however, I think this lane is an amazing thing to behold. it took me by great surprise while driving one day a couple of months back. this is the perfect area for it, and can’t wait to see where else they decide to put them.

In the video above, Mr. Gandy cites 1200 bikes using 2nd Street over 3 days (400 bikes a day). In 12 hours of daylight, there are 720 minutes. With 400 bikes a day, you’d expect to see, on average, a bike every 1 minute and 48 seconds. Go to 2nd Street at any time and count bikes using the street. You’ll be lucky to count 1/10 of that frequency.

For the most part, the cyclists that use 2nd Street come from the neighborhood surrounding it (side streets to 2nd Street, nobody riding on 2nd). There are some recreational cyclists that use 2nd from time to time, but mostly they bypass the area (esp. because the approach from the west – Livingston – is a heavily crowned street with no shoulders. Instead, cyclists use the dedicated bike path at the beach and rejoin 2nd Street at Bayshore.

I’m afraid Mr. Gandy’s number of bikes on 2nd Street is no more trustworthy than Japanese whalers count of Blue Whales remaining in the Pacific.

http://vimeo.com/5367991

“If the city would have done just the right half of the lane, still outside of the door zone, people would have been more OK with this.”

To be out of the door zone you pretty much have to be in the middle. That lane positioning also protects you from cars trying to pass within the same lane.

The money to pay the guy from Texas to paint green stripes isn’t coming from city funds. It’s all grant money. So is the money to pain the green stripes. They’re not furloughing cops to do this project.

Russ

Budget deficits are all the more reason to make bold moves like this.

The expense of this shared lane treatment is pretty negligible compared to infrastructure projects that increase automobile capacity, like widening streets and highways. The potential for moving many more people in the already existing road space is enormous.

IMHO it’s going to take obvious and aggressive projects like this one to get the general public to consider bicycles as a form of transportation. Simply putting up a little sign and declaring a street “bicycle friendly” is a fucking joke.

They definitely don’t function as bike-only lanes (an impression you kind of get from the photo). Since the Belmont Shore traffic is so jammed and there are so many lights, it’s not hard to just take the lane and roll with the cars as they crawl from light to light. I did this and it was pretty fun. The green stripe seems to give it more legitimacy.

I saw a lot of cyclists doing the “door zone” thing. I would encourage them to just take the lane.

And please, wear a helmet. It should be a requirement to bike in the street.

I know a little something about the door zone on 2nd Street. I have the scars to prove it. Even if I’m not out there plugging bicycle advocacy/awareness/acceptance (eyeroll) I know a thing or two about riding a bike, too. Honest! I also know that there’s only one person primarily responsible for getting me safely from point A to point B.

The green lane concept is great, but the execution seems a bit too bold for a first time pilot program. If the city would have done just the right half of the lane, still outside of the door zone, people would have been more OK with this. Look at the big picture: LBC has a projected $43M budget deficit for FY10. Important services will suffer, there will be an %18 cut to the Health Department alone! And we’re paying for a mobility coordinator from Texas to paint big green lanes down Belmont Shore? Forgive me…but Long Beach is really good at playing the role of River City (e.g. http://www.lbreport.com/news/jun09/aqpolb2.htm )

And, to those of you on z Westside (and beyond). Be sure to join us tomorrow for the C.I.C.L.E. Goes to the Beach ride. We’re crusin’ the streets of Venice, and landing at the Venice Eco-Fest where one can enjoy the delights of the sun, sand and the New Belgium Beer Garden. http://tinyurl.com/the-cicle-beach-ride

The City of Long Beach has lost a lot of good will with this move, and I’m sure that the LADOT will be down there soon to black out these bad-will lanes.

On 2nd Street, if you ride in the door zone you’re at greater risk than riding in the center.

Not only do you run the risk of hitting a door, but you also encourage cars to pass too close in a lane that isn’t sharable side by side.

Don’t believe me, send me an email and we can ride it together.

Russ

On the other hand, being hit from behind while riding with traffic direction is actually one of the least common types of accidents involving bikes, because drivers can see you clearly. So if I have to choose between car doors or riding in the center of the lane, I always take the lane. Traffic is so backed up on that street most of the time anyways, that you are rarely holding up anyone to take the lane, and if you are traveling the same speed as the rest of traffic, you have the right to take the lane regardless of shoulder conditions.

that’s the mother-lode! this is what most of America needs! that’s just totally incredible. it’s a dream come true.

and yes, i’m absolutely serious. this is the biggest development in biking since Velib.

i already know where I want them installed locally. not sure if they’re legal in GA yet, but we’ll see.

I don’t entirely understand how those lanes are supposed to work. In New York City the green lanes are bike lanes – bikes only… but this looks like a shared lane for cars and bikes… seems possibly a little confusing… but maybe that’s a good thing – we could probably use a little more confusion on our streets – to slow speeding cars down a bit. Maybe some cars will be confused and will stay out of the green lane? Is there an explanation of how these work? Are there other green shared-lane projects that folks are aware of?

I guess I need to head down and try the lanes out myself and see how they work.

Also – does anyone know how this project was funded? and how much it cost?

http://www.cicle.org/cicle_content/pivot/entry.php?id=549&trumbaEmbed=view%3Devent%26eventid%3D84395717