If you are planning to add bike lanes to the roads in your community, you may be looking for advice which will help you to make this project a success. This article will examine some of the things you need to consider when painting bike lanes. Read on to discover everything you need to know.
Type of bike lanes
There are various ways to approach designing a bike lane.
Buffered cycle lanes
A buffered bike lane has a physical separation to divide the bicycle lanes from moving traffic. These lanes are usually installed along quieter residential streets and allow bicycles to move unhindered on the main road. When working on a buffered cycle lane, the road painters will typically create a yellow or white hatched area which visually separates the road and the cycle lane.
Cycle tracks
Bike tracks can provide you with an even greater measure of separation between cyclists and motor traffic. They are often used on larger road networks which have a high volume of traffic. Rather than being located in the road, cycle tracks are normally located on the pavement. The road painting team will often recommend that these tracks are painted green so pedestrians can clearly distinguish them from the pavement. Failure to clearly mark cycle tracks which run along a pavement can increase the chance of a collision between a pedestrian and a bike.
Sharrows
Sharrows, or shared lane markings, are usually painted on the pavement. They typically show an image of a bike with a number of arrows above or below it. The sharrows are a visual symbol which let the cars and cyclists know they are expected to share the road. Lanes are marked with sharrows can be used at any time by cyclists, whether they are travelling straight ahead, turning left, or turning right.
Duel bike lanes
Cycling lanes which use two lanes of traffic are more common. This allows space for more cyclists to ride comfortably and safely. There are several different ways to construct the lane to achieve this. The lane can be created with a two-way bicycle path which allows cyclists to pass in either direction. Alternatively, you may wish instead to create a two-lane cycle track. A road marking team will typically paint arrows onto the lanes so cyclists know which direction each lane is travelling in.
To find out more, contact a local road painting company today that offers bike lane line marking.