This report presents finding from research evaluating U.S. protected bicycle lanes (cycle tracks) in terms of their use, perception, benefits, and impacts.
The data was analyzed to assess actual behavior of bicyclists and motor vehicle drivers to determine how well each user type understood the design of the facility and to identify potential conflicts between bicyclists, motor vehicles and pedestrians.
The study found that protected bike lanes encouraged substantial numbers of new bikers to take to the road, largely because they feel safer about doing so. More than half of automobile drivers felt the protected lanes made cyclists more predictable and safer. Residents saw the physically-separated bike lanes as improvements for their neighborhoods as a whole, even if they made it harder to park. And almost 60 percent of residents said the separated bike lanes made their streets work better for everyone.
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