SALT LAKE CITY — As the weather warms up, more people will opt for their bicycles over cars and a somewhat new tool is trying to keep cyclists safe while they travel through Utah intersections.
"Bike Boxes" look like green squares placed at what seems like random points in an intersection, but officials explain those squares are actually saving lives.
"If you're driving and you happen to see a bicyclist using a bike box, they're going to be in front of you, when the light turns green, that's when we all can get our turn to go through the intersection to proceed through the roadway," explained Heidi Goedhart with the Utah Department of Transportation.
She said the two-stage turn box exposes cyclists less to oncoming vehicles and allows them to stay with the flow of traffic as they make their way through intersections.
But how do the bike boxes work?
First, the cyclist will stop at the intersection. When the light straight in front of them turns green, the cyclist then proceeds to the bike box, which is where they'll wait until the light changes again and they can proceed to the left with the flow of traffic.
An educational video by UDOT depicts how to travel through the intersection on Redwood Road at Pioneer Crossing and 2100 North.
In 2022, Utah roads were historically dangerous for bikers, with a record 15 cyclists killed and nearly 50 seriously injured on the roads.
So far in 2023, there has only been one fatal bicycle crash in Utah and six serious injuries.
"The highest concentration of bike boxes are actually within Salt Lake City on several key bike routes, and roadways that have bike lanes on them," Goedhart explained. "So 300 South has a number of them. But you're starting to see them more on UDOT facilities. So in Saratoga Springs, we have a number of bike boxes at Pioneer Crossing at 2100 North, you're starting to see them more in Provo and St. George and throughout the state."
Even with the added safety features, UDOT has one message for drivers. Be alert.
"Please be looking at intersections, be looking over your shoulder, be checking your door before you open it to make sure that we don't have other users in the roadway," Goedhart warned. "All it takes is a small, conscientious moment to make sure that we're all driving and riding safely."
