Signage Guidelines - Waterfront Trail

Coloured Pavement SurfacesThe application of coloured surfaces and asphalt to indicate thepresence of bike lanes on merge zones has been used in numerouscities around the world, especially in Europe. Red surfacing isused in the Netherlands and blue pavement colouring has beentested in Montreal and in Portland, Oregon. The photo at rightillustrates an example of coloured pavement surfaces in the Cityof Montreal.Although the application of coloured pavement has not beenstandardized in Canada, its application may be beneficial atcomplex intersections with high conflict areas where cyclistpriority is not respected and standard pavement markings do notsuffice. It should also be noted that special signing is typicallyused at locations where coloured pavement is applied, indicatingthe priority movements at an intersection. Figure 3.25 illustratesan example of the signing used in Portland at intersections withblue bike lanes.The selection of blue coloured pavement tends to be the mostsensible solution when compared to other colours such as red,yellow and green, some of which are used for bike lanes elsewherearound the world. Specifically, the colours red and green havespecific meaning in regards to traffic engineering, where “red”implies stop, green implies “go” and yellow indicates an opposingtraffic flow. 5 The colour blue is a “neutral” colour in the contextof traffic engineering. Furthermore, the colour blue will show upin limited visibility conditions such as during fog, light rain andother wet conditions. Also, persons who are colour blind havedifficulty identifying earth tone colours such as red and green.Another option to consider in the application of coloured pavementsurfaces is micro surfacing. Currently, the Town of Richmond Hill,Ontario is experimenting with this treatment where colour pigmentis mixed with asphalt when it is laid, resulting in a surface that iscoloured, but has the same tactile features of bare asphalt. Thismethod is significantly less expensive than traditional pavementcolouring. Not much is known about micro surfacing’s long-termdurability, although tests are currently underway. An applicationof micro surfacing is shown in the photo below.Example of Coloured Pavement, MontrealSource: in Ottawa Cycling PlanMicro surfacing – Town of Richmond Hill, ONSource: SGE Acres LimitedFigure 3.25: Signing Used in Conjunction withColoured Pavement - City of Portland, Oregon5 Portland Transportation, 2004.Waterfront Trail | Design, Signage and Maintenance Guidelines Update | Section 2 - Signage Guidelines2-19