Bicycle Safety Guide and Countermeasure Selection System
Bicycle signal indication with bicycle stenciled lenses. Flickr - Oregon DOT
Bicycle signal heads are an additional traffic-control device installed at signalized intersections to provide guidance and right-of-way control in specific circumstances. Bicycle signal heads can be accomplished with standard lenses or lenses with bicycle symbols. The 2012 AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities indicates that a standard three-lens signal head with a supplemental sign that says BICYCLE SIGNAL could be used at locations where bicycles share a signal phase with pedestrians or have their own phase. The FHWA has issued an interim approval for the optional use of bicycle signals heads with green, yellow, and red bicycle symbols.
A bicycle signal should be considered in the following scenarios:
Bicycle signal heads may be used to improve safety and operations at signalized intersections where bicycles require specific guidance.
Careful consideration should be given to whether a bicycle signal is the most appropriate solution. The addition of a bicycle signal and a bicycle-only phase may increase delay for all users and may result in decreases in compliance. However, bicycle signals may also provide increased comfort, especially for less experienced bicyclists. As such, each intersection should be studied to balance the safety and operational needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists.
Bicycle signals can cost as little as $1,000 per signal face and increase with the number of signal heads and bicycle detection required.