*New Link- Several Missoula Bike Lanes to Get Epoxy, Yet Safety Concerns Exist *

Missoula's first bike lane was striped in the fall of 1997.  Since then, nearly 65% of Missoula's arterial streets have been restriped with bike lanes.  Some lanes work really well while other lanes need improvements.  The following pictures and explanations illuminate many issues.

Rattlesnake Dr., in front of Rattlesnake Gardens

This bike lane shows that citizens and government can work together to fix hazards. The bike lane was originally striped too narrow and then fixed a few days later. The new line to the left makes for a proper bike lane. The old lane was only 30” wide, forcing cyclists too close to the gutter pan seam. The city engineer originally wanted to wait a year until the paint wore off to correct the issue but, under direction from city council, fixed the bike lane within days.

MIST had asked City Council to act on this issue immediately and City Council responded positively. Citizen advocacy plays an important role in shaping transportation.

One other note: the old (inside) lane line should be covered with grey paint or sanded away. If not, confusion will exist as to where bikes should be. This may pose a serious safety hazard, especially in the winter when the snow comes. For example, a motor vehicle may follow the inside lane closely while a cyclist follows the outside line. This could cause a crash.

If the bike lane on Rattlesnake Dr. had not been fixed, then unsafe situations- like having a sign pole in the handlebar zone- would have persisted for at least a year. Small hazards like this can add up to the point where people will be forced to stop cycling.

Van Buren Dr., a half mile north of Van Buren/ Broadway intersection

This picture shows a good cross section for facilitating harmony between motor vehicles and bicycles. The motor vehicle lane is 10’ wide- just about the minimum to accommodate the larger vehicles, like buses (the legal width limit for motor vehicles is 8’6”, the width of many large buses).

The bike lane is 5.5’ wide, just under the minimum preferable width of 6' for most of Missoula’s bike lanes.  A good future cross section for all of Missoula’s arterials might be: 10’ motor vehicle lane width and 6’ bike lane width (a 'ten six' split).  If room allows, an eleven six split would be better, while an eleven seven split would be close to ideal.  Seven foot bike lanes allow two cyclists to ride side by side fairly comfortably.

This low hanging tree on Rattlesnake Dr. presents a danger spot with both the old bike lane stripe and the new bike lane stripe. The tree should be trimmed to give a minimum of 8’ of height clearance so cyclists will not have to suddenly swerve into the motor vehicle lane.

North on Van Buren near I-90

Heading north on Van Buren, the cyclist is treated with a good wide bike lane. A small sign, up ahead on the right, alerts the rider that the  'Bikeway Narrows.’

North on Van Buren near I-90

Dangerously, the bike lane does not narrow, but disappears. To fix this hazard, the motor vehicle lanes could be narrowed from 12’ to 10’. This would allow room for a 4’ bike lane. At the very least, the white line should be dashed to let cyclists and motorists know that there will be some merging. If a single lane roundabout were utilized at Van Buren/ Broadway, then one motor vehicle lane in the above picture would suffice, thus allowing a great bike lane and even sidewalk widening. Even without a roundabout, a motor vehicle lane could be replaced with a wide bike lane (this would mean that there would be just one left turn lane off of Broadway instead of two left turn lanes).

Orange Street, looking south near 3rd St.

Orange Street needs bike lanes. Bike lanes exist on the Orange St. bridge to the north and on Stephens Ave. to the south. Bike lanes can be integrated into the existing street width here by either narrowing the motor vehicle lanes (note the extra room by the bus) or implementing a road diet to 3-lanes (the traffic volumes are in the range that this would work). A combination of lane narrowing and road dieting (also known as a lane reconfiguration) could be the best solution to facilitate good transportation safety and flow.

Update:  In the summer of 2008, the City and State allowed the travel lanes to be narrowed to 10', which made possible a 4' shoulder for bikes.  To be called a bike lane, 5' of space is needed.  Orange will be restriped again in summer of 2009 and advocates are requesting that the center turn lane be narrowed from 11' to 10' (allowable under local standards) and the travel lanes be further narrowed from 10' to 9'9" in order to gain a minimum 5' bike lane.  For reference, the motor vehicle travel lanes on the Higgins St. bridge range from 9'6" to 9'9"- and the State found that crashes were not an issue.

Newest update (11/09)- Orange was striped again this past summer with the same lane measurements, meaning the shoulder is still 4' (actually, it ranges from 3'1" to 4'), also meaning that a bike lane still does not legally exist on Orange.

Stephens Ave. looking south near Beckwith

Shown here is an example of bike lanes wrongly striped, then corrected. Getting the lanes right the first time saves money and confusion.

Also shown in this picture is an incorrectly placed bulb out- the bulb out should not extend into the bike lane as it does here at the corner of Stephens and Beckwith. The back wheel of a baby trailer or utility trailer could catch the curb edge and flip over into the road. This should be fixed immediately to prevent any tragedies.

Higgins Ave., just north of the curve where Pattee Canyon enters

This bike lane does not meet width standards- 5' is the minimum.  This bike lane is 22” wide, not counting the concrete gutter pan. The seam between gutter pans and asphalt tends to crack and widen and can become a dangerous ‘wheel catcher.’ This bike lane is in front of the University’s Lewis and Clark student housing and is an important bike route for all ages. The motor vehicle lane (11’ 2”) is unnecessarily wide and encourages speeding. The center turn lane is also too wide.

The motor vehicle lanes can be narrowed to 10’ and the bike lanes widened to 6’ (a 10.5' / 5.5' split would likely suffice).

Update (5/2009):  This bike lane has been restriped about a foot wider since the photo was taken.

Higgins Ave. looking south near Central

This is an example of bike lanes wrongly striped, then corrected. The old lines have been covered up with grey paint. Citizens with keen eyes that carry tape measures are a powerful tool in ensuring that bike lanes get done right.

The old bike lane stripes dangerously routed cyclists into the ‘door zone’ of parked vehicles. Many cyclists are ‘doored’ each year in Missoula, especially in the downtown area. To solve the ‘dooring’ hazard, bike lanes should be striped 3’ out from the parking lane.

In this picture, moving the bike lane another foot away from the parked truck (or removing parking altogether if acceptable) would create a safer flow for bicycles and motor vehicles.

South Ave., just east of South and Higgins intersection A

This bike lane is too narrow. An indicator that the lane is too narrow is that the bike lane stencil cannot fit in the designated area and overlaps onto the concrete gutter pan.

The sunken drainage grate and broken pavement compound the hazard of the lane being too narrow, as riders may need to move left suddenly to avoid a crash.

The motor vehicle lane can be narrowed and the bike lane widened to enhance traffic flow.

Arthur Ave. looking north near Sussex

This picture shows the chip seal tags where the old bike lane line used to be. MIST worked with Public Works to add a foot to the bike lane when the road was restriped in 2005. Chip sealing and other routine maintenance endeavors provide opportunities to improve Missoula’s biking system. Sometimes just repainting the street vastly improves the comfort and safety of both cyclists and motorists.

The old bike lane was 5’ in width, the new bike lane pictured here is 6’ in width. Notice that there is still room to further narrow the motor vehicle lane. The extra room could go towards sidewalk widening or towards more green space.

Links: (coming)

Article on the challenges Missoula cyclists face at 10 major intersections

Accommodating Bike Lanes in Constrained Rights-of-Way (Nation Wide Survey Compiled by MIST) - Download Word version here.

Texas Bike Lane Article