How Steep, Narrow, and Busy?

A Feasibility Analysis for Proposed Bikeway Networks

Jason Patton, PhD, City of Oakland, CA

Carol Levine, Wilbur Smith Associates

Overview

Street grade analysis: Average slope, maximum slope, and an overall difficulty factor;

Right-of-way analysis: Street widths and prototypical cross-sections;

Volume analysis: Peak hour traffic and the carrying capacity of the cross-sections.

Planning Context

Oakland’s first Bicycle Master Plan (1999)– Corridor approach

Telegraph Ave. bike lane lawsuit– Change in climate on implementation– More emphasis on environmental review

Desire for ‘useful’ plan– Detailed inventory of bikeway network– 700+ segment database linked to GIS

Street Grade Analysis

Street Grade Analysis

Zone Area Average Slope

Maximum Slope

Difficulty

1 Flatlands ≤ 6% ≤ 8% ≤ 5

2 Lower Hills ≤ 8% ≤ 10% ≤ 15

3 Upper Hills ≤ 10% ≤ 12% ≤ 25

Distance

Ele

vati

on

Maximum S

lope

Average Slope

Street Grade Analysis:Slope difficulty factor

0

40

80

120

160

200

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

Ele

vati

on

gain

(fe

et)

Difficulty Factor 3

0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000

Difficulty Factor 16

Distance (feet)

Park Blvd Campus DriveDistance (feet)

Zone AreaAverage

SlopeMaximum

SlopeDifficulty

Park Blvd 2 Lower Hills 4% 8% 3

Campus Dr

3 Upper Hills 9% 12% 16

Right-of-Way Analysis

Right-of-Way Analysis

Right-of-Way Analysis:Cross-sections

Name Bikeway Type Travel lanesCenter Turn

Lane

Two-Way Streets

T2 Bike Lanes 2 0

T3 Bike Lanes 2 1

T4 Bike Lanes 4 0

T5 Bike Lanes 4 1

TS2 Shared Lanes 2 0

TS3 Shared Lanes 2 1

TS4 Shared Lanes 4 0

One-Way Streets

W2 Bike Lane 2 0

W3 Bike Lane 3 0

WS2 Shared Lane 2 0

Volume Analysis

Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) lane capacity

135% threshold

Alternatives if segments fail– Alternative alignment– Alternative cross-section– Eliminate as proposal– Keep as long-term project

Conclusions

Second generation bicycle planning – Greater specificity and thereby greater

credibility – "Feasible proposals" versus "feasible

projects"

Consensus-building – Publicly available data– Industry standard thresholds – Transparent decision-making