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Safety of dedicated or segregated cycle facilities is controversial. Proponents say that segregation of cyclists from fast or frequent motorized traffic is necessary to provide a safe cycling environment. For example, a 2010 Montreal study found that cycle tracks were associated with fewer injuries when compared to comparable parallel roads with no cycling facilities.
Opponents say that segregation of cyclists from fast or frequent motorized traffic increases crash and injury rates. For example, the author of a 2014 review of cycling safety concluded that the majority of studies showed increased crash and injury rates on segregated cycle facilities. He criticized the methodology of studies showing the opposite, including the Montreal study.
A 2006 report by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program in the US concludes that "bicycle safety data are difficult to analyze, mostly because bicycle trip data are hard to uncover". One major reason for the inability to draw definite conclusion may be that facilities with different risks are often categorized together so that off-road paths – paved or unpaved, bicycle-only or multi-use – were lumped together, as found by research at the Cycling in Cities program at the University of British Columbia.