Bike Facilities Toolkit
San Francisco has come a long way since painting its first bike lane on Lake Street in 1971. Since then, bike lane design has evolved throughout the country to meet the wide range of needs and abilities for everyday riders. The SFMTA continues to use a variety of lanes, roadway markings and intersection treatments to make the San Francisco bicycle network a more safe, comfortable and convenient place for people of all ages to bike. Check them out here!
This page shows just a sample of the types of bike facilities that we install. For more detailed information on design guidance and standards, please visit the National Association of Transportation Officials (NACTO) webpage. NACTO developed the Urban Bikeway Design Guide that helps guide the design of complete streets that are safe and enjoyable for people who ride bikes.
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Bicycle paths (Class I) are off-street paved bikeways. They are separated from vehicle traffic, but are almost always shared with pedestrians. -
A standard bike lane (Class II) is a portion of road reserved for the preferential or exclusive use of people biking, indicated by road markings. Those riding in a bike lane should always be aware of driveways, mixing zones, car doors and vehicles such as taxis or paratransit that may temporarily occupy the lane. -
Shared lanes (Class III - sharrows) are typically wide travel lanes shared by bicyclists and vehicles. They are commonly marked with the standard or greenback sharrows and wayfinding signs to indicate shared use. The sharrow symbol is a bicycle silhouette with two chevrons above it indicating the proper direction of travel. Those riding a bike should be cautious of the door zone, mixing zones and turning lanes. -
Separated bikeways (Class IV), also commonly referred to as cycle tracks or protected bikeways, are bicycle facilities that are separated from traffic by parked cars, safe-hit posts, transit islands or other physical barriers. Always be considerate of slower-moving bicyclists, pedestrians and driveways. -
Contraflow bike lanes are a dedicated bike facility is usually located on a one-way street that runs in the opposite direction of the flow of traffic. -
Mixing zones help position vehicles closer to the curbside to help facilitate the right turn and reduce right hooks with bicyclists. You are entering a mixing zone when you see yield “teeth” markings indicating that vehicles should slow down. A dashed green bike lane or greenback sharrow usually follows that indicates that multiple transportation modes may “mix” in this area. -
Two-Stage Turn Box: these pavement markings clarify where cyclists can turn left to connect to other bike route and helps reduce conflicts between turning vehicles and cyclists.
