[T]he conventional engineering wisdom that favors 12-foot traffic lanes to 10-foot lanes is deadly wrong… when drivers have more room, cars go faster; when cars go faster, collisions do more harm.
Citylab shows that the optimal lane width in Toronto is 10.5 feet. Translating to Winnipeg, this means that every street that’s three lanes wide can immediately be converted to narrower car lanes, with 4.5 feet left over for a generous bike lane.
If you were to shrink 2 lane streets to 10 feet for traffic, the recovered 4 feet would also be enough for a bike lane, and still be safer than the 12 foot lanes they replaced. This could instantly provide great bicycle lane infrastructure for the cost of paint.
4 responses to “Narrower Car Lanes: Better Safety and Instant Bike Lanes”
Matthew James Sawatzky liked this on Facebook.
With the seemingly popular SUV and trucks I personally would like wider lanes – even wider parking spots in parking lots.
@mattwiebe You have a mystery comment count. Shows 2 for me but I see none. Btw, interesting idea!
…and that extra space will make you less safe.