Bicycle Lanes Make Orange County Roads Safer and More Functional

Central Florida’s roads are expanding to accommodate more residents and visitors, but not everyone who uses these roads drives cars or trucks. Many use bicycles to get around town, and that presents a safety challenge for Orange County, which it is addressing head on with its Accelerated Transportation Safety Program.

Roads designed decades ago with the sole purpose of moving the maximum number of vehicles through a given corridor are being reconfigured in order to make them safe for not only cars, but also pedestrians and bicyclists.  Adding bike lanes represents an effective means to that end, and Orange County Public Works has begun incorporating bicycle networks into resurfacing and other roadway projects.

The bottom line: Bicycle lanes can significantly improve safety.  According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, providing a dedicated bicycle lane can reduce crashes up to 49 percent on four-lane undivided collector and local roads and 30 percent on similar two-lane roads.

“Providing the physical space for bikes isn’t only critical, it also signals to the driving public that bicyclists are welcome here and prioritizes their safety,” asserted Emily Bush, executive director, Bike Walk Central Florida.

Advocates assert bike lanes are critically important to create a multimodal transportation system, a transportation network that integrates multiple modes of transportation such as walking, biking, public transit and driving in order to meet the needs of different users.

“When coupled with green paint, intersection improvements and signage that prioritize safety and comfort increase bike ridership,” affirmed Bush. “More people will take to their communities on their two wheels instead of driving, reducing traffic congestion, providing physical activity and improving social interactions among residents.”

Bicycle lanes are integral to Orange County’s effort to make roads safer for all users and represent critical components to recent and upcoming transportation safety projects. For more, go to Accelerated Transportation Safety Program.