Measurement of Desirable Minimum One-Way Bike Lane Width

Abstract

Although many countries specify a desirable minimum width for one-way bike lanes, there have been no empirical or methodological studies conducted through extensive field experiments to confirm these specifications. This study devised a measurement method to obtain precise bicycle trajectories using a real-time kinematic global positioning system (RTK GPS). This measurement method achieves very satisfactory accuracy with regard to identifying the desirable minimum bike lane width when considering the bicycle width, Essential Maneuvering Space (EMS), and Comfortable Lateral Clearance (CLC). The width of a bicycle was obtained by investigating common bicycle types in the field. The EMS experiments were performed for speeds of 10, 20, and 30 km/h along test tracks with widths of 1.1, 2.0, and 3.0 m using an RTK GPS. The CLC experiments were repeated 300 times with the same preset speeds as in the EMS tests. Based on the results of this study, the bike lane width should be at least 2.0 m to allow for rider stability on roadways with no curb or gutter. In the future, desirable geometric standards for various types of bike lanes need to be formulated using real data collected with advanced measurement apparatuses.