Home >
Engineering + Planning
> Design: Intersections + Signals
Design: Intersections + Signals
Cyclist Activity and Injury Risk Analysis at Signalized Intersections: A Bayesian Modeling Approach (CAN)
14th May 2013
This Canadian study, published on 14th May 2013 (online) in the Journal Accident Analysis and prevention investigates cyclist injury occurrence and bicycle activity simultaneously using a Bayesian modeling approach. The presence of bus stops at intersections increases cyclist injury occurrence as well as the Presence of raised medians at intersections decreases cyclist injury occurrence. The authors propose a ranking approach for corridors in terms of injury risk criteria.
Bicycle Facilities in Holland (EU)
09th Apr 2013
This Wiki, titled Bicycle Facilities in Holland, provides a useful case study and provides insights into infrastructure planning and traffic engineering to support cycling in the Netherlands. This wiki was created by students at Northeastern University and Portland State University based on a summer program to investigate the urban environment of the Netherlands in 2011.
Cyclist Activated Warning Signs - VicRoads Trial (Australia)
08th Feb 2013
In January 2013 VicRoads switched on a new trial technology at the intersection of Nepean Highway and McDonald Street, Mordialloc which aims to improve the safety of cyclists. The new bike detection and cyclist activated warning signage is expected to increase driver awareness of cyclists as they exit a busy intersection.
Review of Cycling Safety Policies in the European Union (EU)
09th Jan 2013
In December 2012 the European Transport Safety Council released a report detailing best practices for facilitating cycling on roadways in a variety of European Union cities. It investigates policy, infrastructure, vehicle design and road user behaviour interventions and makes a series of recommendations to the EU and its members states.
Evaluation of the C-roundabout – an improved multi-lane roundabout design for cyclists (New Zealand)
09th Jan 2013
In December 2012 the NZ Transport Agency published a report evaluating the on-site operation of the C-roundabout design at a site in Auckland, New Zealand. The primary aim of the C-roundabout is to improve the safety of cyclists at multi-lane roundabouts and make multi-lane roundabouts more cyclist-friendly. The concept of the design is to decrease vehicle speeds through the roundabout to around 30 km/hr by increasing the deflection of the roundabout, and to reduce the widths of approach lanes and circulating lanes so that cyclists are required to travel in the centre of the lanes, like other vehicles.
Hovenring Suspended Bicycle Roundabout (EU)
28th Aug 2012
In June 2012 a circular suspension bridge, fully separating bicycle and motor vehicles through a major road junction, opened near Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The bridge, the first of its kind, was designed to improve traffic flow and safety of all road users.
Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 4: Intersections and Crossings – General (Australia)
28th Aug 2012
The purpose of the Austraods Guide to Road Design – Part 4: Intersections and Crossings – General is to provide guidance to road designers on the geometric design of all types of road intersections and crossings. It is one of four parts: General, Unsignalised and Signalised Intersections, Roundabouts and Interchanges. It was published in 2009.
Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 4A: Unsignalised and Signalised Intersections (Australia)
28th Aug 2012
The Guide to Road Design – Part 4A: Unsignalised and Signalised Intersections provides road designers and other practitioners with guidance on the detailed geometric design of all at-grade intersections (excluding roundabouts). However, some of the guidance in Part 4A may be appropriate for the design of approaches to roundabouts. It is one of four parts: General, Unsignalised and Signalised Intersections, Roundabouts and Interchanges. It was published in 2009.
Austroads Guide to Road Design – Part 4B: Roundabouts (Australia)
28th Aug 2012
The Austroads Guide to Road Design – Part 4B: Roundabouts provides road designers and other practitioners with guidance on the geometric design of roundabouts. It is one of four parts of the Road Design Guides to intersections: General, Unsignalised and Signalised Intersections, Roundabouts and Interchanges. The second edition was published in 2011.
Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 4C: Interchanges (Australia)
28th Aug 2012
The focus of Austroads Guide to Road Design Part 4C: Interchanges is the detailed geometric design of the grade separations, ramps and ramp terminals associated with interchanges, particularly with respect to cross-section, design speed, sight distance, horizontal and vertical alignment, sight distance and the layouts of ramp terminals at the freeway and at the minor road. It also covers the needs of pedestrians and cyclists, and briefly covers some aspects relating to pavement markings, signs, landscaping and street furniture. It is one of four parts of the Road Design Guides to intersections. It was published in 2009.
Cycling Aspects of Austroads Guides (Australia)
23rd Aug 2012
The Cycling Aspects of Austroads Guides were released by Austroads in 2011. The publication brings together cycling related information found in various Austroads guides, primarily the Guide to Road Design and the Guide to Traffic Management.
