New report on how to design protected bike lanes that keep pedestrians safe
‘Getting to the Curb’ brings universal design to the bike lane
We’re thrilled to share the newly published report, Getting to the Curb: A Guide to Building Protected Bike Lanes That Work for Pedestrians.
Protected bike lanes create safer conditions for bicyclists, but their location next to the curb has two major impacts on pedestrians: it eliminates direct access to the curb for people getting out of cars; it also often results in pedestrians having to cross an active bike lane to access parking and transit islands. While these impacts may only slightly inconvenience able-bodied individuals, they can be problematic for seniors and people with disabilities.
That’s why the Senior & Disability Work Group of the Vision Zero Coalition decided to look at how protected bike lanes could be designed to provide easy and direct curb access for pedestrians. The resulting first-of-its kind report shows how to bring universal design principles to life when building protected bike lanes.
Already, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has agreed to use the report to guide its design of protected bike lanes. We hope advocates, engineers, planners, and policy makers nationwide will look to this resource to further promote accessible design.
A huge thanks and congrats to the partners in the Senior & Disability Work Group for their fantastic work on this much-needed toolkit! Partners include Senior & Disability Action, the Mayor’s Office on Disability, the Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco, and Age & Disability Friendly SF. Walk San Francisco coordinates and participates in the Senior & Disability Work Group.
