Survey Finds That Buffered Bike Lanes Are Better

1. Survey Finds That Buffered Bike Lanes Are Better Why buffered bike lanes are better than conventional lanes? A bike lane provides a designated lane for cyclists to ride on. They can easily ride on these lanes without worrying about cars or other vehicles coming onto their lanes. Plus, the car owners too feel safe knowing that they won’t encounter a cyclist in their spot, that can lead to mishaps.

2. A bike lane is usually demarcated with bike lane marking. These are conventional bike lanes where the line is the only thing that separates the car riding space with the cycling space. However, in times of heavy traffic, the cars may unintentionally spill over to the bikers’ lane thus jeopardizing their safety. In such cases, a buffered bike lane emerges as a safer option. This type of bike lane has buffer space in between the car riding space and the cyclist lane. Typically, it is a 2 to 2.5 foot ‘shy zone’ that resides between the cyclists zone and the moving vehicle zone. From a safety perspective these buffer areas offer great safety to the cyclists. A cyclist would generally not prefer to ride directly adjacent to the moving vehicle lanes. This is because during heavy traffic, some portions of the car may protrude over to the cyclists lane, thus placing the cyclists in harm’s way. With a buffer this issue doesn’t arise. Also, with the presence of a buffer space, the cyclists feel secure in riding their cycles. Even for motorists road logo such as buffered bike lane markings offer convenience. They can drive at their normal speed without worrying about cyclists spilling over to the motorists’ lane. In a 2012 study it was found that 18 percent of reported bike crashes were due to doorings (i.e. the doors of the car in the adjacent lane opens up when a bike is riding on the bike lane). With a 2 to 2.5 foot buffer this issue gets reduced significantly. The bikes get enough clearance to ride their cycles, rather being confined to the middle of the lane, which can be a bit counter-productive in case of cycle traffic. The additional width presented by the buffered bike markings provides greater separation between the cars and bikes. Depending on the width of a particular bike marking buffer, another cyclist can get enough width to pass through a cyclist riding on the main lane, without spilling over to the motorists lane and exposing himself to the perils of an accident. Both accomplished bikers and amateurs can easily ride on the bike lanes without the stress of dashing against the cars on the adjacent lane. This also promotes greater usage of bikes in the dedicated bike lanes, and thus leads to overall increase in the number of dedicated bike lanes in major cities in the world. To sign off The bike lane markings done by professional experts will bear the stamp of quality and high visibility. They will have experience on a range of pavement markings and asphalt overlay works like cross-roads and pedestrian plazas. Content Source