| Abstract: | According to the Texas Department of Transportation Crash Record Information System database, there have been 26,148 crashes involving bicyclists (pedal cyclists) from 2010 to 2018 in Texas, resulting in 2,885 fatalities and suspected serious injuries and 22,937 non-incapacitating and possible injuries. Overall, bicycle crashes, as well as fatal and suspected serious injury crashes involving bicyclists, have been on the rise. Bicyclist safety concerns exist not only in cities and metropolitan areas but for the overall state highway network as well. In this project, the research team developed crash reduction factors for bikeway facilities implemented on Texas roadways to assess their safety and economic effectiveness. This research addressed the development of crash reduction factors for target crash types where sufficient bicycle facility information and crash information are available. To enable future cost-benefit assessments, the research included an estimate of the service life, installation, and maintenance costs of such facilities. The findings of this project indicate that installation of bikeway facilities can significantly improve safety for bicyclists. Implementing conventional bicycle lanes can help reduce total, fatal and injury, and property-damage-only crashes by 41-49 percent. Buffered bicycle lanes can improve safety by 20-65 percent, and separated bicycle lanes can improve safety by 41-53 percent. The economic benefits of these treatments were also found to significantly higher than the estimated cost of installing them. |
|---|