Bike lane

Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor vehicles is prohibited) or advisory (marked with a broken white line, entry by motor vehicles is permitted). In the United States, a designated bicycle lane (1988 MUTCD) or class II bikeway (Caltrans) is always marked by a solid white stripe on the pavement and is for 'preferential use' by bicyclists. There is also a class III bicycle route, which has roadside signs suggesting a route for cyclists, and urging sharing the road. A class IV separated bike way (Caltrans) is a bike lane that is physically separate from motor traffic and restricted to bicyclists only.

Research shows that separated bike lanes improve the safety of bicyclists, and either have positive or non-significant economic effects on nearby businesses.

The history of cycling infrastructure starts from shortly after the bike boom of the 1880s when the first short stretches of dedicated bicycle infrastructure were built, through to the rise of the automobile from the mid-20th century onwards and the concomitant decline of cycling as a means of transport, to cycling's comeback from the 1970s onwards.

The United Nations Environment Programme says there ought to be at least ten times more bike lanes by 2030 than there were in 2020.

In a 2024 assessment of existing research, the U.S. Department of Transportation concluded that "separated bicycle lanes have an overall improved safety performance."

According to a 2019 study, cities with separated bike lanes had 44% fewer road fatalities and 50% fewer serious injuries from crashes. The relationship was particularly strong in cities where bike lanes were separated from car lanes with physical barriers.

Research published in 2020 showed insights from communities where on-road cycling for transportation is less common, particularly in the Southeast U.S. and reported that potential bikers say separated bike lanes would make them more likely to participate in active transportation. However, scientific research indicates that different groups of cyclists show varying preferences of which aspects of cycling infrastructure are most relevant when choosing a specific cycling route over another; thus, to maximize use, these different groups of cyclists have to be taken into account.

A 2019 study which examined the replacement of 136 on-street parking spots with a bike lane on the Bloor Street retail corridor in Toronto, Canada, found that it increased monthly customer spending and the number of customers on the street. These findings run contrary to a popular sentiment that bike lanes have an adverse effect on local economic activity.