Segregated Cycle Facilities

Segregated cycle facilities are a form of cycling infrastructure consisting of marked lanes, tracks, shoulders and paths designated for use by cyclists and from which motorised traffic is generally excluded. The term includes bike lanes, cycle tracks, separated bike lanes, road shoulders and side paths located within a road right-of-way.

The names and definitions of the various cycle facility types vary from country to country, but besides local naming conventions, one of the main subdivisions is whether the facility is physically separated by barriers, parking or bollards from other (especially motor vehicle) traffic, or whether the segregation is due to painted markings. The facilities have been modified over time and increased in variety as usage changes, and as cities receive feedback and experiment with improvements.

Bike lanes and road shoulders demarcated by a painted marking are quite common both in many European and American cities. According to the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, on-road bicycle lanes should always be located between the parking lane and the travel lane. Segregated cycle facilities demarcated by barriers, bollards or boulevards are quite common in some European countries such as the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. They are also increasingly being installed in other major cities such as New York City, Melbourne, Vancouver, Ottawa and San Francisco. Montreal and Davis, California are among the North American cities that have had segregated cycle facilities with barriers for several decades.