October 1, 2024 - A new ScienceDirect study shows that the effect of delineator-protected bicycle lanes (marked with traffic cones and plastic delineators) was associated with a 28% reduction in average maximum speeds and a 21% decrease in average speeds for vehicles turning right.
Painted-only bike lanes were also associated with a small speed reduction of 11–15 %, but solely for vehicles turning right. For vehicles travelling straight, researchers found that delineated bike lanes were associated with up to 8% reduction in average maximum speeds and 5% for average traffic speeds.
The findings suggest an important secondary benefit of bicycle lanes: by having a traffic calming effect, delineated bicycle lanes may decrease the risk and severity of crashes for pedestrians and other road users.
Read the full report here – h/t to @LukeBornheimer for this news.
