Ask The City: Bicycle Lanes

The Question:

Why has the city changed the design of bike lanes at intersections? Used to be the bike lane became a broken line near the intersection, this allowed the motorist making a right hand turn to get close to the curb to make the turn, (current city law mandates this). With the solid line, the motorist must must wait in the through lane, impeding traffic and allowing someone to pull to the right side creating a dangerous situation when the turn is completed.

The Answer:

“The City of Laramie adheres to the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) in applying pavement marking for vehicles, including bicycle lanes. The current MUTCD (revised May 2012) specifies solid bicycle-lane striping to the intersection. The City follows this specification when new paint or striping is applied over old bicycle-lane painting or striping. Vehicles are required by City Code to yield to cyclists properly using designated bicycle lanes.”