In Belgium since about 2005, and in France since 2010, the default position in towns has been for one-way streets to be available for cycling in either direction, known in French as
sens unique limité (SUL) in Belgium and
double sens cyclable (DSC) in France. In this case, a contraflow cycle lane is often marked in paint, with dotted white lines and ideograms of a bicycle, either all the way along the street if busy, or more commonly just at junctions.
In the Netherlands, most one-way streets are two way for cyclists, although this is not always marked by a counterflow lane.
[7] This is presented as a 'one-way street, except for cyclists'. One-way streets that do not include contraflow for bicycles are rare and are usually only found as pairs of a single street (with very large median) that are too far apart to be presented as a single street. It is not uncommon for cyclists to fail to notice a one-way street that does include contraflow for bicycles, because they are too accustomed to all one-way streets including bicycles.
In the United Kingdom, it is standard since 2020 to encourage highway authorities to allow cycles to take a shorter and perhaps safer routes on narrow one-way residential streets. On streets with less than 1000 vehicles a day and a speed limit of 20mph, contraflow lanes do not require lane markings where, although appear on upright signage. As part of new or improved one-way road layouts, contraflow cycle lanes should be considered.
[8]
In the United States, the town of
Provincetown,
Massachusetts on
Cape Cod has long allowed cycling in both directions on its 3-mile long main street,
Commercial Street. There is no marked cycle lane. This unusual condition required special state legislation in 1977 to give the local government permission to set its own rules for the street.
[9][10]
Contraflow cycling is often assumed to be associated with higher accidents risks, but where it has been properly evaluated, contraflow cycling actually seems to reduce the accidents risk.
[11]
