Abstract Manager

Since most roads lack dedicated cycling facilities, cyclists inevitably have to share the road with motorized vehicles. This situation is particularly prevalent outside urban centres, where the transportation network is less dense.

In this context, roads with posted speed limits of more than 50 km/h may be considered more practical by cyclists than their alternatives, where applicable, particularly in terms of travel time, distance, and accessibility. These roads, where access is sometimes limited or controlled, are characterized by the presence of free-flow ramps. For cyclists travelling on these roads, the free-flow ramps present the main point of conflict.

Unlike roads with lower posted speed limits, it is not appropriate to provide a cyclist crossing parallel to the road in this context (i.e., a bike lane between the outside through lane and the ramp). The most effective crossing treatments instead designate a specific point where cyclists can cross the ramp perpendicularly. To enhance the predictability of maneuvers between drivers and cyclists, this crossing point must provide good visibility between users and be located where drivers’ attention is not solely focused on merging within vehicular traffic.

This treatment typically involves a curved path that guides cyclists to the crossing point, commonly referred to as a jughandle. However, the standards and best-practice guidelines for cyclist jughandles lack sufficient detail to ensure rigorous design. They notably fail to account for critical factors such as user visibility and respective speeds, although these are systematically considered in the design of traditional cyclist crossings. This gap leads to significant variability in the design of cyclist jughandles across Canada.

To improve cyclist safety and standardize the design of jughandles for cyclists, this presentation proposes a systematic method for designing safe jughandles. This method relies on calculating cyclists’ and drivers’ stopping sight distances, cyclists’ crossing sight distances, and the interaction between the geometry of the jughandle and these values.