ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

Date: April 23, 2002
Author/Local: M. Scholefield/7916

RTS NO. 1932

CC File No. 5553

Council: April 30, 2002

TO:	Vancouver City Council
FROM:	General Manager of Engineering Services
SUBJECT:	Bike Box Pilot Project for Main and Union

RECOMMENDATIONS

A. THAT a pilot "bike box" be installed on the westbound approach of Main St. and Union St., as detailed in this report.

B. THAT funding of $10,000 be provided for the implementation of this pilot project, from the 2002 Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account Group SCA2E-UNAP (Bicycle Network).

COUNCIL POLICY

Council approved the 1997 Vancouver Transportation Plan that emphasizes the need to give high priority to the needs of local communities for cycling and ranks cyclists second in priority after pedestrians.

PURPOSE

The intent of this report is to inform Council about bike boxes and to recommend that a pilot bike box be installed in the east leg of Main and Union to reduce potential conflicts between cyclist and vehicle movements and to improve cycling conditions at one of the busiest intersections for cycling in the City.

BACKGROUND

Union Street, between Vernon Drive and Quebec Street, forms part of the Adanac Bikeway, the most heavily used bike route in the City's Bicycle Network. Since 1995, the number of cyclists travelling through the Union and Main intersection has increased dramatically to 365 bicycles during the afternoon peak hour. As shown in Figure 1, since 1995, the peak hourwestbound cyclist volumes have increased by 155% and 169% in the morning and afternoon peak hours, respectively. In fact, the volume of westbound cyclists at times now rivals vehicle volumes. Refer to Appendix A for detailed cyclist and vehicle counts.

The intersection of Main and Union is a unique five-legged intersection that provides westbound vehicles and cyclists on Union at Main with four travel direction options: SB on Main, WB on the Dunsmuir viaduct, WB on Union to Quebec and NB on Main. Because westbound cyclists and vehicles have four destination legs, manoeuvring through the intersection can be complex and often requires cyclists to merge through vehicle traffic streams in order to reach their destination. Some of these movements increase the potential for a collision between a cyclist and a motorist. A schematic of the intersection is given in Appendix B.

By giving cyclists priority access to the front of an intersection, a bike box allows cyclists to manoeuvre more easily into a position that will enable them to reach their destination without having to weave between vehicles. A bike box provides cyclists with an exclusive access lane from the travel lane to the head of the intersection where they can position themselves in a reservoir area that is approximately 4 m deep and extends across the travel lanes behind the stop line.

While the bike box concept has been used for many years in European countries such as Denmark and the UK, it is still a very new and relatively undeveloped measure here in North America. Examples in North America can be found in Eugene, Oregon and Montreal.

Figure 1. Peak Hour Westbound Cyclist Counts on Union St. at Main St. 1995-2001

CYCLIST BEHAVIOUR
Cyclist behaviour plays a significant role in the potential conflicts between cyclists and vehicles at this intersection. As such, a study of cyclist behaviour at this intersection was undertaken in July/August 2001.

There were two significant activities among westbound cyclists that are relevant to a trial bike box:

1. When the traffic line-ups at a red signal were long, seldom did cyclists wait behind the last vehicle in line if there was a wide enough space between the lanes of cars (or beside the curb) for cyclists to advance to the stop line. Of the 544 cyclists observed during the behaviour study, only 24 (4%) waited in turn behind vehicles before proceeding through the intersection.

2. During the study, 375 (69%) of the 544 cyclists observed made left-bound movements (that is, to southbound Main, the viaduct or to the south side of Union street). A bike box would facilitate these left-bound movements and provide an increased comfort level for cyclists making these manoeuvres. More important, however, is the fact that some cyclists made precarious manoeuvres through the intersection when they started their left-bound movement from a point on the right side of the street. Of the 375 cyclists that made left-boundmovements, 80 (21%) made manoeuvres that placed them in direct conflict with vehicle flows.

BICYCLE COLLISION HISTORY
There was, on average, one bicycle collision per year at the intersection of Main and Union from 1995 to 2000. As shown in Table 1, collisions occur most frequently between southbound cyclists and northbound vehicles turning left. One collision involving a westbound cyclist was reported.

Table 1. Summary of Collisions Involving Cyclists at Union and Main 1995-2000

Southbound Cyclists				Eastbound Cyclists			Westbound Cyclists		Total
No of Collisions	Vehicle Direction			No of Collisions	Vehicle Direction		No of Collisions	Vehicle Direction	Bicycle Collisions
	NW	S	SW		N	S		N
6	4	1	1	2	1	1	1	1	9
67%				22%			11%		100%

DISCUSSION
Despite the low collision history for westbound cyclists, the cyclist behaviour study clearly shows that a significant proportion of westbound cyclists manoeuvre through the intersection in a manner that increases the potential for conflicts between cyclists and vehicles. As the volume of cyclists continues to increase, the number of conflicts may also increase. A bike box would not only provide advantages in terms of facilitating the high volume of left-turn movements, it would also creates a facility that is consistent with the City's mandate to give cyclist movements priority on bike routes, which are considered arterials for cyclists.
In addition to improving cyclists' comfort levels, a bike box facility may also improve drivers' comfort by encouraging cyclists to make a more consistent approach (via the exclusive access lane) to and through the intersection. The benefits of creating a facility that makes cyclists more visible and that lends itself to more predictable cyclist behaviour would significantly improve the cyclist-motorist dynamics and reduce the potential for conflicts at this very busy intersection.

