---
title: "Bicycle Signal"
url: "https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/bicycle-signal/"
id: "ELM-BCS-16"
description: "A signal indication, typically a bicycle-shaped symbol in red, yellow, and green, giving cyclists their own dedicated phase or right-of-way instruction distinct from vehicle and pedestrian signals."
updated: "2026-09-26"
---

# Bicycle Signal

`ELM-BCS-16`

Situational / Discouraged Element

Bicycle Signal

A signal indication, typically a bicycle-shaped symbol in red, yellow, and green, giving cyclists their own dedicated phase or right-of-way instruction distinct from vehicle and pedestrian signals.

## Related Media

The items below come from outside the Commonway System, external videos, podcasts, and articles related to this page's topic, not part of the guidebook itself.

Aligned

### [Dutch-style intersection design: bike-friendly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCzi1Q4xCTA)

BicycleDutch

Shows the protected-intersection design vocabulary, continuous cycle tracks, corner refuge islands, separated signal phasing, that underpins CS's Protected Intersection pattern and the Corridor retrofit paths built around it.

Aligned

### [Why the Dutch Wait Less at Traffic Lights](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knbVWXzL4-4)

Not Just Bikes

Breaks down Dutch traffic-responsive signal timing, independent phasing, transit signal priority, and no-right-turn-on-red as a pedestrian/cyclist safety measure.

## Why this pattern exists

Where a bicycle facility crosses or interacts with an intersection in a way that a shared vehicle or pedestrian phase does not safely accommodate, a dedicated bicycle signal resolves the conflict explicitly rather than leaving cyclists to interpret a signal meant for another mode. This pattern exists to document where that dedicated treatment is warranted.[1]

## Key considerations

-   Most appropriate where a protected bike lane or cycle track meets an intersection with a conflicting turning movement that a shared phase cannot resolve safely
-   Should be clearly distinguishable from the vehicle signal to avoid driver confusion about which indication applies to them
-   Leading bicycle intervals (giving cyclists a head start before conflicting vehicle movements) are a common and effective use of this pattern[2]

## Related patterns

[Traffic Signal](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/traffic-signal.md) (ELM-TFS-14) (the vehicle control this pattern separates from); [Protected Bike Lane/Cycle Track](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/protected-bike-lane-cycle-track.md) (ELM-PBL-37) (the facility type most commonly paired with this treatment)

## References

1.  Legal / regulatory [MUTCD 11th Edition with Revision 1 (FHWA, December 2025; effective March 5, 2026), Chapter 9D, "Signals for Bicycle Facilities." The current binding standard; bicycle signals existed only as FHWA Interim Approval IA-16 (2013) until the 11th edition made them standard.](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/11th_Editionr1/mutcd11theditionr1hl.pdf)
2.  Precedent-based [NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide, 3rd ed. (2025), "Bike Signal Design." Leading bicycle interval and actuation-versus-recall design guidance.](https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/designing-safe-intersections/signal-phasing-and-timing-strategies/bike-signal-design/)