With over 200,000 Canadians choosing to commute by bike last year, we are seeing higher levels of bike lane traffic than ever before! People are trying to lower their carbon footprint, stay fit, and save money with alternative modes of transportation. As a result of the increased bicycle traffic, bike lanes are now essential for the safety of everyone in the inner city areas where people often use bikes to get around. Bike lane markings prevent collisions between cyclists, motorists, and even pedestrians. Studies show that bike lanes are one of the most effective ways to make roads in inner-city areas safer for everyone!
At EverLine Coatings and Services, we paint quality bike lane markings with our exclusive TBL Durables paint product to create a lasting solution that will keep cyclists and other users of the road safe for years. These bright, vibrant, and visible markings are essential to create a safe bike lane system in any city. We can paint everything from greenway bike lanes, to simple lines and markings that separate bikes from regular traffic in a dedicated lane.
To show how painting quality bike lane markings can improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists, we have rounded up some interesting bike lane safety stats to show how impactful a good bike lane can be when implemented correctly. Bike lane paint can save lives, prevent injuries, and improve the flow of traffic in many areas!
Bike Lane Safety Stats
To give you a sense of how bike lanes can effectively improve safety for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists, we have rounded up some interesting bike lane safety stats. These statistics come from a number of different resources that show how many bike-related collisions occur in a year and how the implementation of bike lanes can reduce those numbers.
- Roughly 7500 Canadian cyclists are seriously injured in a collision every year. (CAA, 2020)
- 34% of Canadian cyclists who were killed in a collision were struck by a vehicle in the dark. (CAA, 2020)
- 64% of cyclist deaths from traffic crashes occurred on city roads (speed limit up to 70 km/h). The remainder of cyclist deaths occurred on rural roads (speed limit of 80km/h or higher). (CAA, 2020)
- The majority of bicycle-related collisions occur during the afternoon rush hour. (CAA, 2020)
- Toronto has the highest rate of bike-car collisions per capita in Canada. (CBC, 2016)
- Bike lanes have been shown to reduce the number of bike-car collisions by 22%. (CBC, 2013)
- Bike lanes make roads safer for motorists too. A study in Toronto found that bike lanes were attributed to a 71% decrease in car-car conflicts as well because drivers weren’t fixating on cyclists. (The Narwhal, 2018)
- Studies show that bike lanes decrease bike-pedestrian crashes by 41%. (The Narwhal, 2018)
- A review of 23 studies on bike injuries found that bike lanes are the place where cyclists are the safest. (Environmental Health, 2009)
- When protected bike lanes were installed, crashes causing injuries for all road users (drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists) typically drop by 40% and by more than 50% in some locations. (Wolfson, 2011)
Bike Lane Traffic Stats
Although it’s clear that bicycle lanes can significantly reduce the number of accidents, injuries, and fatalities in cyclists, it is important to note just how many people choose to commute by bicycle in Canadian cities and the impact that bike lanes have on traffic safety as a whole.
Cycling has also become one of the fastest-growing modes of transportation in inner-city areas. With the rising number of people choosing to commute by bike, having the proper infrastructure for cyclists in the form of pathways, bike lanes, and other bike traffic provisions are becoming a necessity. Studies show that protected bike lanes actually increase bicycle ridership, reduce the number of motorists that are speeding, significantly reduce the total number of crashes, and improve the feeling of safety on the streets with bike lanes.
Here are some interesting bike lane traffic stats about how many people are cycling to get to their destination, the impact that bike lanes are having on inner-city traffic as a whole, and how bicycle traffic safety is being improved with bike traffic control provisions.
