ODOT Bike Coding Notes

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Link Attributes Specific to Bike Assignment

Bike Specific Link Attributes

Field	Description
BIKEFAC	Bike Facility Present; 0 = none, 1 = a conventional, striped bike lane, 2 = a protected bike lane or street-level cycle track. Requires at least some measure of physical separation from adjacent motor vehicle travel lanes for most of its length (e.g. curbs or other vertical elements such as bollards, posts, parked cars, or planters). 3 = bicycle boulevard/neighborhood greenway. (Depending on local context, it might not be correct to include bike routes that have only signage and/or “sharrows”). 4 = off-roadway, paved, regionally significant multi-use path. DO NOT include localized, discontinuous, or unpaved paths (e.g. park paths) in this designation. 5 = remainder of informal connectors that are off-roadway (separated), but not an official multi-use path
BLTS	Either BLTS 1-4 directly, or a proxy, described further below. Generally; BIKEFAC 4 and 5 are BLTS 1; BIKEFAC 3 would be a BLTS 1 assuming the speed is 25mph or less. If the speed is greater than 25mph, it likely shouldn't be BIKEFAC == 3; BIKEFAC 2 would be BLTS 1 at 30mph or below, BLTS 2 at 35mph and BLTS 3 at greater then 35mph; BIKEFAC 1 would be dependent on lane size, but in general BLTS 1 at 30mph or below, BLTS 3 at 35mph and BLTS 4 at greater then 35mph. IF BIKEFAC == 0, speed and volume (where Functional Class can be a proxy for volume) come into play. Below 25mph and residential streets would be BLTS = 1. Very low volumes could be BLTS == 2 as high as 30 mph, but generally BLTS == 2 would be collectors at 25 mph, 30 mph would count on a collector if volumes are below 3000 ADT (likely minor collector or below). BLTS == 3 can go as high as 45 mph but only if the volumes are extremely low. In general the break between BLTS 3 and 4 is BLTS below 35 mph and less than 8000 ADT (major collector or below). BLTS == 4 above 35 mph or 8000 ADT (Arterial and above) (BLTS 3 above 35mph only if the volumes are less than 1500 - residential or rural).
SLOPE	Calculated average slope over the link segment. Suggest calculating automatically from local DEM data. Note if slope is overly complicated, note that the user can consider this input in four bins; less than 2%, which could be the default (0 slope), 2-4% (3%), 4-6% (5%), greater than 6% - could code as 8%. Note that only upslope needs to be coded, negative slope should have a negative or kept as zero.

Bicycle Level of Traffic Stress (BLTS) 1-4 definitions

The table below is from Chapter 14 of ODOT's Analysis Procedures Manual. Please see Chapter 14 for a full contextual discussion on BLTS.

BLTS	Description
LTS 1	Represents little traffic stress and requires less attention, so is suitable for all cyclists. This includes children that are trained to safely cross intersections (around 10 yrs. old/5th grade) alone and supervising riding parents of younger children. Generally, the age of 10 is the earliest age that children can adequately understand traffic and make safe decisions which is also the reason that many youth bike safety programs target this age level. Traffic speeds are low and there is no more than one lane in each direction. Intersections are easily crossed by children and adults. Typical locations include residential local streets and separated bike paths/cycle tracks.
LTS 2	Represents little traffic stress but requires more attention than young children would be expected to deal with, so is suitable for teen and adult cyclists with adequate bike handling skills. Traffic speeds are slightly higher, but speed differentials are still low, and roadways can be up to three lanes wide for both directions. Intersections are not difficult to cross for most teenagers and adults. Typical locations include collector-level streets with bike lanes or a central business district.
LTS 3	Represents moderate stress and is suitable for most observant adult cyclists. Traffic speeds are moderate but can be on roadways up to five lanes wide in both directions. Intersections are still perceived to be safe by most adults. Typical locations include low-speed arterials with bike lanes or moderate speed non-multilane roadways.
LTS 4	Represents high stress and suitable for experienced and skilled cyclists. Traffic speeds are moderate to high and can be on roadways from two to over five lanes wide for both directions. Intersections can be complex, wide, and or high volume/speed that can be perceived as unsafe by adults and are difficult to cross. Typical locations include high-speed or multilane roadways with narrow or no bike lanes.