How to change a community

Meet the magical Edge Lane Road!

A revolutionary design could help small towns build active transportation networks on a dime, only if it was better understood!

January 28, 2021

 

The obvious benefits

  • Drivers will no longer have to pull out to pass cyclists and pedestrians. Giving these trail users (sometimes referred to as vulnerable road users or VRUs) their own lane users is especially important.  An accident only involving cars at 30mph is costly and inconvenient: not so for for trail users . For example. a study by AAA estimates the risk of serious injury to a pedestrian hit by a car increases from 25% at 23mph to 75% at 39mph.
  • ELRs also accommodate pedestrians, though many ELRs were designed first with cyclists in mind.  The very beautiful and very popular Gore Valley Trail in Vail illustrates this well, and includes sections that are ELRs (while also addressing sections with limited sight distance, described below).
  • The impact on the environment is minimal. ELRs utilize the existing roadway... no need to cut down trees, intrude on the neighboring landscape, manage additional run-off, and all of the other environmental impacts associated with most other solutions.
  • The costs are minimal relative to many other solutions. Once a road suited to an ELR has been identified, all you need is paint, signs, and public education.

Level of Traffic Stress (LTS) analyses show how ELRs can make shared roadways suitable for all users

LTS reveals how some ELRs can become almost as safe and as comfortable as a separate shared path... at a fraction of the cost!

Using the science of curves and stopping distance to design ELRs that are safe and comfortable

The physics behind seeing an obstacle and stopping a car are well-known. So are the solutions

Using traffic calming to control speed and increase vigilance

The psychology of speed and attention on an ELR combined with traffic calming just makes common sense!

Other benefits

  • Decrease vehicle roadway departures: Thirty people each day die from roadway departure crashes on rural roads, one-third of all traffic fatalities in the US. Narrow rural roads leave little room for error . A momentary lapse, and a driver drifts two feet to find themselves on a shoulder that might be soft or facing a tree that is very hard. An ELR's center travel lane with 5'shoulders on each side gives drivers more room to briefly err.
  • Pavement life: Asphalt streets often fail either because if cracking at the edges which migrates to the rest of the street, or rutting caused by vehicles taking the same path over and over. ELRs move cars to the center of the road and away from the sensitive edge, reducing failure of the edge. They also cause drivers to take varying paths as they drive the road, reducing rutting.
  • Cleaning: Once you've swept or snowplowed the road, the path is also done!

The final barrier: Educating users

Implementing an ELR: Monitoring safety, compliance, and satisfaction

What can CoVid teach us about ELRs? That Swiss Cheese may be stronger than concrete!

Reap the Benefits

Works for cyclists & pedestrians

Trail users have their own lane

Minimal environmental impact

Minimal cost

Suitable for all ages and abilities

Calms traffic with other measures

Can monitor compliance

Other benefits

Overcome the Barriers

Address sight and stopping distance

Educate users

Monitor Safety & Usage

Reap the Benefits

Works for cyclists AND pedestrians

Trail users have their own lane

Minimal environmental impact

Minimal cost

Suitable for all ages and abilities

Calms traffic with other measures

Other benefits

Overcome the Barriers

Address sight and stopping distance

Educate users

Monitor Safety & Usage

Reap the Benefits

Works for cyclists & pedestrians

Trail users have their own lane

Minimal environmental impact

Minimal cost

Suitable for all ages & abilities

Calms traffic with other measures

Other benefits

Overcome the Barriers

Address sight and stopping distance

Educate users

Monitor Safety & Usage

Reap the Benefits

Works for cyclists & pedestrians

Trail users have their own lane

Minimal environmental impact

Minimal cost

Suitable for all ages and abilities

Calms traffic with other measures

Other benefits

Overcome the Barriers

Address sight/stopping distance

Educate users

Monitor Safety & Usage

Reap the Benefits

Works for cyclists & pedestrians

Trail users have their own lane

Minimal environmental impact

Minimal cost

Suitable for all ages and abilities

Calms traffic together with other measures

Can monitor compliance

Other benefits

Overcome the Barriers

Address sight and stopping distance

Educate users

Monitor Safety & Usage

Reap the Benefits

Works for cyclists & pedestrians

Trail users have their own lane

Minimal environmental impact

Minimal cost

Suitable for all ages and abilities

Calms traffic with other measures

Other benefits

Overcome the Barriers

Address sight and stopping distance

Educate users

Monitor Safety & Usage

The logo is adapted from Joaquim Alves Gaspar's drawing of Pedro Reinel's compass rose.