U.S. Traffic Engineering Manual Closer to Adopting Bike Design Features

"Late last month, the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices gave its approval to 11 treatments, including these two bike lane configurations. Committee members also, as anticipated, approved bike boxes and bike signals, which had been considered 'experimental,' as well as bike lane markings that continue through intersections," reports Angie Schmitt.

The approval does not mean that the designs are fully sanctioned, however. The next step in the approval process is for the designs to be included in the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which is what it takes for many engineers to even consider such configurations. To get full approval, "the group’s recommendation will now be sent to the Federal Highway Administration for potential inclusion the the [sic] MUTCD. To get final approval, the new guidelines must undergo a rule-making period where they are reviewed by other engineering institutions that have historically been averse to change, like the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials."