Lime Green Bike Lanes: Garish or Gorgeous?
The Department of Transportation is testing colors that would make bike lanes more visible to motorists, and they started with a strip of green in Brooklyn Heights — on Henry Street between Clark and Montague. Folks are already debating this color choice on StreetsBlog, where some are calling it “Gorgeous!” and others are calling it…
The Department of Transportation is testing colors that would make bike lanes more visible to motorists, and they started with a strip of green in Brooklyn Heights — on Henry Street between Clark and Montague. Folks are already debating this color choice on StreetsBlog, where some are calling it “Gorgeous!” and others are calling it “insane lime-neon green.” We’re all for bike safety, but we think that a more muted color could still stand out against the pavement — and might be more appropriate for brownstone-lined blocks. Can somebody call Benjamin Moore and let him know that there’s a demand for street paint in the soft tones of his Historical Colors collection? —KZ
High-Visibility Bike Lanes in Brooklyn [StreetsBlog]
Colorful Lane Could Keep Bikers Safer [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]
Photo by McBrooklyn
I can’t imagine meeting a single person living in this city who doesn’t jaywalk. It just makes sense to do it. That’s why no one gets ticketed for it.
It is the right thing to do under the right circumstances. Just like running the occasional red light on bike at a quiet intersection.
Being a pedestrian is virtuous. And so is riding a bike. We’re all on the same side. You just need to learn to accept the cyclist culture here. But I agree, no bikes should ever be on a busy sidewalk.
The reason you don’t see bikes breaking the laws in other cities, is because it doesn’t make sense. NYC’s density and congestion makes it uniquely suited for everyday cycling.
And, for what it’s worth, I think the bike lanes should be crosshatched but any color is fine with me. I can’t believe people think that a bright color on the bike path ruins the quaintness of their block yet they tolerate car exhaust and truck noise.
The little dividers were tried in few places once. Collected litter, garbage and little things that punctured bike tires. Became nuisance, obstacle and eyesore.
I love it. It’s like biking on grass.
I hate pedestrians! I hate the way they put one foot in front of the other to take them from here to there. They’re so commonplace.
Look, despite our many differences, I think we can ALL agree with msa that this should be polka dotted.
Anybody ever see that fur-and-purple brownstone in Greenpoint? Frankly, the whole city should look more like a John Waters movie. (Note: I am not being sarcastic)
Instead of lime green paint why not put in something drivers WOULD pay attention to, like a 4″ curb (as mentioned above)???
It might be expensive to raise the entire bike lane 6″ but a 4″ wide, 4″ high median divider wouldn’t be that expensive to build.
If they can put in speed bumps on everywhere, why not a little curb to keep us safer?
2:50pm: That is a great idea. Wish we had it in NY. I would take out my bike to work if we had elevated bike lanes.
“This is a color and concept intended to SAVE LIVES. Why does it matter if any of you think it’s garish? This is the most yuppie post I’ve ever seen on this site, and that’s saying a lot.”
It matters because if there’s a color and/or other method that works better AND looks better, why wouldn’t we advocate for that? If you google “green bike lane” or “green bicycle lane”, you’ll see lots of discussion on the pros/cons of green bike lanes. There’s certainly no consensus that DAY-GLO green works the best. God forbid that we might think this isn’t a binary issue of bike safety vs. aesthetics.
It would be nice if the cops started cracking down on rogue cyclists, but I guess that they must be too busy helping harassed moms in Carroll Park…NOT!