BICYCLE USE OF HIGHWAY SHOULDERS (WITH DISCUSSION AND CLOSURE)

Paving highway shoulders offers benefits that include the safe accommodation of bicycles. Although there is much current interest in developing policies and plans for designating bicycle routes based on paved shoulders, there is a lack of methodology for quantifying bicycle-related benefits for inclusion in economic feasibility studies. This article reports research in opportunities and issues in the use of highway shoulders for bicycle routes. Information on existing policies and designs was compiled and summarized from a survey of provincial and state transportation departments in Canada and the United States and from a review of the literature. Design factors for partially and fully paved shoulders are noted from the perspective of bicycle travel. The treatment of safety factors includes issues such as common use of travel lanes and the aerodynamic effects of heavy vehicles and speed on bicyclists. A risk analysis of bicycle-related collisions is presented. Accident reduction benefits attributable to shoulder bikeways are quantified in economic terms. The economic feasibility of partially and fully paved shoulders featuring bikeways and rumble strips is reported. The results show that the inclusion of bikeway benefits enhances the economic feasibility of paving highway shoulders.