Safety Evaluation of On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features (2025)
Chapter: Front Matter
 |
NCHRP Web-Only Document 414 |
Safety Evaluation of On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features
Bahar Dadashova
Karen Dixon
Okan Gurbuz
Richard Dzinyela
Boya Dai
Shawn Turner
Texas A&M Transportation Institute
Bryan, TX
Michael Hintze
Katy Sawyer
Bill Schultheiss
Dylan Passmore
Jeremy Chrzan
Tyler Wong
Clay Sublett
Stefanie Brodie
Toole Design Group
Silver Spring, MD
Christopher Monsere
Sirisha Kothuri
Nathan McNeil
Portland State University
Portland, OR
Rebecca Sanders
Jessica Schoner
Safe Streets Research & Consulting
Portland, OR
Conduct of Research Report for NCHRP Project 15-74
Submitted November 2024
NCHRP Web-Only Document 414
Safety Evaluation of On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features
© 2025 by the National Academy of Sciences. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and the graphical logo are trademarks of the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
NATIONAL COOPERATIVE HIGHWAY RESEARCH PROGRAM
Systematic, well-designed, and implementable research is the most effective way to solve many problems facing state departments of transportation (DOTs) administrators and engineers. Often, highway problems are of local or regional interest and can best be studied by state DOTs individually or in cooperation with their state universities and others. However, the accelerating growth of highway transportation results in increasingly complex problems of wide interest to highway authorities. These problems are best studied through a coordinated program of cooperative research.
Recognizing this need, the leadership of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) in 1962 initiated an objective national highway research program using modern scientific techniques—the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP). NCHRP is supported on a continuing basis by funds from participating member states of AASHTO and receives the full cooperation and support of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), United States Department of Transportation, under Agreement No. 693JJ31950003.
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein.
Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, APTA, FAA, FHWA, FTA, GHSA, or NHTSA endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP.
Digital Object Identifier: 10.17226/28854
DISCLAIMER
The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research. They are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board; the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; the FHWA; or the program sponsors.
The Transportation Research Board does not develop, issue, or publish standards or specifications. The Transportation Research Board manages applied research projects which provide the scientific foundation that may be used by Transportation Research Board sponsors, industry associations, or other organizations as the basis for revised practices, procedures, or specifications.
The Transportation Research Board, the National Academies, and the sponsors of the National Cooperative Highway Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report.
The information contained in this document was taken directly from the submission of the author(s). This material has not been edited by TRB.
The National Academy of Sciences was established in 1863 by an Act of Congress, signed by President Lincoln, as a private, nongovernmental institution to advise the nation on issues related to science and technology. Members are elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research. Dr. Marcia McNutt is president.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to bring the practices of engineering to advising the nation. Members are elected by their peers for extraordinary contributions to engineering. Dr. John L. Anderson is president.
The National Academy of Medicine (formerly the Institute of Medicine) was established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences to advise the nation on medical and health issues. Members are elected by their peers for distinguished contributions to medicine and health. Dr. Victor J. Dzau is president.
The three Academies work together as the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation and conduct other activities to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions. The National Academies also encourage education and research, recognize outstanding contributions to knowledge, and increase public understanding in matters of science, engineering, and medicine.
Learn more about the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine at www.nationalacademies.org.
The Transportation Research Board is one of seven major program divisions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The mission of the Transportation Research Board is to mobilize expertise, experience, and knowledge to anticipate and solve complex transportation-related challenges. The Board’s varied activities annually engage about 8,500 engineers, scientists, and other transportation researchers and practitioners from the public and private sectors and academia, all of whom contribute their expertise in the public interest. The program is supported by state departments of transportation, federal agencies including the component administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and other organizations and individuals interested in the development of transportation.
Learn more about the Transportation Research Board at www.TRB.org.
COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAMS
CRP STAFF FOR NCHRP WEB-ONLY DOCUMENT 414
Monique R. Evans, Director, Cooperative Research Programs
Waseem Dekelbab, Deputy Director, Cooperative Research Programs, and Manager, National Cooperative Highway Research Program
Arefeh Nasri, Senior Program Officer
Stephanie L. Campbell-Chamberlain, Senior Program Assistant
Natalie Barnes, Director of Publications
Heather DiAngelis, Associate Director of Publications
Kathleen Mion, Assistant Editor
NCHRP PROJECT 15-74 PANEL
Field of Design—Area of General Design
Rebecca L. Mowry, California Department of Transportation, Sacramento, CA (Chair)
Andrew Jay Beagle, Washington State Transportation Improvement Board, Olympia, WA
Karlynn Brown, WSP, Nashville, TN
Shaunna Kay Burbidge, Avenue Consultants, Taylorsville, UT
Arthur Getman, Replica, Overland Park, KS
Jill Mrotek Glenzinski, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Madison, WI
George Thomas Rogerson, Jr., VaDOT (retired), Midlothian, VA
Darren G. Buck, FHWA Liaison
Bernardo B. Kleiner, TRB Liaison
AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research reported herein was performed under NCHRP Project 15-74 by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, a member of The Texas A&M University System, in collaboration with Toole Design Group, Portland State University, and Safe Streets Research & Consulting. The work was guided by a technical working group.
The researchers would like to acknowledge their student workers who promptly and valuably supported the efforts conducted through this phase of the project: Richard Dzinyela, William Efendiev, and Soham Shyamsunder Sarda.
CONTENTS
Chapter 2. Literature Review on Safety Effectiveness of Midblock Bicycle Treatments
2.2 Safety Effectiveness of Bicycle Treatments for Midblocks
2.2.1 Installing a New Bikeway
2.2.2 Converting/Modifying an Existing Bikeway
2.3 Performance Measures and Contextual Factors
2.3.1 Bicyclist Safety Measures
2.3.2 Bicyclist Crash-Contributing Factors
2.4 Safety Effectiveness Evaluation Methods and Models
Chapter 3. Selection of Contextual Factors in Bicycle Safety Treatments
3.3 Treatment Types for Developing Crash Modification Factors
3.4 Design and Contextual Factors for Developing Criteria
Chapter 4. Assessment of Available Data and Survey
4.1 Inventory of Readily Available Data Sources
4.1.3 Land Use and Access Data
4.1.4 Other Readily Available Data
4.2 Survey Methodology and Results
4.2.1 Survey Design and Dissemination
Chapter 5. Site Selection and Data Collection
5.1 Preliminary Site Selection Approach
5.2 Selected Sites and Data Collection Methodology
5.2.1 Bicycle Count Data Collection
5.3.1 Arlington County, Virginia
5.3.2 Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
5.3.5 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Chapter 6. Safety Evaluation of Bicycle Treatments
6.1.2 Sample Size and Power Estimations
6.2 Bike Facility and Crash Data Assessment
6.4.2 Cross-Sectional Analysis
6.5.1 Buffered vs. No Bike Lanes
6.6 Conventional Bicycle Lanes
6.6.1 Arlington County, Virginia
6.6.2 Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
6.6.4 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6.7 Chapter Summary and Discussions
6.7.2 Other Contextual and Operational Factors
Appendix A. List of Data Sources
Appendix B. Questionnaire Outline
Appendix C. Responses from Selected Agencies
Appendix D. Bike Counts from Cities Not Included in Safety Analysis
NCHRP Web-Only Document 414 contains the Conduct of Research Report for NCHRP Project 15-74 and accompanies NCHRP Research Report 1136: On-Street Bicycle Facility Design Features: A Guide. Readers can read or purchase NCHRP Research Report 1136 on the National Academies Press website (nap.nationalacademies.org).