Dutch Intersection Design (EU)
17th Aug 2012
These two videos were produced in mid 2012 to explain the Dutch approach to intersection design. The videos were in response to new US NACTO Guidelines. Dutch standard junctions create safe passage for cyclists and pedestrians by carving out corner curbs to keep cyclists separated from both vehicles and pedestrians when turning or crossing an intersection.
Cycling on Higher Speed Roads (Australia)
09th Aug 2012
In July 2012 the Australian Bicycle Council and Austroads published the report 'Cycling on Higher Speed Roads'. The report investigates the provision of facilities for bicycles on sealed roads with speed limits of 70 km/h or more. It outlines how to improve these roads for cyclists where off-road alternatives or on-road, lower speed, direct options are not available.
Improved Multi-lane Roundabout Designs for Urban Areas (New Zealand)
20th Jul 2012
This research, undertaken 2008-2010, investigated the comparative safety of multi-lane roundabouts versus signalised intersections, pedestrian facilities, vertical deflection devices and visibility to the right. Guidance for practical application of the relevant measures to enhance roundabout safety has been developed and is included in this document, including speciifc measures for cyclists. The report was published in May 2012 by the NZ Transport Agency.
Intersection Interactions: Cyclist Behaviour at Sydney CDB Cycleway Intersections (Australia)
28th May 2012
In May 2012 the Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) published research into cyclist behaviour at three cycleway intersections within the Sydney CBD. The research examined: road space allocation and traffic signalling at intersections incorporating cycleways, including operational procedures such as signal phasing, signage and intersection configuration; intersection user behaviour and conflict resolution at intersections incorporating cycleways; and the role of induction loops embedded in the road surface used to trigger the bicycle specific signals.
Sydney CBD Cycleways: Traffic Signals Optimisation (Australia)
28th May 2012
This report, by Bitzios Consulting for the Roads and Maritime Services NSW (RMS), was published in May 2012. It analyses the operation of the bicycle signals at signalised intersections on dedicated cycleways within and close to the Sydney Central Business District (CBD). The study included: the accuracy and efficiency of bicycle detection; duration of bicycle phases in relation to cyclist demand, and to other vehicle and pedestrian demands; and delays to cyclists, compared to delays to other road users.
A bicycle friendly roundabout: designing to direct cyclists to ride where drivers look (Australia)
10th Apr 2012
This paper proposes a new single-lane roundabout design concept which provides cues to cyclists to move to the middle of the lane – where drivers are most likely to look. The design slows vehicles and aligns them for improved visibility to the right. The author recommends that road authorities review the research about the dangers for cyclists on the edge of roundabouts and revise design guidelines, with circulating bicycle lanes prohibited rather than recommended. The paper was published in 2012 in the Proceedings of the Fourth Australian Cycling Conference.
Intersection Crossing Times of Bicyclists (USA)
06th Feb 2012
The timing of traffic signals is rarely determined by the needs of bicyclists, in part because quantitative data about the timing of intersection crossing maneuvers by bicyclists have not generally been available. This study built on a video image-processing method developed and reported in a previous study to collect data at five new intersections with diverse physical characteristics and bicycling populations.This research report was published in the journal Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board in December 2011.
Evaluation of bike boxes at signalized intersections (USA)
17th Nov 2011
This paper, to be published in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention in January 2012, presents a before–after study of bike boxes at 10 signalized intersections in Portland, Oregon. The bike boxes, also known as advanced stop lines or advanced stop boxes, were installed to increase visibility of cyclists and reduce conflicts between motor vehicles and cyclists, particularly in potential “right-hook” situations.
Roundabouts: Why they are dangerous for cyclists and what can be done about it (Australia)
03rd Nov 2011
This reasearch by B Cumming was published in Transport Engineering in Australia: 2011, Vol. 13, No. 1. Roundabouts experience fewer and less severe vehicle crashes than typical intersections. Yet this safety benefit does not extend to bicycles. The reasons for this are analysed through a literature review and a case study of roundabout crashes occurring in Victoria from 2005-2009.
St Kilda Road and Royal Parade Bicycle Lane Monitoring (Australia)
29th Aug 2011
In mid 2011 VicRoads Metropolitan North West Region commissioned Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) to monitor the effectiveness of the improvements implemented along St Kilda Road and Royal Parade in Melbourne. Three treatments were evaluated: green coloured surface treatments within advanced storage boxes for cyclists; green surface treatments for bicycle lanes at conflict points; and audio-tactile line marking to reinforce bicycle lanes at mid-block locations. The research found an improvement in perceived safety for cyclists and suggest there are real safety benefits from the chosen treatments.
