How to navigate streets safely on a bicycle

Published on April 06, 2022

Bike infrastructures are road treatments (pavement marking, signage and striping) that improve bicycle safety and facilitate riding in the streets. They can improve safety and visibility by designated portions of the road for the use of bicyclists.

Sharrows
Sharrows designate a safe and visible place for cyclists to ride. Follow the sharrows to continue riding on safe low traffic streets in your neighborhood. When cycling in a street with a sharrow, you should cycle in between the parked cars and the sharrow. This way you are visible enough to drivers and are avoiding the door zone of parked cars.

The Door Zone
If you’re on a road with parked cars, imagine a line 5-feet away from them. Everything between that imaginary line and the parked cars is the door zone (because the average car door is 5-feet wide). Stay to the left of the line, and you’re in the clear! Ride to the right of the line and you put yourself at risk.

Bike Box
A bike box is a designated area at the head of a traffic lane at a signalized intersection that provides bicyclists with a safe and visible way to get ahead of queuing traffic during the red signal phase. They can be helpful to get in position to make a left turn during a red light. The bike box also provides priority for bicyclists at signalized crossings. When riding where there is a bike box be sure to be in front of the car to increase your visibility.

By making eye contact and predicting potential traffic behaviors you are able to keep yourself safe and out of potential danger. Before proceeding into the intersection look over your left shoulder to ensure a driver is not turning right. If there is a driver turning right, you can either make sure they see you and proceed into the intersection with caution or wait for them to complete their right turn then proceed.