- Over 200,000 Canadians choose to commute by bike every year. (Statistics Canada, 2016)
- Commuting by bicycle has increased by 87.9 percent in inner-city areas. (Statistics Canada, 2016)
- Top five Canadian cities with the highest percentage of bicycle commuters (percentage of total commuters). (Statistics Canada, 2016)
- Victoria 6.6%
- Kelowna 2.7%
- Ottawa 2.4%
- Gatuineau 2.4%
- Kingston 2.2%
- Studies show that from 1999-2010 there were 9,200 weekday cycling trips entering and leaving the Calgary business district. (City of Calgary, 2011)
- Studies show that overall vehicle traffic decreases as a result of bike lane implementation. (The Narwhal, 2018)
- A study in New York showed that travel times at peak traffic hours was significantly reduced after the implementation of bike lanes. (The Narwhal, 2018)
- Red light compliance on a protected bike lane was observed to be 81% in 2013, compared to 31% before the protected lane was installed. (Chicago Tribune, 2013)
How People Feel About Bike Lanes
Another thing to consider with bike lanes is the number of people that prefer using them and the added sense of safety that they create for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists. There are a large number of Canadians that have expressed they would feel safer if the proper bike traffic safety provisions and bike lanes existed. If more bike lanes were created, a large proportion of Canadians would even begin to ride their bikes in order to commute. Here are some stats that show how Canadians feel about adding more bike lanes to their cities.
- 55% of bike share program users prefer using bike lanes as they feel safer. (NACTO, 2016)
- 44% of Canadians say they would cycle more if they felt safer cycling on roads and the proper infrastructure was put in place to protect cyclists. (CAA, 2020)
- 64% of Canadians predict that there will be more cyclists on the road in five years from now when better infrastructure exists for cyclist safety. (CAA, 2020)
- 63% of Canadians believe that further investment in cycling infrastructure is needed in their community to keep cyclists safe. (CAA, 2020)
- Cycling is the fastest growing means of transportation in Vancouver as bicycle trips in the city have increased by 40%. (Vancouver, 2012)
- Various studies show that over 79% of motorists feel comfortable driving near bikes with a protected bike lane. (People for Bikes, 2013)
- In contrast, only half of drivers are comfortable on roads without bike infrastructure. (People for Bikes, 2013)
How Quality Bike Lane Markings Improve Safety
Although the bike lane safety stats show that bike lanes play a critical role in improving the safety of cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists, not all bike lane markings are created equally. Many greenway bicycle lanes and other styles of bike lanes are painted using traditional paint products. At EverLine Coatings and Services, our highly trained bike lane painting professionals use our exclusive TBL Durables bike lane paint product in combination with our industry-leading line painting equipment to create a superior end result.
Thanks to TBL Durables, the bike lane markings painted by EverLine last roughly three times longer than the next leading traffic paint product. This means you will have clean, crisp, markings that will continue to protect the users of the roads for longer than the bike lane markings created by other painting contractors. With this, municipalities, and organizations looking to have bike lanes implemented realize a 20-30% cost savings over the lifespan of a bike lane created by EverLine.
Our exclusive TBL Durables bike lane paint product is also more environmentally friendly. It’s ten times cleaner than oil-based line paints and three times cleaner than water-based line paints, respectively. If you’re looking to reduce the environmental footprint of your city by encouraging more people to commute by bike, this is a great way to start!
With the increasing number of Canadians commuting by bicycle, it is going to be critical to have the right infrastructure for cyclists and high-quality bike lane markings to keep them safe. There are studies backing that Canadians feel safer having dedicated bike lanes, that the lanes prevent accidents as a whole, and reduce traffic congestion. At EverLine, we see bike lanes as a way to improve our great Canadian cities and protect the people that live in them. We’re proud to be able to offer our services to make Canadian cities a better place to live for everyone and keep Canadians safer.
Contact EverLine Coatings and Services for All of Your Bike Lane Needs
If you are looking to have a bike lane painted in your city sometime in the near future, EverLine Coatings and Services would be happy to help. We love completing greenway bike lane painting projects, protected bike lanes, and painted stenciled markings for bike lanes too! Our bike lane safety experts have decades of experience painting bike lanes and can help you determine some of the logistics and needed safety provisions to create a safe and effective bike lane infrastructure or system as well. Contact EverLine Coatings and Services to receive a quote on having a bike lane painted today!
