Evaluation of a Green Bike Lane Weaving Area in St. Petersburg, Florida
Source: University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, FDOT
This report focuses on colored (green) pavement and accompanying signing used in St. Petersburg, Florida in a bike lane weaving area, where motor vehicles cross the bike lane, near an intersection. The objective was to determine if the painting and signing highlighting these areas changed the behavior of bicyclists and motorists traveling through this section.
The study methodology was to compare the operations of bicyclists and motorists at the selected location using videotapes made before and after the green pavement and signing treatments were installed. A significantly higher percentage of motorists yielded to bicycles in the after period. The percentage of motorists that signaled their intention to turn right increased significantly from the before to the after period. A significantly higher percentage of bicycle riders scanned for proximate vehicles in the after period.
While the percentage of conflicts (sudden changes in speed or direction) was lower in the after period, the differences were not statistically significant. Most of the conflicts were between motorists maneuvering to get into the right-turn lane. In times of busy motor vehicle traffic, this location was a severe test of the green bike lane weaving area. The significant increase in yielding behavior by motor vehicles is an important finding and matches what was found in the earlier evaluation of the blue bike lane weaving areas in Portland, Oregon.
