On a
street, a narrow
lane (usually about 1 meter wide)
reserved for the exclusive use of
bicyclists. Often, these lanes can be added to
streets without reducing the number of
lanes available to
motor vehicles. In the
United States,
bike lanes are usually simply
painted on with solid white
stripes on either side, and with
diamond "
reserved lane" markers and/or
bicycle diagrams. In the
Netherlands,
bike lanes are usually marked with
red pavement and are often
raised so they are halfway between the level of the
street and the
kerb.
Bike lanes are designed to improve safety and accessibility for bicyclists, and to provide a safer alternative to lane splitting. They're usually located on streets with heavier traffic. Compare to bike route, bike path, mixed-use path.