Contraflow Lanes on One-Way Streets

Contraflow bus lanes can increase connectivity and shorten travel times for bus routes. Contraflow bus lanes are typically applied to bus routes to create strategic, efficient connections, though they may be employed along a long corridor. Contraflow lanes can allow more-efficient transit operations where a one-way street network would otherwise complicate transit routing. Transit running in both directions on the same street, instead of using a couplet of nearby parallel one-way streets, can improve legibility of the route for passengers and better serve key destinations. Design contraflow transit lanes as two-way streets, with special consideration for alerting pedestrians to transit potentially coming from an unexpected direction. Good signalization is key to reducing conflicts. Turns across the contraflow lane must be restricted or managed; turn restrictions create an opportunity for a conflict-free cycle track protected by the transit lane. Contraflow lanes should be 3.5–4 m wide to allow enough buffer between oncoming traffic.