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Federal Highway Administration Research and Technology
Coordinating, Developing, and Delivering Highway Transportation Innovations

Report
This report is an archived publication and may contain dated technical, contact, and link information
Publication Number: FHWA-RD-98-108
Date: February 1998

Capacity Analysis of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities

Recommended Procedures for the "Bicycles" Chapter of the Highway Capacity Manual

 

TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION

1. Report No.
FHWA–RD–98–108
2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No.
4. Title and Subtitle
CAPACITY ANALYSIS OF PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE FACILITIES: RECOMMENDED PROCEDURES FOR THE "BICYCLES," CHAPTER OF THE HIGHWAY CAPACITY MANUAL
5. Report Date
6. Performing Organization Code
7. Author(s)
N. Rouphail, J. Hummer, J. Milazzo II, and P. Allen
8. Performing Organization Report No.
9. Performing Organization Name and Address
North Carolina State University
Department of Civil Engineering
Box 7908
Raleigh, NC 27695
10. Work Unit No.(TRAIS)
3A4b
11. Contract or Grant No.
DTFH61–92–R–00138
12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address
Office of Safety & Traffic Operations Research & Development
Federal Highway Administration
6300 Georgetown Pike
McLean, Virginia 22101–2296
13. Type of Report and Period Covered
Final Report
April 1995 – February 1998
14. Sponsoring Agency Code
15. Supplementary Notes
Contracting Officer's Technical Representative: Carol Tan Esse, HRDS
16. Abstract
The objective of this project was to develop revised operational analysis procedures for transportation facilities with pedestrian and bicyclist users. This document contains both new and revised procedures for analyzing various types of exclusive and mixed–use bicycle facilities. These procedures are recommended to determine the level of service for bicycle facilities on the basis of previous domestic and international bicycle operations research conducted to date. This document only addresses procedures for streets, roads, and intersections with designated bicycle facilities. In addition to this report, there were two additional reports produced as part of this effort on Capacity Analysis of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities. These reports are subtitled as:
  1. Recommended Procedures for the "Pedestrian" Chapter of the Highway Capacity Manual (FHWA–RD–98–107)
  2. Recommended Procedures for the "Signalized Intersection" Chapter of the Highway Capacity Manual (FHWA–RD–98–106)
17. Key Words
Bicycle, mixed–use, level of service
18. Distribution Statement
No restrictions. This document is available to the public through the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia 22161.
19. Security Classif.(of this report)
Unclassified
20. Security Classif.(of this page)
Unclassified
21. No. of Pages
22. Price
Form DOT F 17000.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page is authorized

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. INTRODUCTION

  2. UNINTERRUPTED BICYCLE FACILITIES

  3. INTERRUPTED BICYCLE FACILITIES

  4. COMBINED BICYCLE FACILITIES

  5. EXAMPLE PROBLEMS

  6. REFERENCES

  7. TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION PAGE

 


LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE 1 Exclusive bicycle path
FIGURE 2 Mixed–use, off–street bicycle path
FIGURE 3 Designated on–street bicycle lane
FIGURE 4 Bicycle lane treatment at a signalized intersection

 


LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1 Level of Service (LOS) for two–lane, two–way exclusive bicycle paths (2.1– to 2.4–m paths)
TABLE 2 Level of Service (LOS) for three–lane, two–way exclusive bicycle paths (3–m paths)
TABLE 3 Total frequency of events for mixed–use paths
TABLE 4 Bicycle Level of Service (LOS) for mixed–use paths
TABLE 5 Effect of bicycle mean and standard deviation of speeds on events and Level of Service (LOS) for one–way, on–street bicycle facilities
TABLE 6 Level of Service (LOS) for interrupted bicycle facilities
TABLE 7 Bicycle arterial Level of Service (LOS)

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Federal Highway Administration | 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE | Washington, DC 20590 | 202-366-4000
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center | 6300 Georgetown Pike | McLean, VA | 22101