Operational Evaluation of Central Sharrows and Dooring Zone Treatment on Road User Behavior in Ottawa, Canada

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine how new pavement markings (central sharrows and indication of “dooring zone”) influence cyclist and motorist interactions and positioning, especially with respect to the distance cyclists travel from the parking edge line. The markings are designed to discourage cyclists from riding in the dooring-zone area and to ride in the center of the travel lane to avoid serious safety hazards. A number of safety performance parameters were used to assess whether safer conditions existed after the new treatment was installed. Safe motorist behavior was defined as: (a) motor vehicle following a cyclist with or without visible oncoming traffic in the opposing lane, and (b) motor vehicle passing a cyclist at a safe lateral distance. Safe cyclist behavior was defined as: cyclist riding in the lane position indicated by the central sharrows and outside of the dooring-zone area. The findings indicate that the central sharrows and dooring-zone markings created more favorable conditions for cyclist safety and for motorist compliance. Cyclists rode further from the parking edge line and closer to the sharrows that were marked in the center of the travel lane, and motorists were shown to be less likely to pass and more likely to follow cyclists.

Fatores Que Influenciam Na Ocorrência De Ultrapassagens Perigosas Para Ciclistas

“…Diversos estudos têm sido realizados com o objetivo de compreender melhor a dinâmica de ultrapassagem de veículos motorizados em relação à ciclistas, seja na área rural, como em Dozza et al (2016); Llorca et al (2017); Chapman e Noyce (2014), seja na área urbana, como em Foletta et al (2015), Kassim et al (2017Kassim et al ( , 2018; Mehta et al (2015Mehta et al ( , 2019, entre outros. Estudos anteriores utilizaram uma bicicleta equipada com sensores (Shackel e Parkin, 2014;Beck et al, 2019); câmeras fixas em algum ponto específico da cidade (Haworth et al 2018) ou câmeras e sensores instalados na parte de dentro dos veículos motorizados (Feng et al, 2018;Kovaceva et al, 2018).…”