Advisory bike lanes
Advisory cycle lanes add bike lanes to a road where they may not otherwise fit. This is the case on low speed, narrow local streets in Ann Arbor.
Here’s how they work.
Vehicle traffic uses the center lane, with bike lanes on either side. When two drivers traveling in opposite directions meet, their vehicles move into the bike lanes to pass each other safely.
What happens if there is a bike in the cycle lane? Whoever is in front has the right of way. Vehicles traveling behind bikes can use the center lane to pass when it is safe to do so, making sure there is five feet of room, mandated by local ordinance.
Advisory bike lanes began to be deployed in Ann Arbor in the fall of 2020. They have been deployed on East Summit Street, Granger between State Street and Packard and in the downtown on East William Street and South First Street.
Bike boxes
Bike boxes are a traffic tool that can improve intersection safety for cyclists. At an intersection with a bike box, cyclists stop at the red light in the outlined green box while vehicles stop behind the solid white line at the back of the bike box. This allows cyclists to be more clearly seen by all at the intersection.
There is a bike box at the intersection of Stone School Road and Packard and the city plans further installations.
