SAFETY: National traffic committee approves 11 bike-lane design

Bike-lane design could soon feature more prominently in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) after the national advisory committee behind the list approved 11 bike-lane treatments in late June. The recommendations from the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices now face review from other engineering associations and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

Among the design ideas approved by the committee were:

• Buffered bike lanes;
• Contraflow bike lanes (lanes allowing bikes to travel the opposite direction of traffic on a one-way street);
• Bike queueing boxes;
• Enhanced bike signage; and
• Extension of bike lane markings through intersections.

The National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices acts as an advisory group to the FHWA, which actually releases the MUTCD. Before any of the bike-lane designs can be included, they must undergo a rule-making period for review by other engineering institutions.

The committee gave no indication of when those reviews would begin or what kind of reaction could be expected to the new measures.