Biking is faster than public transit.

• Position: Urban Policy

It often is faster to ride a bicycle through Chicago, Ill., than to take Uber or public transportation, find researchers at DePaul University's Institute for Metropolitan Development. In their study, investigators track the relative speed of bicycle travel, analyze the behavior of cyclists, and recommend policy changes that would accommodate the growing popularity of cycling on city streets.

In addition to being fast, many cyclists engage in unsafe riding behavior at intersections that often is inconsistent with the law. At four-way stops, just four percent of cyclists come to a full stop, although many cyclists slow down to yield at stop signs or stop and then proceed safely at a red light--a practice that commonly is known as the Idaho stop.

"Some of the rules of the road for biking are out of sync with the realities of the way people move from place to place," says coauthor and Institute director Joseph Schwieterman. 'This study draws attention to practical ways to deal with these problems--one of which is to explore allowing the Idaho stop at four-way stop intersections."

Such a change would allow law enforcement to focus on cyclists who pose legitimate safety risks, asserts Schwieterman, who points...