ITE Journal – December 2019 - 45

ELRs are defined as a road consisting of a single center lane which
supports two-way motor vehicle travel and an edge lane on either
side, preferentially reserved for one-way use by vulnerable road
users. ELRs are not marked with a center line and the edge lanes are
delineated by broken lines. Motorists travel in the center lane (as
shown in Figure 1a) until they need to pass an approaching vehicle.
In order to pass, they merge into the edge lanes after yielding to any
users already present as shown in Figure 1b. After completing the
passing movement, motorists return to the center lane.

The current draft of the next release of the Bike Guide from
the American Association of State Highway and Transportation
Officials (AASHTO) includes both the advisory bike lane and
advisory shoulder treatments. These treatments consist of the same
road configuration; the first primarily supports bicyclists and the
second provides for pedestrians.
Advisory bike lanes are currently classified as an experimental
treatment by the FHWA. The FHWA recommends use of the
Request to Experiment (RTE) process for new installations.

Overview of Installed ELRs

This article looks at the current state of ELRs in North America,
states some conclusions from the author about their feasibility, and
examines their future prospects. This article does not provide design
guidance but does reference existing design guidance sources.

Progress in guidance and regulatory arenas
Advisory bike lanes first appeared in North American guidance in
Appendix D of the Portland Bicycle Plan for 2030 titled Bikeway
Facility Design: Survey of Best Practices, published January 5, 2010.
The facility was introduced as advisory shoulders in the December
2016 Small Town and Rural Multimodal Networks Guide from the
Federal Highway Administration.
The Bicycle Technical Committee of the National Committee for
Uniform Traffic Control Devices (NCUTCD) convened a task force
in January 2019 to recommend changes to the MUTCD (Manual on
Uniform Traffic Control Devices) to support Advisory Bike Lanes.
When these changes will appear in the MUTCD is unknown.
Advisory bike lanes were included in the February 2019 FHWA
Bikeway Selection Guide.

Installations
Despite widespread use in other countries for decades, 1 ELRs are
new to the United States and Canada. The first North American ELR
is considered to be East 14th Street in Minneapolis, MN which was
installed in September 2011. Figure 2 shows the installation of ELRs
over the last few years. Data for 2019 only include the first five months.
30
Number of ABL Installations

Figure 1a-b. ELR Operation from the FHWA Small Town and Rural
Multimodal Networks Guide.

An inventory of Canadian and American ELR installations provided
on www.advisorybikelanes.com/more-info.html documented that at
least thirty ELRs had been installed as of September 11, 2019. Because
some ELRs were uncovered only by chance, the true number may be
higher. This number does not include variants which possess only
one edge lane or use non-standard pavement markings.
Two of the ELRs for which data are included below were
removed after installation-Wooddale Avenue in Edina, MN, USA
and Irving Street in Cambridge, MA, USA. The Edina facility was
removed because of public opposition, likely due to the lack of
public outreach and education prior to its installation (Mark Nolan,
phone interview, 2016). The Cambridge facility was removed due
to resident complaints of increased horn use which was assumed to
indicate that some motorists believed the street to be one way only
and honked at motorists traveling in the opposite direction (Patrick
Baxter, e-mail messages, 2019).
The information presented below include data from six ELRs in
Minneapolis, MN. This skews data towards that city's approach to
ELR design and use. All of these data on installed ELRs presented
below has been obtained through interviews with representatives of
the responsible agencies.

25
20
15
10
5
0

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014
2015
Year

2016

2017

2018

2019

Figure 2. ELR installations over time.
w w w .i t e.or g

D e cember 2019

45


http://www.advisorybikelanes.com/more-info.html http://www.ite.org

ITE Journal – December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ITE Journal – December 2019

President’s Message
Director’s Message
People in the Profession
ITE News
10th Annual ITE Collegiate Traffic Bowl Grand Championship Tournament Recap
Board Committee: Women of ITE: Allies in Design and in the Workplace
Member to Member: Ariel Farnsworth (M)
Calendar
Where in the World?
Industry News
ITE 2019 Year in Review
Impacts of Red-Light Cameras on Intersection Safety: A Bayesian Hierarchical Spatial Model
Dynamic Flashing Yellow Arrow Operations
Advisory Bike Lanes and Shoulders: Current Status and Future Possibilities
Professional Services Directory
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 1
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 2
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 3
ITE Journal – December 2019 - President’s Message
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 5
ITE Journal – December 2019 - Director’s Message
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 7
ITE Journal – December 2019 - People in the Profession
ITE Journal – December 2019 - ITE News
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 10
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 11
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 12
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 13
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 10th Annual ITE Collegiate Traffic Bowl Grand Championship Tournament Recap
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 15
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 16
ITE Journal – December 2019 - Board Committee: Women of ITE: Allies in Design and in the Workplace
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 18
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 19
ITE Journal – December 2019 - Member to Member: Ariel Farnsworth (M)
ITE Journal – December 2019 - Where in the World?
ITE Journal – December 2019 - Industry News
ITE Journal – December 2019 - ITE 2019 Year in Review
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 24
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 25
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 26
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 27
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 28
ITE Journal – December 2019 - Impacts of Red-Light Cameras on Intersection Safety: A Bayesian Hierarchical Spatial Model
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 30
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 31
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 32
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 33
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 34
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 35
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 36
ITE Journal – December 2019 - Dynamic Flashing Yellow Arrow Operations
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 38
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 39
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 40
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 41
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 42
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 43
ITE Journal – December 2019 - Advisory Bike Lanes and Shoulders: Current Status and Future Possibilities
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 45
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 46
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 47
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 48
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 49
ITE Journal – December 2019 - Professional Services Directory
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 51
ITE Journal – December 2019 - 52
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