DC quoted unknown material:

Safety Benefits of Bike Lanes

Bike lanes help define road space, decrease the stress level of
bicyclists riding in traffic, encourage bicyclists to ride in the
correct direction of travel, and signal motorists that cyclists have a
right to the road. Bike lanes help to better organize the flow of
traffic and reduce the chance that motorists will stray into cyclists'
path of travel.1, 2 Bicyclists have stated their preference for marked
on-street bicycle lanes in numerous surveys.3 In addition, several
real-time studies (where cyclists of varying abilities and backgrounds
ride and assess actual routes and street conditions) have found that
cyclists are more comfortable and assess a street as having a better
level of service for them where there are marked bike lanes present.4

In summary, bike lanes do the following:

support and encourage bicycling as a means of transportation
help define road space
promote a more orderly flow of traffic
encourage bicyclists to ride in the correct direction, with the flow
of traffic
give bicyclists a clear place to be so they are not tempted to ride on
the sidewalk
remind motorists to look for cyclists when turning or opening car
doors
signal motorists that cyclists have a right to the road
reduce the chance that motorists will stray into cyclists' path of
travel
make it less likely that passing motorists swerve toward opposing
traffic
decrease the stress level of bicyclists riding in traffic
Well-designed facilities encourage proper behavior and decrease the
likelihood of crashes. Numerous studies have shown that bicycle lanes
improve safety and promote proper riding behavior..5

In 1996, over 2000 League of American Bicyclist members were surveyed
about the crashes (accidents) they were involved in over the course of
the previous year. From the information, a relative danger index was
calculated which shows that streets with bike lanes were the safest
places to ride, having a significantly lower crash rate then either
major or minor streets without any bicycle facilities; moreover, they
are safer than trails and sidewalks as well.6
The addition of bicycle lanes in Davis, California reduced crashes by
31 percent.7
Bicycle lanes on a major avenue in Eugene, Oregon resulted in an
increase in bicycle use and a substantial reduction in the bicycle
crash rate. The crash rate per 100,000 bike miles fell by almost half
and the motor vehicle crash rate also fell significantly.8
When the city of Corvallis, OR installed 13 miles of bicycle lanes in
one year, the number of bicycle crashes fell from 40 in the year prior
to the installation to just 16 in the year afterwards, and of the 5
crashes that occurred on streets with bike lanes, all involved
bicyclists riding at night with no lights.9
In Chicago, Illinois, crash severity was reduced in one study of
marking bike lanes in a narrow cross section where 5 foot bike lanes
were marked next to 7 foot parking lanes.10
In Denmark, bicycle lanes reduced the number of bicycle crashes by 35
percent.11 Some of the bike lanes reached risk reductions of 70 to 80
percent.12
A comparison of crash rates of all types in major cities has shown
that cities with higher bicycle use have lower traffic crash rates of
all types than cities with lower bicycle use.13
In a national study comparing streets with bike lanes and those
without, several important observations were made:14
Wrong-way riding was significantly lower on the streets with bike
lanes.
In approaching intersections, 15% of cyclists on streets without bike
lanes rode on the sidewalks, vs. 3% on the streets with bike lanes.
On streets with bike lanes, 81% of cyclists obeyed stop signs, vs. 55%
on streets without.
In Cambridge, sidewalk bicycling was cut in half after the
installation of bicycle lanes on Mass. Ave. in Central Square.15
Corvallis and Eugene, Oregon, cities with good bikeway networks, have
the highest number of riders and rider behavior is the best:
wrong-way riding is minimal, fewer ride on the sidewalk than in other
Oregon cities.
In looking at comparable streets with and without bicycle lanes in
Davis and Santa Barbara, California, the number of cyclists riding on
the wrong side of the street was one third as much on streets with
bicycle lanes.


could you please post the citations that go with this piece? that would be most
helpful to me at this point in my life. Thank you.

Robert