Fort Collins Getting Its 1st Advisory Bike Lane

As we mentioned would be coming back on our fall 2021 RAT Ride, Bike Fort Collins is very excited to see our city’s first Advisory Bike Lane opening early next month on Pitkin Avenue (on the Pitkin Bikeway) between Remington and Smith Streets, just east of the CSU campus.

Advisory Bike Lane street design originated in the Netherlands and first began appearing in the U.S. in 2011 (Minneapolis, MN). As of 2019 there were thought to be well over 30 Advisory Bike Lanes in North America, with our friends in Boulder, CO having one of them (see picture). Advisory Bike Lanes are not part of the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and are thus, considered to be “experimental” by the Federal Highway Administration. Therefore, installation of them requires FHWA approval, which the City of Fort Collins received for Pitkin Avenue in September 2021. BFC is excited for our first installation, as they are a progressive street design that prioritizes bicycle right-of-way over vehicles and have thus far, proven effective on narrower streets with lower daily traffic volumes.

As part of the experimental approval process, the city (FC Moves) will be monitoring and evaluating the Pitkin Advisory Bike Lane’s use and effectiveness over the next two years. We invite and encourage you to watch and share the video below with as many bicyclists (and non-bicyclists) as possible, as well as the link to the FC Moves’ information page on their website. A critical component of the lane’s success will be educating and informing the community on how to use the lane. It’s incumbent that drivers and cyclists alike know how to use the lane in order for it to operate as designed and intended.

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