Shared lane markings, widely referred to as sharrows, are intended to convey to motorists and bicyclists that they must share the roads on which they operate. The markings create improved conditions by clarifying where bicyclists are expected to ride and by notifying motorists to expect bicyclists on the road. — Federal Highway Administration HRT-11-039
Though the name may be unfamiliar, bike boulevards are recognized as legitimate, well-used options for accommodating bicycle traffic. From the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s Municipal Resource Guide for Bikeability (2019):A bike boulevard — also known as a neighborhood greenway, neighborway, or bicycle priority street — is a low-volume, low-speed street that has been designed to prioritize bicycle travel with signs, pavement markings, wayfinding signage, and traffic calming measures. (pg. 33)
“Last mile” connections between regional paths...help bring path users to destinations. Bike boulevards — signed routes along quiet streets — can be an effective way to make this connection. (pg. 19)
Bike boulevards can be a cost-effective solution to create routes on quiet neighborhood streets. (pg. 20)
Bike boulevards are one of the ways of accommodating bicycle traffic. Other approaches include in-road bike lanes, separated bike lanes and shared-use paths. The choice of appropriate accommodation is made based on roadway traffic volume and vehicle speed, as in the following chart from page 28 of MassDOT’s Municipal Resource Guide:
The green star near the top of the chart above marks the conditions on Route 9, where a shared-use path is entirely appropriate: 8,746 cars per day with a speed limit of 45 mph.
Bike boulevards are often used to connect different parts of a larger network of bicycle accommodations, as the following figure from page 19 of the Municipal Resource Guide shows:
Corridors that effectively accommodate bicyclists often combine multiple facility types, each type
being used where appropriate. For example, a shared use path can connect to a bicycle boulevard
to create a continuous corridor. A corridor may start with bike lanes, travel along a bicycle boule-
vard, and then transition back to bike lanes.
— Guide for Development of Bicycle Facilities, pg. 2-16
Bicycle boulevards are regarded as “All Ages & Abilities Bicycle Facilities,” one important goal of the Mill River Greenway Initiative. More information, and a guide for choosing appropriate bicycle accommodation, can be found here: Designing for All Ages & Abilities, in the National Association of City Transportation Official’s Urban Bikeway Design Guide. Their guidance table for selecting bikeways identifies South Main St. as being a candidate for a bicycle boulevard: proposed speed limit of 20 mph, traffic volume of less than 1000 cars per day, and a peak traffic level of less than 50 cars per hour in the peak direction. (Fuss & O’Neill measured peak traffic levels on South Main St. at 80 cars per hour in both directions combined, so the value for one direction is about 40 cars per hour.)
The short stretch of South Main St. between Fort Hill Rd. and the library seems to be an excellent candidate for becoming a safe bicycle boulevard. The street is completely straight, so bicycles are never hidden around curves. The traffic level is low enough that bicyclists will seldom be passed by cars: At the peak traffic hour (4-5 PM per Fuss & O’Neill), a bicyclist going 10 mph can expect to be passed by one car (going just 10 mph faster than the bicycle) during the 90 seconds it takes to cycle the 1/4-mile length in question. At most times of the day, many bicyclists won’t be passed by any cars during their time on the South Main St. boulevard.
You can read more about bike boulevards in the National Association of City Transportation Officials’ Urban Bikeway Design Guide. From the Guide:
Bicycle boulevards are streets with low motorized traffic volumes and speeds, designated and designed to give bicycle travel priority. Bicycle Boulevards use signs, pavement markings, and speed and volume management measures to discourage through trips by motor vehicles and create safe, convenient bicycle crossings of busy arterial streets.
From the City Of Minneapolis’ Street Design Guide:Bicycle boulevards are enhanced Urban Neighborhood streets that give priority to pedestrians and bicyclists, including traffic and speed management measures such as diverters, speed bumps, curb extensions, median refuge islands, and traffic circles. Bicyclists typically share traffic-calmed space with motor vehicles. Bicycle boulevards are typically implemented with a retrofit project, but may be considered with a full street reconstruction in certain cases. Bicycle boulevards are considered All Ages and Abilities bikeways.
And still more, from Wikipedia’s Bicycle Boulevards entry:These bikeway design elements are intended to appeal to casual, risk-averse, inexperienced and younger bicyclists who would not otherwise be willing to cycle with motor vehicle traffic. Compared to a bike path or rail trail, a bicycle boulevard is also a relatively low-cost approach to appealing to a broader cycling demographic.
Many of these documents and videos below discuss implementing bike boulevards in busy, complex, potentially-confusing urban environments — often dealing with intersections at major streets. South Main St. between Fort Hill Rd. and the library is a much simpler case: the road is straight, and the only intersection is where Bridge St. T’s into South Main.Videos
Below are a few videos of bike boulevards in action.
I don't know about you, but after watching these videos, I would be happy to live in a town where every neighborhood street was a bicycle boulevard.
More videos of bike boulevards in action can be found here: Bicycle Boulevards