An analysis and evaluation of "pop up" bicycle lanes

This memo is in response to Order Number 9 from the January 23, 2017 City Council Meeting (Awaiting Report 17-6) to review how the success of “pop-up” lanes will be measured and what lessons we expect to learn from them to help implement safer bicycling facilities throughout the City.

The Traffic, Parking, and Transportation Department (TPT), the Community Development Department (CDD), and Department of Public Works (DPW) are working closely together to conduct data analysis both before and after the implementation of the new separated bicycling facilities on Massachusetts Avenue (including the facilities installed last fall), Cambridge Street, and Brattle Street. The results of the data collection and analysis will help inform both potential changes (if needed) to the currently proposed facilities as well as future design standards for a network of separated facilities citywide.

The analyses fall into several categories:  Safety: We will work with the Cambridge Police Department to review crash data on an ongoing basis to identify any potential safety concerns with the separated bike facilities. Full data analysis to determine before and after crash rates will not happen until sufficient time has passed to allow for a detailed review of crash history. Typically, crash analyses utilize a minimum of three years of before crash data and three years of after crash data in order to understand broader patterns. We will also review the crash data on an annual basis to determine if any significant patterns emerge more quickly  Operations: We have conducted bicycle counts, pedestrian counts, parking utilization counts, and vehicle volume/speed counts for Cambridge Street during Spring 2017. Following the installation, we will conduct follow up counts during the Fall of 2017 and Spring of 2018 in order to determine changes in volumes and behavior. Potential changes in operations may include reduced vehicle speeds, increased bicycle volume, and increased pedestrian volume. CDD will also conduct surveys to understand how the proposed facilities impact the legibility of the street and the travel experience for users of all modes of transportation on Cambridge Street.  Maintenance: TPT and DPW will continue to monitor the infrastructure in order to develop experience and techniques for operating and maintaining the separated bike facilities. DPW will be Page 2 of 2 primarily concerned with maintenance issues related to sweeping and snow clearance, including the types of equipment that can be utilized in facilities of different widths and changes to schedules and maintenance routes. These considerations may result in modified layouts for vertical separation elements (i.e., flexible delineators) that improve the ability of crews to safely and efficiently maintain the roadway surface.

In addition to these specific measures, we will be looking for any other positive or negative issues that arise, so that we can integrate those into our evaluation, as well as our plans for future separated bike lanes. We have also initiated discussions with staff from the Boston Transportation Department and the Boston Public Works Department, to share experiences with the design, installation, and maintenance of separated bicycle facilities, so that we can jointly improve these facilities as we move forward.