Types of Bike Lanes (a.k.a. Bike Facilities)
Bikes are a vital part of a healthy, sustainable and connected community. Quality bike and pedestrian networks aid economic activity and help people live a car-optional life. Here are some important ideas to understand bike infrastructure.
Sharrows
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What are they?
Sharrows are the painted road markings that highlight designated bike routes and provide useful wayfinding for people on bikes. Sharrows also alert people driving to the likely presence of people biking and can help signal people to share the space.
Why are they important?
Sharrows help reinforce the idea that people biking belong on the road, and they provide useful wayfinding for biking to destinations. However, on their own sharrows don’t offer protection for cyclists and shouldn’t be used as a replacement for bike lanes or elevated bikeways on major roads.
Where are they in St. Louis?
Sharrows are all over the city and county. Bike St. Louis Routes are marked with sharrows, unless more-developed lanes exist.
Striped Bike Lanes
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What are they?
Stripped Lanes create a separate, marked-off space on the road for people on bikes and scooters. These are usually marked with a solid or dashed line along the right side of the road between the car travel lane and parked cars or the curb. Striped lanes are best used on larger streets with around 1,500 to 3,000 cars per day and speed limits less than 25 mph.
Why are they important?
Striped Lanes are one of the most common and cost-effective types of bike infrastructure. They don’t offer physical protection from cars, but the clearly marked space is important to separate drivers from cyclists. They increase safety by providing clearly designated space for different people travelling at different speeds.
Where are they in St. Louis?
Commonly used Striped Lanes include Chouteau Avenue-Manchester Road, Arsenal Street near Tower Grove Park, Gravois Avenue and South Broadway.
Buffered Lanes
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What are they?
Buffered Lanes add an extra 1.5-foot to 3-foot space between a bike lane and a car-travel lane or parking lane. They are marked with angled striping between a double white line and are best used on roads with around 3,000 to 6,000 cars per day and speed limits less than 25 mph.
Why are they important?
Buffered lanes make it easier to navigate around obstacles and makes riding in the lane feel safer and more comfortable. They provide extra space for people on bikes to avoid opened car doors, and give some extra space away from faster-moving traffic. This added space and comfort can help get more people using bikes on roads.
Where are they in St. Louis?
One example is Tower Grove Avenue between Magnolia Avenue and Shaw Boulevard paralleling Missouri Botanical Gardens.
On-Street Protected Lanes
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What are they?
On-Street Protected Lanes offer a physical barrier between car and bike lanes. These can vary in design but at the least, prevent cars from driving or parking in the bike lane. Protected lanes can be either one-way or two-way and are best used on roads with 6,000 cars per day or more and speed limits of 25 mph or more
Why are they important?
On-Street Protected Bike Lanes reduce the risk and fear of collisions from cars and make bike lanes more comfortable, encouraging more people to travel by bike. By being on street level, they can be more cost-effective than other options and can be implemented more quickly than elevated facilities.
Where are they in St. Louis?
Stretches of Chestnut Street downtown have On-Street Protected Bike Lanes.
Advisory Lanes
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What are they?
Advisory Lanes are a novel approach to road safety that remove the centerline and create an environment where people in cars take more care and leave more space when passing people on bikes and yield to oncoming traffic.
Advisory Lanes add dashed bike lanes on the outside of the road while removing the centerline separating the car lanes.
Think of a narrow one-lane bridge where people in cars yield to one another. That is the intended interaction caused by the removal of the centerline and the addition of the bike lane.
Advisory lanes are best used for roads with low-to-moderate traffic (typically about 5,000 cars per day or less), speed limits less than 30 mph, and widths too narrow to support dedicated bicycle lanes.
Why are they important?
Advisory Lanes prioritize people traveling on bikes and accommodate two-way car traffic within a single lane. While unconventional, advisory bike lanes have the potential to open up more streets to comfortable travel for people on bikes, and preserve car parking without widening the road. Advisory Bike lanes have strong potential for small towns and rural road networks where road widening is not possible or is cost prohibitive.
Where are they in St. Louis?
Nowhere. Advisory Lanes are common in Europe, and are starting to be used in Indianapolis, IN, Boulder, CO, and Minneapolis, MN, but their application is fairly new in American communities.
Elevated Bikeways
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What are they?
Elevated Bikeways are spaces for people on bikes and scooters, separated from the street by a curb and on-level or slightly below sidewalks. They are wider than sidewalks and clearly marked to keep people on bikes and people on foot in separate areas. Elevated Bikeways can be either one-way or two-way and are best used on roads with 6,000 cars per day or more and speed limits or 25 mph or more.
Why are they important?
Elevated Bikeways offer physical separation and protection from car traffic, making them attractive to more people of all ages and experience levels. They also encourage people to use the bikeway instead of sidewalks.
Where are they in St. Louis?
There are Elevated Bikeways on Forsyth Boulevard and Big Bend Road on Washington University’s campus, and on Lenor K. Sullivan Boulevard by The Gateway Arch.
Shared Use Paths
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What are they?
Shared Use Paths are off-road paved trails meant for walking, biking, and other non-motorized transportation. They can be used for commuting, recreation, or both. Shared Use Paths are typically two-way and are separate from roads and sidewalks. Re-purposing old railroad lines is one common approach to building Shared Use Paths. They are best used in areas with low volumes of people walking.
Why are they important?
Shared Use Paths offer a safe, popular way for people to exercise, commute and be social. They can also offer an important supplement to on-road bike and pedestrian networks. However, by putting people on foot and people on bikes in the same space, users of the paths need to take additional care when yielding and passing.
Where are they in St. Louis?
Shared use paths are common in many parks in the region such as Grant’s Trail, The Riverfront Trail, and Madison County Transit Trails
Greenways
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What are they?
Greenways are typically off-road trails near waterways and surrounded by stretches of undeveloped nature, or specifically landscaped green spaces to serve as buffers around rivers and streams. Also known as wildlife corridors or linear parks, Greenways usually include a Shared Use Path or separated bike paths and sidewalks. While most Greenways are paved, some may be surfaced with gravel.
Why are they important?
Greenways have a lot in common with Shared Use Paths, but have the extra benefit of being surrounded by greenspace. They are popular for recreation and commuting, but can be more timely and expensive to build than other improvements.
Where are they in St. Louis?
Many of the region’s Shared Use Paths double as Greenways: The Grant’s Trail, The Riverfront Trail, and Madison County Transit Trails. The Katy Trail is an example of an unpaved Greenway.