If you’ve been riding around Moore Square in the past few months, you’ve probably notice the new, bright green boxes on the road between the bike lane and crosswalk. Those are called 2-stage turn boxes and are specifically designed to allow cyclists to safely make left turns from a right hand side bike lane.
How do they work?
When you need to turn left on a multi lane, one way road it can be very dangerous to merge across multiple lanes from the bike lane. With the 2-stage turn box you’ll exit the bike lane to the right and stop in the box. You’ll then wait for the traffic light to change, allowing you to safely cross the intersection. The box is strategically placed between the bike lane and crosswalk to give the cyclist and others the most visibility possible while keeping people safe.
We’ve borrowed this stellar video made by Bike Pittsburgh that does a great job explaining and demonstrating how to use a 2-stage turn box. Check it out below and thanks to Bike Pittsburgh for the excellent resource!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNgqjxkbG5w&w=560&h=560]