Bicycle Railing Height Report - AASHTO - Subcommittee on Design

BICYCLE RAILING HEIGHT SURVEY
STATE RESPONSES
3. What bicycle railing height does your agency routinely use on bike paths?
Count %
1 42"/1.1m 18 49%
254"/1.4m 10 27%
3 Both heights, depending on conditions 7 19%
4 Other 2 5%
BOTH HEIGHTS RESPONSES:
It depends if the bridge used by the path also accommodates motor vehicles. If yes then
we use 54". If not we use 42".
<strong>AASHTO</strong> changed the height for railings when it updated the Bicylcing Greenbook in
1999. <strong>Railing</strong> heights for bikepaths already in design at that time continued to use the
taller rails. All new bikepath (& multi-use trails) under design since that time have
adopted the lower railing standard of the 1999 <strong>AASHTO</strong> Guide for Development of
<strong>Bicycle</strong> Facilities. It is worth noting that there was much discussion at the time of the
revision regarding the railing height and proposed changes. Also: The taller 54" railing is
practical on mult-use trails that are in "high snowfall" parts of the country where trails
are not plowed. The shorter railings can quickly become buried. Also: The last bikepath
that was constructed in our region with the tall (54") railing ran into a great deal of
opposition and had to be lowered. The bikepath was a 3 mile stretch (with railings along
much of this length) along a scenic river. The tall railings obscured the view of users as
well as nearby residents
We use 42" on all shared use paths except in those areas which experience significant
winter snow accumulation and where significant winter time eg. snowmobile and cross
country use is anticipated. This is primarily limited to rail trails.
The 42" height has been used on some enhancement projects.
I cannot be certain. It is possible that heights described in the 99 <strong>AASHTO</strong> Guide are
used for separated bike paths, except on highway bridges, where highway bridge
specifications are deemed to take precedence.
A- 4