View source for Bike path

{{Short description|Bikeway separated from motorized traffic}}
{{About|bikeways completely separate from any [[highway]]|bikeways separated only by painted markings|bike lane|bikeways next to highways but physically separated|cycle track}}
{{For|historic road in Central Suffolk County on Long Island, New York|Bicycle Path, Long Island}}[[File:Rail-and-trail paved path seattle longtail cargo bike family.jpg|300px|thumbnail|The Elliott Bay Trail in Seattle, Washington, USA.]]

A '''bike path''' or a '''cycle path''' is a [[bikeway]] separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''[[shared use path]]s'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikeway" is a paved path that has been designated for use by cyclists outside the right of way of a public road. It may or may not have a center divider or stripe to prevent head-on collisions. In the UK, a ''shared-use footway'' or ''multi-use path'' is for use by both cyclists and pedestrians.

== Bike paths with independent rights-of-way==
Bike paths that follow independent rights-of-way are often used to promote recreational cycling. In Northern European countries, cycling tourism represents a significant proportion of overall tourist activity. Extensive interurban bike path networks can be found in countries such as [[Cycling in Denmark|Denmark]] or [[Cycling in the Netherlands|the Netherlands]], which has had a national system of cycle routes since 1993. These networks may use routes dedicated exclusively to cycle traffic or minor rural roads whose use is otherwise restricted to local motor traffic and agricultural machinery.

[[File:Fietspad PeeWee32.jpg|thumb|This ''Fietspad'' or Bicycle Path is in the Netherlands safely linking housing.]]
[[File:Ciclovia Adriatica ad Alba Adriatica (Teramo).JPG|thumb|A stretch of ''Ciclovia Adriatica'', in Italy]]
The ''Fietspad'' or Bicycle Path in the Netherlands is logically constructed to link shops, housing, stations, schools, workplaces for everyday cycling. The more sensible approach is based on efforts to increase [[utility cycling]]. In countries like [[Denmark]], the [[Netherlands]] and [[Germany]] the high levels of utility cycling also includes shopping trips e.g. by 2007 9% of all shopping trips in Germany were by bicycle.<ref>{{Cite web |date= |title=Shopping by bike |url=http://www.einkaufen-mit-dem-rad.de/shopping_by_bike.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207005647/http://www.einkaufen-mit-dem-rad.de/shopping_by_bike.shtml |archive-date=2020-12-07 |website=[[Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland]]}}</ref>

[[File:Bike path transitioned from outdoor to indoor at Funan Mall in Singapore.jpg|thumb|Bike path transitioned from outdoor to indoor at Funan Mall in Singapore]]
[[File:Bike_loop1.jpg|150px|thumbnail|right|Bike loop in [[Arcovia City]]]]
Although it is unusual, to connect people to places, bike paths may be extended into indoor spaces. An example is the indoor bike path at [[Funan Mall]] in Singapore that is extended from a shared-use biking and walking path along [[North Bridge Road]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ng |first1=Michelle |title=First-of-its-kind indoor cycling path in revamped Funan allows cyclists to ride through mall |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/first-of-its-kind-indoor-cycling-path-in-revamped-funan-allows-cyclists-to-ride-through |access-date=15 November 2021 |work=The Straits Times |date=21 May 2019}}</ref>

The UK has recently{{when|date=June 2025}} implemented the [[National Cycle Network]].{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}

