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Frequently Asked Questions - Part 9 - Traffic Control for Bicycle Facilities

The following list of questions relates to the MUTCD Part 9 - Traffic Control for Bicycle Facilities:

  1. Can a bike lane be established with pavement markings alone, or are bike lane signs also required?
  2. Paragraph 4 of Section 9C.04 in the 2009 MUTCD requires that a longitudinal line (lane line) be used to separate motor vehicle traffic from a designated bike lane, but are the word, symbol, and/or arrow pavement markings also required?
  3. Our city wants to encourage bicycling and has designated certain streets as bike routes, but some of the streets are not wide enough to have a dedicated bike lane striped on them. So the bikes share the roadway with motorized vehicles, and we have seen some problems with bicyclists colliding with doors of parked cars as they open unexpectedly. Are there standard signs and markings that can be used to warn bicyclists about this condition?
  4. Should traffic signals be timed specifically for bicyclists?

Part 9 - Traffic Control for Bicycle Facilities: Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Q: Can a bike lane be established with pavement markings alone, or are bike lane signs also required?

A: The 2009 MUTCD allows pavement markings alone to be used for a bike lane. The 2003 MUTCD required that bike lane signs also be used, but the use of bike lane signs is now optional per Paragraph 5 of Section 9C.04 in the 2009 MUTCD. The definition of a "bicycle lane" (Definition 13 in Section 1A.13) has also been appropriately revised to reflect the fact that the signs are now optional.

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  1. Q: Paragraph 4 of Section 9C.04 in the 2009 MUTCD requires that a longitudinal line (lane line) be used to separate motor vehicle traffic from a designated bike lane, but are the word, symbol, and/or arrow pavement markings also required?

A: Yes, Item C in Paragraph 6 of Section 3D.01 requires the word, symbol, and/or arrow pavement markings.

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  1. Q: Our city wants to encourage bicycling and has designated certain streets as bike routes, but some of the streets are not wide enough to have a dedicated bike lane striped on them. So the bikes share the roadway with motorized vehicles, and we have seen some problems with bicyclists colliding with doors of parked cars as they open unexpectedly. Are there standard signs and markings that can be used to warn bicyclists about this condition?

A: A new pavement marking called a shared lane marking is described in Section 9C.07 and illustrated in Figure 9C-9. A new Bicycles May Use Full Lane (R4-11) sign is described in Section 9B.06 and illustrated in Figure 9B-2. These devices may be used in conjunction with each other or independently of each other to communicate to motorists and bicyclists that a lane is too narrow for the modes to operate on a side-by-side basis. The shared lane marking also provides some positioning guidance to bicyclists to remind them to ride outside of the door opening zone of parallel parked cars.

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  1. Q: Should traffic signals be timed specifically for bicyclists?

A: Section 9D.02 states that, on bikeways, signal timing and actuation shall be reviewed and adjusted to consider the needs of bicyclists. Because bicycles typically move more slowly than motor vehicles, it is important that the timing of the green interval and associated yellow change and red clearance intervals applicable to bicycle traffic be given specific attention. The MUTCD text is a general statement requiring that the needs of bicyclists be considered when setting signal timing. No specific warrants or guidelines are provided in the MUTCD.

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