"Green" Bike Lanes In Arlington.

[acc]

@Dirt 29754 wrote:

Those bike lanes look creamy. What do they taste like? I’ll let y’all know tomorrow.

For God’s Sake Man, don’t taste the green lanes. You know the story about green M&Ms….

[KLizotte]

@Tim Kelley 29806 wrote:

Some info:

We would also be thrilled to paint every lane in the county green. The coating isn’t cheap though (an understatement). If you like it, tell a board member next time you see them. More public support gives us more money to be able to do things like this.”

Once it has been determined by the peanut gallery that the paint passes muster in the texture (and taste) department and looks like it will hold up over the long term, I will lobby hard for more green paint.

Am keeping my fingers crossed….

[americancyclo]

Any plans for green paint to reinforce the Custis trail across the Rosslyn intersection-o-death? I’d also like to selfishly request green paint westbound from Wilson through the Clarendon Circle to North Fairfax. Is that going to be painted, or will they wait for the intersection redesign?

[Tim Kelley]

@americancyclo 29925 wrote:

Any plans for green paint to reinforce the Custis trail across the Rosslyn intersection-o-death?

I don’t think that they’re painting the crosswalk. Just bike lanes.

[Dirt]

I experienced the green bike lanes today and they’re brilliant! Definitely did a great job of highlighting the bike lane in areas where they really need it.

I taste tested it… I’d hoped for lime, or mint, but it ended up tasting just like pavement paint. I guess I should have known better.

Very cool bit of bike infrastructure. Big improvement.

Pete

[jopamora]

Thanks for that mental imagery.

[Dirt]

@jopamora 29963 wrote:

Thanks for that mental imagery.

I felt it was important to let y’all know so that you don’t have to test it yourself. I got honked at a few times, but people were pretty patient while I checked ’em out.

[Dickie]

I too got a chance to ride on one yesterday evening, felt quite luxurious… didn’t taste it though, thanks Pete for being the brave one. Only problem I found was that my Bianchi blended in so well I looked like Wonder Woman riding her invisible plane.

[OutsideTheLaw]

Live off Military Road and commute through Courthouse on way to bridges, so I hit two of these, love them — I’ve always been concerned that the drivers taking the right fork (staying on southbound Military, or heading onto 15th St near Courthourse) will waste me from behind as I’m staying with the main road that bears left.

Next location for this: foot of Clarendon Blvd as it reaches Rossyln coming down the hill, right in front of JBG’s ongoing project, where 17th Street goes off to the right. Almost been wasted there, too.

And don’t even get me started on the condition of Clarendon Blvd itself below Courthouse Road. The segment between Queen Street and Ode Street is totally unrideable now, except in the left lane, the right lane is barely paved and is two inches lower than the rest of the road.

[Riley Casey]

Nitpick warning –

Not to find so marvelous a bit of bike infrastructure wanting but…aren’t green painted bike lanes specifically intended for use in protected bike tracks? The photos I’ve seen of this new addition in VA are paint on the open roadways. What am I missing here? I don’t dispute the cool factor but to copy and paste a bit from the Greenlaneproject.org site

“Green lanes are next-generation bikeways being built on streets across the country, from San Francisco to New York City, from Minneapolis to Miami and from Long Beach to Pittsburgh. Green lanes are dedicated, inviting spaces for people on bikes in the roadway. They are protected from motor vehicles by curbs, planters, posts, or parked cars. They are separated from sidewalks. Some are painted green. The lanes are carefully engineered with rigorous attention to safety, efficiency, and ease of travel for all street users.”

Much as I like the idea of green lanes ( as long as they aren’t slippery when wet ) would it be worth reserving the color for the real deal, that gold standard of urban cycling infrastructure the bike track?

[mstone]

Why would lanes that are separated need to be painted green to keep cars off them? I think greenlaneproject used that name because it sounded good, not because they accurately portray the meaning of the green lane marking (which predates the project…).

[PotomacCyclist]

I think this is a good idea. The lane near Pentagon Row is not clearly marked otherwise. The bike lane gets sandwiched in between the right turn lane for cars and the other car travel lanes. Drivers who are unfamiliar with the bike lane could very easily swerve into the bike lane unknowingly. Or cyclists who are unfamiliar with the lane could veer into one of the car lanes.

However, this idea would be even cooler with fluorescent paint. Now that would be really awesome!

[Dirt]

@mstone 29992 wrote:

Why would lanes that are separated need to be painted green to keep cars off them? I think greenlaneproject used that name because it sounded good, not because they accurately portray the meaning of the green lane marking (which predates the project…).

The lane in Clarendon is a great example of why this is done. Clarendon Blvd splits when it gets to Court House and there’s basically a Y in the road. Most of the traffic, including the bike lane, follow the left split of the Y, but many, many cars cross over the bike lane to take the right fork in the road, thus crossing the bike lane. The green paint emphasizes the lane for bikes quite well and reminds people that it is there.

Dirt

[mstone]

@Dirt 30002 wrote:

The lane in Clarendon is a great example of why this is done. Clarendon Blvd splits when it gets to Court House and there’s basically a Y in the road. Most of the traffic, including the bike lane, follow the left split of the Y, but many, many cars cross over the bike lane to take the right fork in the road, thus crossing the bike lane. The green paint emphasizes the lane for bikes quite well and reminds people that it is there.

Yes, that’s what the green marking was invented for. The post I was replying to asked whether green paint should be reserved for completely separated infrastructure, and that’s what I don’t think makes any sense.

[KLizotte]

I think it would be ideal and commonsensical for the entire country to adopt one color for bike lanes so when people see xx color they automatically think “bikes.”

[Author]

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