Bicycle Awareness Zones
A Bicycle Awareness Zone (BAZ) is an area of road shared with motor traffic but marked with yellow bike stencils to increase motorists' awareness of the presence of bicycles on the road. The treatments are advisory only and have no associated signage nor legal effect.
Yellow bicycle symbols are marked on the road to increase awareness of the presence of bicycles and to advise motorists they must share the road with cyclists.
Types of BAZ in Noosa Council
There are two main types of BAZ used in Noosa they include:
- Parking Lanes
- Wide Kerbside Lanes
Parking Lanes
When used on a parking lane the markings are positioned straddling the white edge line, a motorist can expect to encounter cyclists on either side of the edge line. In many cases cars parked in the parking lane will not leave much space to their right, so cyclists need to travel in the traffic lane to avoid either the parked vehicles or their opening doors. As with other vehicles and other lanes, cyclists are required to indicate and change lanes safely. Noosa Parade and Gympie Terrace are examples of a BAZ and parking lane combination.
Wide Kerbside Lanes
There are some locations where yellow bicycle symbols are placed to the left edge or in the middle of the traffic lane. Where the expected location of cycle traffic is in an ordinary traffic lane, BAZ symbols tend to be located towards the left side of the lane, although in appropriate circumstances they can be placed in the middle of the lane, such as Noosa Drive where space is restricted for road cyclists. Where parking is common at the left edge of the lane, the markings will (usually) be placed to the right of parked vehicles.
Differences between a BAZ and Bicycle Lane
The most noticeable difference is that the bike symbols are coloured yellow (the colour generally used for advisory markings) instead of white (the colour generally used for regulatory markings).
Bicycle lanes are usually 1.2-2.0 metres wide and have a solid white line down the side, with the symbols in the middle of the lane. In contrast, BAZs share space with existing traffic lanes and/or parking lanes, and have no defined boundaries. Where there's a white line the BAZ symbol will usually be centred across the line.
BAZs are purely advisory and do not require cyclists to follow any particular action, whereas the road rules require cyclists to use bicycle lanes where they exist ("unless it is impractical to do so").
When to use a BAZ
In Noosa the preference is to install a Bicycle Lane over a BAZ. Bicycle Lanes provide dedicated road space and provide a higher level of service to cyclists and greater separation from motorists. A BAZ is only provided where there is insufficient road space to provide a bicycle lane. A BAZ treatment is only utilised over an extended length of the traffic lane and it is advisable to not mix a Bicycle Lane facility and BAZ treatment, to avoid confusion to motorists and cyclists.
