United States

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT) Separated Bike Lane Planning & Design Guide (the Guide) presents considerations and strategies for the development of separated bike lanes. The Guide provides a framework for determining when separated bike lanes are appropriate and feasible. It presents design guidance for separation strategies, bike lane configuration, and considerations for transit stops, loading zones, utilities, drainage, parking and landscaping.

This paper draws from a literature review and interviews to demonstrate the impact of advocacy, research, and culture on guidance for design users, bike lanes and separated (protected) bike lanes in the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) Bicycle Guide content from 1974 to present. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a bicycle renaissance in America resulted in efforts at the local, state, and federal level to encourage bicycling.