(Photo: Jonathan Maus)
The new double-wide bike lane on SE Madison St (just west of the MLK Blvd) was finally completed yesterday.
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The new lane is now the widest in the city at 10 feet (!) and was created to facilitate easier and safer passing on an uphill portion of one of our most congested bikeways.
I was there with my camera for the morning rush-hour this morning and noticed that cyclists have immediately taken to the extra breathing room. In my photos (at right), you can see the where the old bike lane used to be.
The old bike lane stripe acts like a natural divider between slower and faster riders… it’s like a two-lane bike highway!
The new bike lane — which was made possible by narrowing and re-striping the motor vehicle lanes — begins just west of MLK Blvd. and continues to the top of the hill, where it narrows back down to six feet.
According to Greg Raisman of PDOT’s Community and Schools Traffic Safety Partnership (CSTSP) program, the project is “about 85% done.” Still to come are bike symbols and skip-striping that will go where the faded old lane is currently visible.
The project was identified and funded through the CSTSP program.
Have you ridden in it yet? If so, what do you think?