9 | 07 | 2006 | MADISON, WISCONSIN14TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON WALKING AND BICYCLING

BIKE LANES AND CAR DOORSDETAILS FOR DESIGNERS

BIKE LANES AND CAR DOORSDETAILS FOR DESIGNERS

OUTLINE

•SAN FRANCISCO – BACKGROUND AND BICYCLE NETWORK

•BICYCLE LANES – WHY AND HOW?

•STUDY #1 – PARKING LANE WIDTHS

•STUDY #2 – PARKING “T” MARKINGS

•RECOMMENDATIONS

Area: 47 Square Miles

Population: 780,000(2nd Densest City in U.S.)

Terrain: Hills! (31.5% Steepest)

Percent Bicycle to Work: 2.08%*

Recent Poll: 5% of SF residents Use Bike as primary mode of transportation * 2000 Census (#1 in US cities w/ >500,000, 108% increase from 1990

Census)

SAN FRANCISCO

205 TOTAL MILES

•30 Miles of Bike Paths

•45 Miles of Bike Lanes

•130 Miles of Shared Roadways -55 Miles of Wide Curb Lanes -80 Miles of Narrow Curb Lanes

BICYCLE NETWORK

SHARED ROADWAY MARKING

San Francisco Bicycle Coalition's 2006 Survey

What would make San Francisco a better city for bicycling?

BICYCLE LANES

#1 Response: More bike lanes (21%)

90% of respondents prefer to ride on streets with bike lanes rather than streets without (6% no opinion)

Bay Area Trends657 vehicles per 1000 persons in 1998704 vehicles per 1000 persons in 2020(Projected by Metropolitan Transportation Commission)

San Francisco480,000 Registered Vehicles320,000 estimated on-street parking spacesHigh demand for on-street parking

CARS AREN’T GOING AWAY**YET

AASHTO GUIDE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF BICYCLE FACILITIES

MUTCD 2003 CALIFORNIA SUPPLEMENT

CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY DESIGN MANUAL

BICYCLE LANE DESIGN

•Bike lanes adjacent to parking must be a minimum of 5’ wide

•No minimum parking lane width

From AASHTO “Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities”

40 in (1.0m)

30 in (0.75m)

BICYCLIST OPERATING SPACE

CVC 22517.   No person shall open the door of a vehicle on the side available to moving traffic unless it is reasonably safe to do so and can be done without interfering with the movement of such traffic, nor shall any person leave a door open upon the side of a vehicle available to moving traffic for a period of time longer than necessary to load or unload passengers.

CVC & ON-STREET PARKING

“The Door is Always Open”

Courtesy of Department of Public Art - 1993

San Francisco 2001-2005•1628 Bicycle Injury Collisions•133 From Doorings (~8%)

DOORING COLLISIONS

50% in Door Zone 30% in Door Zone 10% in Door Zone

Red dashed line = 9.5’ from curb (85 percentile opened car doors)

PARKING LANE WIDTH STUDY

Will wider parking lanes encourage motorists to park further away from the curb?

“This second line will encourage parking closer to the curb, providing added separation from motor vehicles…”Page 23, AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities

STUDY LOCATION

11 Locations~600 Observations

PARKING LANE WIDTH VERSUS VEHICLE DISTANCE FROM CURB

y = 1.1848x - 1.7582

R2 = 0.0305

0

5

10

15

20

25

6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5

Parking Lane Width (Feet)

Veh

icle

Dis

tan

ce f

rom

Cu

rb (

Inch

es)

OTHER DESIGN FACTORS

Context is Key!

Wider Parking Lanes May Be Needed For:

•Downhill Bike Lanes

•Commercial Areas with High Parking Turnover

•Areas Where Trucks Frequently Park to Load/Unload

PARKING “T” STUDY

Before - Parking “Ts” Extend to 9’ After - Parking “Ts” Extend to 11’

Before – Average Position After – Average Position

BEFORE

Mean = 10’-4”

76% > 9.5’

54% > 10’

24% IN DOOR ZONE

AFTER

Mean = 10’-11”

90% > 9.5’

76% > 10’

10% IN DOOR ZONE

RECOMMENDATIONS•Where space permits, wider parking lanes should be provided next to bike lanes to give cyclists more buffer from opening car doors

•Bike lane/parking lane design should take into account factors such as parking turnover, expected vehicle types, street grade

•Extended parking “Ts” show potential for encouraging cyclists to ride outside the door zone

•Design standards should be revisited, and should address door zone issue - Need for research with narrower bike lanes and other innovative treatments

50% in Door Zone 30% in Door Zone 10% in Door Zone

Red dashed line = 9.5’ from curb (85 percentile opened car doors)

Red dashed line = 9.5’ from curb (85 percentile opened car doors)

38% in Door Zone 13% in Door Zone 0% in Door Zone

EDUCATION OF CYCLISTS

EDUCATION OF MOTORISTS

Dustin WhiteSF Municipal Transportation Agency

dustin.white@sfmta.com(415) 701-4603

San Francisco Bicycle Program www.bicycle.sfgov.org