Where available, these routes are often [[rail trail]]s making use of abandoned railway corridors. A prominent example in the UK is the [[Bristol & Bath Railway Path]], a {{convert|13|mi|order=flip|adj=on}} path for walkers and cyclists<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bristolbathrailwaypath.org.uk/home.shtml |title=Bristol & Bath Railway Path |author=<!--Not stated--> |publisher=Bristol & Bath Railway Path |access-date=30 March 2017 |quote="Managed by the Avon Frome Partnership, the Bristol & Bath Railway Path is a 13 mile off-road route between Bristol and Bath. The path is open to walkers and cyclists and access is provided for disabled users."}}</ref> that is part of [[NCR 4|National Cycle Route 4]]. Other UK examples include [[The Ebury Way Cycle Path]], [[The Alban Way]], the [[Hillend Loch Railway Path]] and the [[Nicky Line]]. In 2003 the longest continuous bike path in Europe was opened, along the [[Albacete]]-[[Valdeganga]] highway in Spain, a distance of {{convert|22|km}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lacerca.com/local%202003/pagina%2811-04-03%29-6.htm | title=Inaugurado el carril-bici más grande de Europa| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030426164749/http://www.lacerca.com/local%202003/pagina%2811-04-03%29-6.htm| archive-date=2003-04-26}}</ref> [[Bogota's Bike Paths Network]] (''Ciclorutas de Bogotá'' in Spanish), designed and built during the administration of Mayor Enrique Peñalosa attracts significant recreational use. Numerous cycle links between regions are being developed in Italy. The most important is the ''Ciclovia Adriatica'', partially completed which extends, at times, from [[Trieste]] to [[Santa Maria di Leuca]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=BI6 - Ciclovia Adriatica |url=https://www.bicitalia.org/it/bicitalia/gli-itinerari-bicitalia/131-bi6-ciclovia-adriatica |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=Bicitalia |language=it-it}}</ref> 

The relative safety of bike paths that follow independent rights-of-way closed to motorized traffic is difficult to assess. In terms of car/bicycle collisions, this is clearly mediated by how the bike path network rejoins the main road network. In the English town of Milton Keynes, a study showed that cyclists using the off-road [[Milton Keynes redway system]] had on a per journey basis a significantly higher rate of fatal car-bicycle collisions at path/roadway crossings than cyclists on ordinary roads.<ref name="redway">{{Cite web |last=Franklin |first=John |date=July–August 1999 |title=Two decades of the Redway cycle paths in Milton Keynes |url=http://www.cyclecraft.co.uk/digest/2decades.html |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=www.cyclecraft.co.uk |publisher=Traffic Engineering + Control}}</ref> This safety can be altered substantially by design. For example, the Dutch Simultaneous Green Junction design has a nearly flawless record when it comes to accommodating cyclists at traffic light junctions.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aviewfromthecyclepath.com/2014/05/the-best-traffic-light-solution-for.html | title=The best traffic light solution for cyclists. Simultaneous Green scales to almost any size of junction. Safe, convenient}}</ref>

== Shared use path ==
{{main article|Shared use path}}
[[File:A third of EU citizens want bike paths built to help combat climate change, especially in Estonia, Slovakia and Poland.-prioritised to fight climate change..svg|thumb|Bike paths help combat climate change,<ref>{{Cite report |url=https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg3/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf |title=IPCC: Climate Change 2022, Mitigation of Climate Change, Summary for Policymakers |date=4 April 2022 |publisher=Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |access-date=2004-04-22 |website=ipecac.ch}}</ref>{{Rp|page=142}} and a third of European Union citizens interviewed for the European Investment Bank climate survey want more because of this, with highest support in Estonia, Slovakia and Poland.]]
In many jurisdictions bike paths are shared with pedestrians, but there is a wide variety of quality in helping to minimize cyclist-pedestrian conflicts.

== Pop-up bike paths ==
{{Main|Pop-up bicycle lane}}
Pop-up bike paths are created rapidly in response to unforeseen events, usually with short timescales between their inception and implementation. The creation of pop-up bike paths typically involves "reallocating road space to better enable this shift and make it safer for people who choose to walk, cycle or wheel for essential trips or for exercise".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.transport.gov.scot/news/10-million-to-support-pop-up-active-travel-infrastructure/|title = £10 million to support pop-up active travel infrastructure}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Bike lane]]
* [[Bikeway safety]], including studies on the safety of bike paths
* [[Bikeway and legislation]]
* [[Cycle track]]
* [[Cycling infrastructure]]
* [[Greenway (landscape)]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.cyclingtrophy.com/ cycling shoes]
{{Commons and category-inline}}
{{Cycling infrastructure}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cycleways]]
[[Category:Cycling infrastructure]]
[[Category:Lists of bicycle routes| 01]]
[[Category:Trails]]
[[Category:Transport infrastructure]]