Planning and Design Guidance
- A Comparative Analysis of Bicycle Lanes Versus Wide Curb Lanes: Final Report - FHWA - [PDF, 3.17MB] - This report is a comparative analysis of bicycle lanes versus wide curb lanes. The primary analysis was based on videotapes of almost 4,600 bicyclists in the cities of Santa Barbara, CA, Gainesville, FL and Austin, TX, as the bicyclists approached and rode through eight bicycle lanes and eight wide curb lanes intersections with varying speed and traffic conditions.
- Bicycle Countermeasures - FHWA - [PDF, 8.6KB] - The Bicycle Safety Resource Guide was prepared for the bicycle safety professional and others who are proactive in developing programs at the state or community level. It provides a compilation of existing and proposed countermeasures that can be used by a variety of implementers to help solve a wide range of bicycle safety problems.
- Bicycle Lanes Versus Wide Curb Lanes: Operational and Safety Findings and Countermeasure Recommendations - FHWA - [PDF, 2.83MB] - This report presents operational and safety findings and countermeasure recommendations from a comparative analysis of bicycle lanes versus wide curb lanes.
- Bicycle Parking Facilities Guidelines - City of Portland Bicycles - [PDF, 469KB] - This guide is intended to help you save money by installing bicycle parking facilities that work. Whether you are required or volunteering to install bicycle parking, you should plan thoughtfuly for convenient, secure and plentiful bicycle parking.
- Design Guidance - [HTML, PDF, 99KB] - incorporates three key principles: a) a policy statement that bicycling and walking facilities will be incorporated into all transportation projects unless exceptional circumstances exist; b) an approach to achieving this policy that has already worked in State and local agencies; and c) a series of action items that a public agency, professional association, or advocacy group can take to achieve the overriding goal of improving conditions for bicycling and walking.
- Designing Sidewalks and Trails for Access, Part I of II: Review of Existing Guidelines and Practices - ADA - [HTML, PDF 1.7MB] - The report presents a number of factors that affect the accessibility of sidewalks and trails in the United States. The history of accessibility legislation and an overview of current accessibility laws are provided. The travel characteristics of people with disabilities, children, and older adults are analysed in relation to their use of sidewalks and trails.Current design practices used in the design of sidewalks and trails are described and analysed in terms of accessibility, engineering, and construction.
- Evaluation of a Combined Bicycle Lane/Right Turn Lane in Eugene, Oregon - FHWA - [PDF, 516KB] - In many bike-lane retrofit projects, there is not enough space to mark a minimum 1.2-m bike lane to the left of the right-turn lane. This report focuses on a combined bicycle lane/right-turn lane used when right-of-way at an intersection is limited. This evaluation took place in Eugene, OR.
- FHWA Technical Advisory: Roadway Shoulder Rumble Strips - This Technical Advisory contains information on state-of-the-practice for the design and installation of shoulder rumble strips and provides guidelines for their use on appropriate rural segments of the National Highway System (NHS). - FHWA
- Graduate Course Book on Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation - FHWA - [HTML, PDF 12.4MB] - This manual can be used to train future professionals, including planners, engineers, landscape architects, and other designers, in a variety of disciplines. Emphasis is placed on the importance of developing an interdisciplinary team approach to planning and implementing bicycle and pedestrian programs, and of the role played by each profession presented in this course.
- Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities - AASHTO - [PDF, 531KB] - Designed to provide information on the development of facilities to enhance and encourage safe bicycle travel.
- Improving Conditions for Bicycling & Walking - FHWA - [PDF, 6.13MB] - This "best practices" report provides information on some outstanding pedestrian and bicycle projects that have been recognized for increasing walking and bicycling and improving user safety in communities across the Unites States.
- MUTCD Millennium Edition - Details on the availability of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices
- Planning and Designing Bicycle Facilities - [PDF, 14.3MB]
- Roadway Delineation Practices Handbook - FHWA - [PDF, 5.73MB] - was developed to assist design, traffic, and maintenance engineering personnel in making determinations about roadway delineation systems, including the appropriate system for a given situation, when a system has reached the end of its useful life, and how to maintain a quality delineation system. It may also be valuable to consulting engineers, educators, and others.
- Safety of Driveways in Close Proximity to Each Other - Texas Transportation Institute - [PDF, 1.37MB] - Preliminary guidelines were developed for minimum spacing of driveways on high speed roadways. The guidelines address safety concerns related to ran-off-the-road accidents.
- Selecting Roadway Design Treatments to Accommodate Bicycles - This report, FHWA-RD-92-073, presents a set of tables that can be used to determine the recommended type of bicycle facility to be provided in particular roadway situations. In addition, the report presents a brief discussion of the "design user" for bicycle facilities, and presents a planning process for bicycle facilities.
- Supplementary Design Guide
State and Local Plans/Guidelines
- Case Study: Current Planning and Design Guidelines Used by State and Local Agencies - FHWA - [PDF, 1.7MB]
- Implementing Bicycle Improvements at the Local Level - FHWA - [PDF, 1MB] - Describes some of the programs and projects found in America's most progressive "bicycle-friendly" communities. They range from trail networks and transit system connections to rubberized railroad crossings and bicycle parking. Some are modest projects while others are major undertakings.
- Minnesota Bicycle Transportation Planning and Design Guidelines - MN DOT - [PDF, 1.1MB] - The purpose of this manual is to provide bicycle network and facility planning and design guidelines that planners, engineers and designers should follow, to encourage increased use of the bicycle.
- Oregon Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan - OR DOT - [HTML, PDF 1.39MB]
- Bicycle Suitability Criteria for State Roadways in Texas - TTI - [PDF, 4.7MB] - This project identified and developed bicycle suitability criteria for evaluating state roadways in Texas.
- Guidelines for Bicycle and Pedestrian Facilities in Texas - Texas Transportation Institute - [PDF, 3MB] - An overview of the process for planning various types of bicycle and pedestrian projects is provided. The design techniques that can be used to accomodate bicycles on existing and new roadways are summarized. The design features associated with separate bicycle paths, multi-use trails, and pedestrian walkways are also presented.
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