Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bicycle Infrastructure

Bike Signals Get the Green Light From Engineering Establishment

Think of it as a Christmas gift: On December 24, the gatekeepers who determine which street treatments should become standard tools for American engineers decided to add bike signals to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, sometimes called "the bible of traffic engineering."

Cities will no longer have to undergo expensive additional engineering studies to install bike signals. Image: ##http://bikeportland.org/2011/12/27/on-january-1-bike-traffic-signals-get-the-green-light-in-oregon-64283## Bike Portland##
Cities will no longer have to perform expensive engineering studies to install bike signals. Image: ##http://bikeportland.org/2011/12/27/on-january-1-bike-traffic-signals-get-the-green-light-in-oregon-64283##Bike Portland##
Cities will no longer have to undergo expensive additional engineering studies to install bike signals. Image: ##http://bikeportland.org/2011/12/27/on-january-1-bike-traffic-signals-get-the-green-light-in-oregon-64283## Bike Portland##

The decision should lead to more widespread use of bike signals, which can be used to reduce conflicts between people on bikes and turning drivers, give cyclists a head start at intersections, or create a separate phase entirely for bicycle traffic. They are often used in tandem with protected bike lanes.

Prior to the Christmas Eve vote by the committee that updates the MUTCD, bike signals were considered "experimental." Communities seeking to install them first had to fund expensive engineering studies.

But no longer. In a memo regarding the approval, Federal Highway Administration officials noted that bike signals have been shown to improve safety outcomes as well as compliance with traffic rules by cyclists. Crash rates involving cyclists have been reduced as much as 45 percent following the installation of bike signals, FHWA reports.

Michael Andersen at People for Bikes' Green Lane Project notes that bike signals reduce the risk to cyclists at intersections, which are where most collisions occur.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Follow That Robocab!

Wired writes about a day in the life a self-driving Waymo taxi, and more in today's headlines.

November 22, 2024

California’s Federal Dollars Will Increase Emissions

In almost every state, federal funding on highway expansions far outstrips spending on transit, active transportation, electrification, and all other programs that aim to reduce emissions. And the Golden State is no exception.

November 22, 2024

Talking Headways Podcast: City Tech with Rob Walker

Author Rob Walker on how technology has progressed transportation policy in the last decade.

November 21, 2024

One Hidden Reason Why Your State DOT Isn’t Building Protected Bike Lanes

"Proven safety countermeasures" might sound like a wonky engineering term, but it could hold the key to unlocking money to save lives.

November 21, 2024
See all posts