intersection. Green paint improves lane discipline and reminds drivers of the need to give way when moving into the left turn lane. (Gisborne St City of Melbourne) |
|
| ContraFLow lane
Here the green paint has been used to emphasise the contra flow option for bike riders. Lennox St, City of Yarra |
|
| Open spaces
This lane could be called a 'departure side stand up lane'. Rider numbers increased when the lane was painted green. Until then it was uncomfortable to ride between the the two travel lanes. St Kilda Junction CIty of Port Phillip. |
|
| Roundabouts
Some municipalities are using green paint to help riders through roundabouts. The lane through the roundabout will not be effective if it takes the rider too far left, and therefore 'behind' where an entering driver is looking. This roundabout treatment keeps the rider well out but provides the green paint which identifies the bike route to the entering driver and to those coming around the roundabout. Dalton Rd Moonee Valley. |
|
| Defined Entry points to cut throughs/offroad
Here the rider is emerging from an unexpected direction. To the driver approaching from our right the street appears to be blocked off. The green paint identifies the potential conflict point and has reduced the number of bicycle motor vehicle collisions at this intersection. Canning St City of Yarra |
|
| Continuity
This 'photo shopped' picture shows our suggested green addition to new bikelanes implemented along the Berwick-Cranbourne Rd City of Casey. |
|