Pedestrian and Bicyclist Traffic Control Device Evaluation Methods (USA)
24th Aug 2011
This report, released by the US Federal Highway Administration in May 2011, provides a framework for engineers, planners, and public works employees to evaulate the effectiveness of pedestrian and bicyclist traffic control devices. This study was part of a larger FHWA research study to quantify the effectiveness of engineering countermeasures in improving safety and operations for pedestrians and bicyclists. The project focused on existing and new engineering countermeasures that have not yet been comprehensively evaluated.
Effectiveness and Selection of Treatments for Cyclists at Signalised Intersections (Australia)
22nd Jun 2011
This Austroads Research Report, published in 2011, contains the results of a study focused on the safety impacts of providing cycle facilities, in combination with a number of other features, such as width of approach kerbside lane, at traffic signals.
Mid-block Shared-Use Path Crossings of Multi-lane Roadways (USA)
10th Feb 2011
Successful shared-use paths offer a continuous and extended recreation and transportation experience. Avoiding vehicular interaction is a major challenge in urban environments where shared-use paths intersect the roadway network on a regular basis. This brief overview of treatments, published by Rails-to-Trails Conservancy in 2011, is intended as an introduction for both planners and community members.
Detection of Bicycles by Quadrupole Loops at Demand-Actuated Traffic Signals (USA)
27th Sep 2010
Inductive loop sensors, commonly used for detection of traffic at demand-actuated traffic signals, can be configured and adjusted to detect bicycles with metal rims. This article, written in 2003, describes how to provide reliable detection of bicycles via inductive loop sensors without generating unacceptable false-positive detection of large vehicles in adjacent lanes.
At the Frontiers of Cycling: Policy Innovations in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany
20th Sep 2010
This article, published in World Transport Policy and Practice in 2007, provides detailed case studies of cycling in six cities: two in the Netherlands (Amsterdam and Groningen), two in Denmark (Copenhagen and Odense), and two in Germany (Berlin and Muenster). It includes information about travel trends, lanes, intersection treatments, bicycle parking, public transport integration, safety and bicycle promotion.
Do roundabouts work for bicycles and pedestrians? (USA)
17th Sep 2010
This page, from the US Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Centre provides an overview of roundabouts and pedestrians/cyclists. Modern roundabouts by their design require motorists to slow down typically to less than 25 mph (40 km/h), and preferably 15 mph (25 km/h) to proceed through the intersection. The literature shows that, given a properly designed single-lane roundabout, motorist and pedestrian safety is almost always improved when compared to conventional intersections. Results regarding cyclist safety are somewhat mixed.
VicRoads Cycle Note 5: 'Head Start' storage areas at intersections (Australia)
17th Sep 2010
This 2000 edition of Cycle Notes is about providing space for cyclists when waiting at red traffic signals.
VicRoads Cycle Note 8: Providing for Cyclists at Signalised Intersections (Australia)
17th Sep 2010
This 2001 edition of Cycle Notes provides a framework for designing on-road bicycle lanes at signalised intersections.
VicRoads Cycle Note 15: Providing for Cyclists at Roundabouts (Australia)
17th Sep 2010
This 2005 VicRoads Cycle Note provides information on improving safety outcomes for cyclists at roundabouts.
NSW Bicycle Storage Areas and Advanced Bicycle Stop Lines (Australia)
17th Sep 2010
These Technical Directions were published in July 2009 to outline new road rules relating to Bicycle Storage Areas and Advanced Bicycle Stop Lines in New South Wales.
Green Lights for Bikes: Providing for bike riders at traffic signals (Australia)
17th Sep 2010
Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) prepared this report in 2010 to show how road authorities can utilise a range of techniques to provide for bicycle riders at traffic signals. The report concentrates on techniques that have already been implemented in Australia and New Zealand rather than on techniques in development or applied in other countries but not directly applicable to Australia.
Improved Multi-lane Roundabout Design for Cyclists (NZ)
15th Sep 2010
The purpose of this 2006 research report published by the NZ Transport Agency and authored by D Campbell, I Jurisich and R Dunn for GHD Limited and the University of Auckland was to come up with an on-road roundabout design that is both safe as well as attractive to cyclists. Ideally, this design will have benefits to other users as well. The result of this work is the cyclist roundabout, or C-roundabout, a new concept in roundabout design.
