Project Summary

The AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities is the authoritative national design standard for bikeway design. Toole Design staff have a history of involvement in preparing this Guide, dating back to the 1990s. In the newly released 5th edition, Toole Design has undertaken a comprehensive update to the Guide to reflect widespread acceptance of new bikeway designs for people of all ages and abilities, with funding and direction from the National Highway Cooperative Research Program (Project 15-60, “Proposed Update of the AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities.”)

As more communities demand street designs that accommodate all modes, an updated AASHTO Bike Guide will be essential for establishing national guidance that delivers safe, comfortable travel facilities for people who choose to bike.

The full update includes several new chapters that address new facility types and provide detailed information on topics such as separated bike lanes, traffic signals, operations, and rural roadways. The new chapters also include significant amounts of updated content, graphics, and illustrations to convey updated design concepts.

Graphic of the bicyclist design user profiles found in the AASHTO Guide, ranging from interested but concerned to highly confident.
The AASHTO Guide has been rewritten to support inclusive bicycling for All Ages and Abilities serving the widest spectrum of bicyclists.
A chart providing contextual bikeway selection guidance based on operating speeds and the volume of vehicles per day.
To support All Ages and Abilities bicycling, contextual bikeway selection guidance is provided based on the latest research.
A chart in the AASHTO Guide that provides guidance for stopping sight distance based on speed and grade for a 2.5 second perception-reaction time.
The guide also provides improved guidance for critical design formulas and adds user friendly look-up tables to simplify work.

The new guide will provide industry leading sight distance guidance for conflict points along Separated Bike Lanes.

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