Alternative bicycle pavement marking studies using a bicycle simulator

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The past decade has seen increased public interest in sustainable transportation modes in the U.S. However, there is a relative lack of guidance regarding standards and specifications for bicycle facilities as compared to the highway mode. This project sought to address this deficiency through the investigation of alternative pavement markings for bicycle wayfinding and detection at intersections as part of the federal Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program (NTPP) in Columbia, Missouri. This evaluation was accomplished with a bicycle simulator study and post-simulator survey with 27 participants. For the simulator study, a network of intersections with characteristics similar to Columbia, Missouri, was created using the ZouSim simulator. For wayfinding, two alternative types of pavement markings in addition to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) signage were evaluated. The survey included questions regarding bicycling habits and preferences for the alternative markings. Both the survey (81% of respondents) and simulator results (3.08s reaction time) indicated that the Type 2 wayfinding markings which included a green circle, were the most effective with respect to visibility and delineating the bicycle route. The bicycle detection portion of the study investigated three alternative types of markings as well as the MUTCD markings and signage. The bicycle detection results indicated that the Type 1 and Type 2 experimental detection markings resulted in the fewest number of missed detections (0.96 missed detection per run) while the Type 1 marking was the preferred alternative of the survey participants because it effectively combined a rectangular box with the green background to delineate the detection area, and it also included written instructions of "WAIT HERE FOR GREEN."