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.
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 present2
- 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 (ELM-CBL-34) (the baseline this pattern improves on); Protected Bike Lane/Cycle Track (ELM-PBL-37) (the stronger-separation alternative)