The bike box would also be beneficial to northbound cyclists on Main who intend to make a westbound turn at Union and find it difficult or intimidating to turn with the traffic. The bike box will allow these cyclists to enter from the curb lane on Main and cross during the westbound green phase.

PILOT DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION
The bike box design proposed for this location is similar to the designs used in the UK and Denmark. It consists of a 4 m deep reservoir area that extends across the westbound lanes from the centre line to the curb. A diagram of the proposed bike box is given in Appendix C. Experience in the UK and Denmark has shown that using a slip-resistant colour treatment on the asphalt in the box is very effective in increasing awareness about the facility and in discouraging vehicle encroachment. As such, it is proposed to use a red colour treatment similar to that proposed for the Georgia St. Bike lanes. In addition to the standard signs, temporary signage will be used to provide guidance to cyclists and motorists using this facility.

Staff propose that the installation of this bike box be coordinated with a public information campaign to help both cyclists and drivers understand the proper use of the new facility. This campaign would include coordination with the Police Department and several other initiatives such as information on the City's website, a hand-out pamphlet, an opening ceremony as part of "Bike Month", articles in Momentum (a local magazine targeted toward non-motorized forms of transportation), student newspapers and a news release for the mainstream Vancouver papers and bicycle organizations.

Following installation, Staff propose to monitor the use of this pilot facility with the following objectives:

1. To determine how well both vehicles and cyclists understand how to use the bike box and whether additional information or education initiatives are required;

2. To assess how cyclists' behaviour changes and whether the box has improved conditions for cyclists and reduced cyclist-motorist conflicts; and

3. To determine whether there are any practical design, function or safety issues that need to be addressed.

Following a 6 month assessment period, Staff will report back to Council with findings and to recommend whether the bike box should be made permanent and be considered in future for other locations.

CONSULTATION
The bike box concept and design has been reviewed and endorsed by Council's Bicycle Advisory Committee.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
The estimated capital costs for the pilot bike box including road marking and the publicinformation campaign is $10,000. The cost of the public information campaign, including special information signs, advertising and the publication of brochures, is estimated to be $5000. The remaining $5000 will be used for signs, pavement markings and a special asphalt coating to colour the asphalt. Funding for this project is available from the Streets Basic Capital Unappropriated Account Group SCA2E-UNAP (Bicycle Network).

CONCLUSION
A bike box facility would significantly improve cycling conditions at Union and Main by giving cyclists priority flow through the intersection and reducing potential conflicts with vehicles. The high proportion of left bound movements combined with the high cyclist volumes and the complexity of the intersection make Union and Main an ideal location to pilot the bike box concept.

- - - - -
APPENDIX A
CYCLIST AND VEHICLE VOLUMES

Peak cyclist volumes have increased by 163% since 1995. Tables 2 and 3 show how the westbound peak hour volumes have change since 1995.

Table 2. Peak Hour Cyclist Counts at Union and Main 1995-2001

Date	Time	Direction				Total	% Change in WB Volume
		NB	EB	SB	WB		Since 1995
AM PEAK HOUR
July 2001	07:30 - 08:30	44	50	9	227	330	155%
August 2000	07:50 - 08:50	20	28	3	133	184	49%
July 1997	08:00 - 09:00	22	24	5	129	180	45%
August 1995	08:00 - 09:00	26	16	2	89	133	-
PM PEAK HOUR
July 2001	16:30 - 17:30	44	205	30	86	365	169%
August 2000	16:20 - 17:20	16	83	9	29	137	-9%
July 1997	16:00 - 17:00	19	60	17	47	143	47%
August 1995	16:25 - 17:25	26	68	13	32	139	-

Table 3. Peak Hour Vehicle Counts at Union and Main 1995-2001

Date	Time	Direction				Total	% Change in WB Volume
		NB	EB	SB	WB		Since 1995
AM PEAK HOUR
August 2001	07:30 - 08:30				138		-48%
August 2000	07:50 - 08:50	1825	-	520	233	2110	-12%
July 1997	08:00 - 09:00	1852	-	523	257	2632	-3%
August 1995	08:00 - 09:00	2011	-	523	264	2798	-
PM PEAK HOUR
August 2001	16:30 - 17:30				294		-23%
August 2000	16:20 - 17:20	1381	-	943	283	2607	-26%
July 1997	16:00 - 17:00	1541	-	1002	412	2995	8%
August 1995	16:25 - 17:25	1464	-	990	380	2834	-

APPENDIX B
PILOT PROJECT LOCATION

APPENDIX C
SCHEMATIC OF A BIKE BOX

* * * * *

(c) 1998 City of Vancouver