---
title: "Buffered Bike Lane"
url: "https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/buffered-bike-lane/"
id: "ELM-BBL-35"
description: "A striped bike lane with an additional painted buffer zone, typically hatched or cross-hatched markings, separating it from the adjacent vehicle travel lane or parking lane by more distance than a conventional bike lane alone provides."
updated: "2026-09-26"
---

# Buffered Bike Lane

`ELM-BBL-35`

Recommended Element

Buffered Bike Lane

A striped bike lane with an additional painted buffer zone, typically hatched or cross-hatched markings, separating it from the adjacent vehicle travel lane or parking lane by more distance than a conventional bike lane alone provides.

## 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.

## Why this pattern exists

Adding painted buffer width increases the physical and perceived separation between cyclists and vehicle traffic without the cost or space demand of a physical barrier, addressing some of the comfort gap between a conventional bike lane and a fully protected facility. This pattern exists to document that intermediate option.[1]

## Key considerations

-   Buffer should be placed on the side of greater conflict risk, typically between the bike lane and the vehicle travel lane, or on both sides where a parking lane is also present[2]
-   Still relies on driver compliance with paint markings alone, and may not be sufficient comfort for all-ages-and-abilities ridership on higher-speed corridors
-   A reasonable default upgrade from a conventional bike lane where a full protected facility is not currently feasible

## Related patterns

[Conventional Bike Lane](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/conventional-bike-lane.md) (ELM-CBL-34) (the baseline this pattern improves on); [Protected Bike Lane/Cycle Track](https://commonwaysystem.org/patterns/elements/protected-bike-lane-cycle-track.md) (ELM-PBL-37) (the stronger-separation alternative)

## References

1.  Legal / regulatory [MUTCD 11th Edition with Revision 1 (FHWA, December 2025; effective March 5, 2026), Section 9C.02, "Buffered Bike Lane."](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/11th_Editionr1/mutcd11theditionr1hl.pdf)
2.  Precedent-based [NACTO, _Urban Bikeway Design Guide_, 3rd Ed. Buffer placement and sizing guidance.](https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/)