Fix Biking 8: A Little Wayfinding Goes a Long Way
Good signage is an important, but often overlooked, step in getting people using your bike network.
All roadworks are expensive. That includes bike infrastructure projects.
So it’s a little crazy when cities spend a lot of money on a new bike infrastructure project, and don’t bother to tell people about it.
Celebrate the wins
Cities should be making a splash when opening new bike lanes. We should have ribbon cutting ceremonies. We should get the media involved and tell the stories of how bike lanes have provided individuals with real choice in how they get around town.
Get people excited and let them know there is something new they should try out.
Instead, we start with a fizzle. One day, cyclists notice that the construction cones are gone. Guess that means the project is finished.
Wayfinding
But equally important, cities tend to do a poor job of communicating to people how those new bike lanes connect with other safe cycling infrastructure.
Signage for bike infrastructure is sadly lacking. And it’s far more important than we realize.
A chain is only as strong as the weakest link. That applies to bike networks. A number of people won’t get on a bike if any part of their trip does not feel safe.
60% of the population are “interested but concerned” in cycling. Those people will want to know that they are not going to get spat out into car traffic during their trip.
Cities need signage to help people get from one stretch of protected bike infrastructure to the next. Without that signage, many get lost and end up back on busy streets without realizing there are better cycling options nearby.
Vancouver does a very good job with bike signage. Signs are prominent and help cyclists stay on bike streets and protected infrastructure.
Montreal does a pretty job of this. It has lots of signage, but also many examples of riders coming to the end of a bike project and struggling to figure out where to go next.
Ottawa understands what is required for bike signage. It has a handful of examples of good wayfinding, designed to help people connect to nearby bike lanes. But these signs are few and far between. The city needs hundreds more of these signs, similar to the one in the photo below.
ROI
Signage is a remarkably simple step in getting more people out on bikes.
Cities spend millions of dollars on bike infrastructure. By adding a few thousand dollars more on signage, they can get more people out on bikes and achieve a higher return on investment for that infrastructure.
Signage also needs to be developed and/or checked by real users, not just the communications department
I live with a blind person. We live near the paths by the Ottawa river. It is impossible for us to walk on the paths due to bicycle riders. The bikers use the pathway as a speed way with no regard for walkers. I know this city is bike obsessed but at the total expense of people who would like to enjoy the paths by walking. the city has spent millions of dollars for bikers. Unfortunately at the expense of those who walk. and finally, electric bikes are motorized vehicles and do not belong on the paths. I know no one cares, but for persons with disabilities, bikers are a terror. if you care? At all.