Share the Road

The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission developed Share the Road materials to make sharing our Region’s roads safer for everyone – motorists and bicyclists alike. Local communities can use these downloadable materials to launch their own safety messages and campaigns. Each item can be downloaded as a PDF or an InDesign file, for the local agency staff to work with. There are reserved spaces on the materials where a local community logo can be added. (A full version of Adobe Acrobat or a PDF editor would be required to modify the PDF downloaded file.) The materials can then be printed at the local agency’s convenience and in the quantities that are useful to them. These materials include:

Additional Information

There are new bike facilities and roadway treatments all over the Miami Valley. Share the Road is a part of the Miami Valley Bike Plan Update 2015. This Plan:

• Provides a long-term vision for the development of a bicycle network consisting of off-street trails and on-street bike facilities, complemented by education and encouragement programs;
• Promotes active, safe and healthy transportation choices; and
• Makes the Miami Valley a more attractive and bikeable place for residents and visitors.

The Miami Valley Region is investing in more bike facilities to increase bicycle use and make bicycling safer. This includes a wide range of improvements:

• Bike lanes are a part of the road for bicycles only. Some bike lanes may have green pavement to make it easier for motorists and bicyclists to see them.
• Buffered bike lanes are bike lanes with additional space between bicycles and cars.
• Shared-use paths are also called bike paths. There are two main types – a side path, close to the roadway, or a path in a park like setting or along rivers.
• Bicycle boulevards are low-volume, low-speed streets optimized for bicycle travel using traffic calming and traffic reduction treatments, signs and pavement markings, and intersection crossing treatments.
• Shared lane markings, also called sharrows, indicate that a lane on the road is for both cars and bicycles.
• Shoulder bikeways, also called paved shoulders, are road shoulders that are paved to make it easier for bicyclists to use.
• Bike boxes are marked parts of road intersections showing that bicyclists can move to the front of the intersection and that cars need to yield to them.
• Signs to direct bicyclists along paths and roads.

While many cyclists prefer these facilities, cyclists are not required to use them. Under Ohio law*, adult bicyclists belong on the road. While the law tells bicyclists to normally ride to the far right, they may lawfully use a full lane to avoid obstacles, make left turns, or when roadways are too narrow for a motorist to safely pass a bicyclist. Check out our downloadable materials for more information.

* ORC 4511.07 (A)(B)

Share the Road — Safely!