Washington Bicycling Hub - Winter '04  
New, Uniform Signage for Bike Lanes, Paths Mandated

By Charles Pekow

Mr. Pekow, a seasoned Washington journalist, provides Bikexchange.com with continuing coverage of national legislative news on bicycling issues. 

Look for new traffic signs as you bicycle along in the coming years. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has just revised its Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), with a rewritten chapter called Traffic Controls for Bicycle Facilities governing signs and street markings for bike lanes.

By December 22, 2005, all states will have to adopt the new code or their own code in “substantial compliance” with it. If not, they can lose federal highway funds and will easily lose lawsuits filed by any bicyclists injured in a non-compliant roadway. The rules apply to all public roads owned by state and local governments.

Among the biggest changes in the next two years:

• The national code adopts a new bike lane sign. “It simplifies the message,” says Richard Moeur of the Arizona Department of Transportation, chair of the MUTCD Bicycle Technical Committee. Signs that say “Right lane bicycles only” will be replaced because they “were confusing to motorists,” Moeur says. “People didn’t interpret a five-foot strip as the right lane” and other vehicles can legally enter the lane to make turns. The new sign drops the word “only.” And the word “bicycle” will be truncated to “bike.” Signs that say “Bicycle Lane Ahead” and “Bicycle Lane Ends” will be replaced with redesigned signs featuring a picture of a bicycle and the words “BIKE LANE” with plaques beneath them saying “AHEAD” and “ENDS.”
  
• New signs saying “WRONG WAY” and plaques reading “RIDE WITH TRAFFIC” are officially approved to warn bicyclists not to ride on the wrong side of the street or opposite traffic on a one-way street. The signs will be posted opposite traffic so motorists can’t read them and get confused.
  
• It will be easier for bicyclists to activate green lights. FHWA adopted a rule to put markings on the road to tell bicycles the location of vehicle detection devices plus signs directing bicyclists to the markings on the pavement. FHWA is basing the code partially on road markings used in California. But focus groups and tests showed that many cyclists didn’t understand the pavement markings without signs. “I think it is something bicyclists will probably pick up on pretty quickly,” Moeur says. But he added that he doesn’t know how many bicycle activation devices exist now.
  
• When roads include both parking and bike lanes, pavement will indicate where to park and where to pedal.
  
• Bike lanes will not be allowed to the right of a right turn only lane because cyclists riding straight through an intersection from the right of a right turn lane surprise motorists.
  
• Bike lanes will also not be allowed in the middle of a roundabout. Markings there “have been found to cause a false sense of security for bicyclists traveling through the roundabout with conflicting and turning traffic,” FHWA concluded. The Oregon Department of Transportation agreed with the sentiment but suggested the roundabout prohibition be changed from a “standard” to “guidance” because “it is difficult to foresee all possible circumstances.” FHWA disagreed.

MUTCD code also replaces the terms “Bicycle Path” and “bicycle facilities” with “Shared Use Path” when referring to off-road facilities.

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