New Report: Protected Bike Lanes on El Camino Real

Image: City of San Mateo Sustainable Streets Plan: a view of El Camino Real today and a conceptual design with raised bikeways and wider sidewalks.SVBC proudly introduces our report on Protected Bike Lanes on El Camino Real. Written and researched by our intern, Miguel Salazar, the report collects and examines information on local and national protected bikeways projects. The report and accompanying factsheets combine reliable sources to better explain what a protected bike lane is, how and why protected bikeways are the safest treatment for the widest range of users, and the business and environmental benefits of protected bikeways.The report also looks at existing conditions on El Camino Real. El Camino Real is the only non-freeway road that connects multiple cities in our two counties and has a high density of businesses and housing that people want to access. Data from San Mateo and Santa Clara County Health Departments show that El Camino Real has a disproportionate concentration of crashes involving people who bike, increasing the need for safety improvements along the corridor.The case studies in the report show that projects that install protected bikeways see a significant increase in the number of people biking, a drop in the number of collisions, and an increase in local business with no negative impacts on travel time. In addition, protected bikeways can lead to health benefits in our region. Finally, the report looks at a few implementation challenges to protected bike lanes.SVBC will use this report as we continue advocacy to bring protected bike lanes to the El Camino Real corridor, including in the current plan being developed in Redwood City. Feel free to use the report and factsheets in your own local advocacy and let us know if you want to get more involved.Protected Bike Lanes on El Camino Real reportProtected Bike Lanes factsheetEl Camino Real factsheet