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 saw somewhere that this color is part of a new Federal program. If that’s the case, they may not have had a choice.
As someone who hopefully will begin biking to work I really wish there were separate lanes like in most European cities and in Montreal.
Geez, everybody is becoming such traffic nazis. Ticket the motorsists!
Ticket the cyclists! Arrest the pedestrians!
Traffic = Vibrant city
No Traffic = Buffalo
All of you who are saying that green is a bad choice because it has no meaning (unlike yellow, red, etc) are wrong.
NYC calls these lanes “Greenways.” So the color is very appropriate.
I do think that the shade of green is too bright, but that’s besides the point.
Who ever is saying that pedestrians follow the traffic laws is so wrong. I would argue that pedestrians are far worse than bikers when it comes to traffic laws. I can’t tell you how many times I have been riding my bike and had pedestrians boldly step in front of my bike to cross the street on a red light. This behavior is not the exception, it is endemic to New York Pedestrians. It is a behavior that I see as much while driving a car in New York City. Pedestrians have now qualms stepping out in front of a car while crossing on a red light. Pedestrians are brazen law breakers and they are fearless and rule New York City. I have lived in New York City all my life and when I think about all the times that pedestrians have stepped in front of my bike it is a miracle that I have never hit anyone. When I think about all the times that cars have sped past me giving me no more than an inch of space it is a miracle that I have not been hit. When I think about all the car doors that have opened as I have rode by it is a miracle that I have not landed in the hospital. When it comes to biking, New York City is the wild west… it is about staying alive. Once pedestrians and cars start showing respect for bike riders, perhaps the bike rider’s inner psyche will calm down and go from staying alive to peaceful coexistence.
This is one of the stupidest things I ever saw. The BHA must be behind it.
Just wondering…How do the police issue a ticket to a bike rider? Bicycles aren’t registered like vehicles and riders aren’t licensed like drivers. If the rider refuses to show ID, what can the police do? Seize the bike? Arrest the rider?
The painting is a good idea, but why not paint it in a shade that would complement the surrounding red bricks of the buildings on the block? The lane would still stand out in brick red, but that green is big-time FUGLY!
JL, you may not do it but I have nearly been run down on a of occassions when I have the walk by a cyclist going through a red light because they think there are no cars. This is a cyclist going straight through on an avenue, not turning onto a street with a walk.
Note how many ppl are complaining about bikers (and bikers about cars) but not many pedestrians complaining about drivers. I agree with the heirarchy thing above. Pedestrians are more in danger from cyclists than cars and cyclists are more in danger from cars.
I only started bike commuting yesterday (bike was broken for a year or so), so my opinion is skewed, but I think these are neat. And green hardly ruins the character of the street, or at least no more than blacktop pavement does anyway. (They’re not all green, though, right? Yesterday I rode to CG via the Manhattan Bridge, and the Jay Street lane was… blue, wasn’t it?)
Drivers actually seemed to have a better understanding of it than they usually do of the striped lanes (my morning commute is through Chinatown, with double-parked vans every six inches and wild swerving). So I’m in favor. It does feel more like Amsterdam or something, too. Plus, a lot of bikers cruise down Jay.
Also, stereotyping folks: Vehicles of all stripes break the law, and blaming “hipsters” or “Park Slope stroller moms” is nothing better than trolling. Yeah, there are a lot of bikes that run lights. But then again, most bikers travel slower than the speed at which cars roll through stop signs.
Also, in three years living in New York, I’ve never seen *anyone* get ticketed by the NYPD — car, bike, bus, ped, truck… nobody. They seem kinda busy. Also, there’s nowhere to friggin’ pull somebody over.
The Triboro Bridge cops, on the other hand, are vigorous… when I lived in Astoria, I’d see ten stops in the time it took to wait for the M60 sometimes.