PRSR 10-12-1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

• Feb. 8, 1983 BIKEWAYS I. INTRODUCTION study area so as to provide for safe access to and from such facilities relative to his project. In order to increase the mileage of public roads that provide an acceptable level of service with available funds and to maximize fully the value of existing roadways for III. DETERMINATION OF APPROPRIATE bicyclists, Mn/DOT has adopted bikeway design standards. STANDARD Because more flexibility is provided, these standards will permit improvements to be made which will result in Determination of the appropriate standard to use on greater uniformity of highway geometries over major a project, requires three basic evaluations. First, the major lengths of roadway. These standards are based on the re- section of the route that the proposed project lies within lationship between the characteristics of the road design must be identified and evaluated to determine what prob- (bicycle driving area) to the average daily motorized able improvements will be made within the foreseeable traffic. Although these bikeway standards have been de- future. Secondly, the project must take into account the veloped and should be used to the maximum extent posy- current and anticipated travel needs of the cyclist, land ble, as with most engineering projects, the designer should use data and system continuity. Thirdly, the project stan- use engineering judgement in the application of the stan- dards are selected to be compatible with the rest of the dards. major bikeway section. A.MAJOR BIKEWAY SECTION IDENTIFICATION II. DEFINITIONS A major bikeway section is defined as a principal The definition of each of these standards is as follows: travel route used by cyclists. A route of this stature is the "backbone" of a bicycling network, which may A. RURAL DESIGN BIKEWAY encompass all three bikeway designs along its length and may serve a significant portion of a community, county, Rural design refers to any section of public road region or have a significant influence on long distance • that has shoulders and ditches. The relationship between travel. Ideally the design selected could vary minimally the road design and the traffic volume is particularly to avoid surprising the motoring and cycling public by a critical. Shoulder surface and width (in addition to lane change in standards that could result in accidents. width and the number of lanes) are significant factors because shoulders may be the operational area for cyclists It is not possible to specify the length of a major by preference (if paved and clear of debris) or serve as an bikeway section, nor would it serve any beneficial purpose. emergency escape lane. The length varies depending on the service area of the route and the presence (or lack thereof) of suitable alter- B. MUNICIPAL DESIGN BIKEWAY nate routes. It is critical, however, to understand fully the principal destination of cyclists, and the road design at Municipal design refers to all other public road sec- either end of the project termini, so as to provide a total dons within corporate limits. A municipal design roadway picture of the travel options available and the impact of generally has curb and/or gutter on one or both sides of the project design. road. Bicyclists usually do not have shoulders to ride on and parked vehicles present obstacles. Parking maneuvers, B. EVALUATION OF ROADWAY FOR BICYCLE open car doors and the obstruction to vision that a parked TRAVEL NEEDS car presents, have a negative influence on urban cycling. Therefore, the relationship of the bicycle driving area Once the project termini of the bikeway section have to traffic takes into account the road desigp and the design been determined, existing and anticipated conditions may of the parking area (diagonal, parallel, no parking and be analyzed. The road under study must be rated (using various combinations). the appropriate design table) to determine whether or not C. OFF-ROAD BIKEWAYS it is currently providing a safe level of service to the cycling population. If the road is rated "unsatisfactory"or "poor", a similar analysis of parallel routes should be conducted. An off-road bikeway refers to a travel corridor sep- If there are no suitable parallel routes,it is necessary for the arated from the road structure, and specifically designed designer to study the options for upgrading this particular for non-motorized transportation. Bikeways of this design section to a "fair"or "good"level. are often times implemented when a roadway cannot be • enhanced to an acceptable level, and when a suitable par- The second level of study involves transportation allel route is not available. Also, this design is often used planning with the respective agency to determine land use as a recreational corridor through public lands. The de- signer should be aware of off-road bikeways in his project proposals, principal travel trends and the population served by the proposed project. Project termini should