RSS FeedWhere Green Meets Road
This is something that you’d never see happen with DC’s bike lanes today. Not only are bike lanes green in NYC, but there are also ZERO cars parked in the lanes!
On a recent trip to NYC, this blogger noticed how that city is making life a bit more civilized for bicyclists. While they are designating bike lanes on several streets, as is DC, they are taking one additional step: painting the lanes green.
Any DC bicyclist will tell you that one major problem with our bike lanes is that they are more often than not occupied by a double-parked car (note 7th St and 14th St). Even on Q and R Streets, where there may not be enough room to comfortably double-park, some cars will generally ignore the bike lane.
Would painting DC bike lanes a different color make a mental impression on car drivers to respect the bicycling space? We really can’t say for sure, but we can site many examples of this around the world and add NYC’s green bike lanes to the mix. It might make the lanes more comfortable for segway users as well!
Thanks to mcbrooklyn for use of the photo!
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Comments
The bike/bus lane on 7th is pointless. You can’t expect people to wait behind left-turning traffic next to a wide-open lane. And of course the double parking also ties everything up. They should paint 7th like E, with a turning lane and bike lanes but without a bus lane.
just from the photo and as someone who drives not owning a bike, I think the green helps out a lot. runways and taxiways have colorful edge light markers…bike lanes can be green.
I am not a huge fan of the bike/bus lane on 7th Street because there’s not enough room to have a two lane road, a bike lane and parking on 7th but I always give bikers a wide berth when I drive. I just wish some bikers (the bad apples) would be more conscious of stop lights and pedestrians rightfully in the walkways in intersections.
I really don’t think people care enough to pay attention. I am always bothered by the number of people driving in the bus only lane on 9th St. The cab drivers are the worst offenders…of this and almost all the traffic ills in DC. It’s either that they don’t care or can’t read.
Great idea. Now if the police enforce the lanes, you really have something.
Pet peeves: Bikes on sidewalks in downtown. The law is specific about no bikes on sidewalks south of Mass Ave. That also needs to be enforced.
Also, Are Segways allowed to go the opposite direction on a one-way street when NOT traveling in the bike lane? There is one tour company that keeps on coming up 10th Street between E and H that (1) takes the whole width of the street, and (2) I have seen block traffic. I was under the impression that they are considered bikes and not allowed on sidewalks in CBD.
I think the green color is terrific!
I also wish the MPD would enforce the law re: bikes on sidewalks! I can’t tell you how often I almost get run over by locals that just ignore the law or even worse, by tourists that don’t care (an entire family almost ran me down in front of the Spy Museum this past weekend on rented bikes). I told them about the law and they just continued to ride on the sidewalk – setting a great example for their children to disobey the law. The worst part – they rode by 2 cops that were double parked on F St. The officers were standing outside of their veichles, laughing & carrying on – and they made no effort to say anything & enforce the law. MPD really drops the ball on this, frequently.
Bikes on crowded city sidewalks are dangerous to pedestrians. If people don’t feel safe riding bikes on city streets, they should walk or take public transportation.
We are worlds behind when it comes to safe and usable bike lanes. Parking is possible on wide streets, but the bike lane should be next to the curb, then a permanent separator such as a foot or two deep raised surface as one sees on K Street between the service and center lanes, then a parking lane. You should check out some of the work that Jan Gehl, a Danish architect, has done throughout the world (including NYC) to see many possible variations for bike lanes http://www.gehlarchitects.com. Copenhagen is probably the best example of what can be done to increase bicycle usage and decrease auto usage.
I understand from a Parade article last week (A Free-Wheeling City) that Portland is a US leader in enhancing bicycle infrastructure and is one of few US cities to decrease its greenhouse gas emissions below its 1990 levels.
The bike & bus lane combination just seems to be poor, unsafe design. The bus only lane is in the right lane, which I have to drive in half the time because I am usually turning right on E or F street. I learned when I was young that making a right hand turn from the center lane was a big no-no. At the same time, the bikes are supposed to ride in a small lane between the buses and the cars? Really? Can you just image a a family of 4 tourists renting our new rental bikes, and riding down ninth street in a lane between the buses and cars, with cars in buses constantly changing lanes across the bike lane (because of where they need to go, not because they are willfully breaking the law)? I rarely see anyone using the bike lane on 9th, and when I do they never look like they are enjoying that ride. I’m surprised some has not been seriously injured yet.
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I always make it a point to flick people off and call them a name (which includes an expletive) if I see them double parking and they are near or in their car, or driving in the bike/bus lane on 7th st. If everyone had bike rage it would help the situation.