By Chris McCahill
Low stress roads make biking more comfortable, especially for people who are more risk-averse. But do they make biking safer? A new study suggests they do, countering concerns from some transportation officials that these facilities might encourage unsafe riding.
The level of traffic stress (LTS) is used to rate how comfortable streets are for biking. It categorizes roads from LTS 1 (low stress) to LTS 4 (high stress), which are often associated with four types of cyclists, ranging from “no way no how” to “strong and fearless.” Since more than half of people fall into the “interested but concerned” group, the second out of the four categories, low-stress networks are often designed with them in mind.
Comfort and safety don’t always go hand in hand, though. As we’ve noted, people often drive safer on roads perceived as complex or dangerous. That could explain why some officials worry that adding bike lanes might lure people into unsafe conditions. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy recently voiced that concern, saying at the Work Economy Summit: “If you drive in a congested area where there are bike lanes, it seems to be really dangerous for bikers.”
Fortunately, the evidence points in the opposite direction. A new study of eight metropolitan areas in Arizona from 2015 to 2021 found that lower-stress roads had fewer bike crashes, and when crashes did occur, they were less severe if there was a bike lane.
In that study, the safest roads were those rated LTS 1, which have two lanes or fewer, 25 mph speed limits or lower, and traffic volumes under 750 vehicles per day. The researchers explain, “a cyclist is at an increased risk of being struck by a motorist on roadways in Arizona’s metro regions as the road segment’s perceived stress rises.”
The study also found that each contributing factor—more lanes, higher traffic volumes, and higher speed limits—added to the risk.
Interestingly, although roads classified as LTS 2 also have fewer crashes, the ones that occurred were often more severe, with severity increasing further on LTS 3 and LTS 4 roads. Conventional bike lanes significantly reduce that risk.
Regarding the concerns echoed by Secretary Duffy about bike lanes, the researchers noted:
“While the selection of an appropriate design should be made with additional corridor-level considerations, the provision of separated bike facilities on high-speed roads with increased motor vehicle volumes or further improvements to critical links in the regional bike network that lower LTS may hold promise in unlocking a latent demand for utilitarian cycling that has been suppressed amongst individuals with higher aversions to traffic safety and comfort risks when cycling.”
In plain terms: better bike infrastructure can make biking safer and more comfortable, creating more opportunities for people to ride, while reducing the risk of serious crashes.
Photo credit: Marek Lumi via Unsplash. License.