Ashbury, a city in New Jersey, recently tested temporary bike lanes with the help of researchers from Rutgers University to see if they would be effective methods of trying before buying. The two main methods of installing a bike lane at the present would require either extensive construction or restructuring of the street to succeed. In a usual case, cities must decide whether or not a bike lane is a worthwhile investment using adjacent data, but there is no system of putting out a temporary bike lane to test its effect on traffic safety.

 

The city of Ashbury, as part of an effort to increase micro mobility and establish a bike network through its streets, allowed researchers to install pop-up bike lanes on a two-block area of road. After setting up the temporary bike lanes, the researchers recorded the biking experience using eye-tracking glasses and technology that records stress levels. They also utilized traffic cameras to study traffic interactions with the new lanes. From the study, the Rutgers researchers concluded that there was still room for growth with their methodology, but that the concept of testing bike lanes before installation is sound.

https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/news/pop-up-bike-lanes-assessed-with-high-tech-and-low-tech-strategies-in-new-je/628013/