Susan Wheeler of Redwood City's Community Development Department recently sent SVBC a couple of photos of new bike lanes on Veterans Boulevard and East Bayshore. The lanes were painted during scheduled repaving after the City consulted with local cyclists and SVBC staff.
The new buffered bike lane keeps cyclists out of the door zone.
Susan notes that Redwood City has been quite busy with bicycle infrastructure lately:
Both of these projects were completed this fall as part of Redwood City’s roadway management program (annual maintenance). Prior to this year, neither road had bike lanes. Bicycle improvements on these roads include standard bike lanes, buffered bike lanes (Veterans), sharrows (East Bayshore), and signage.
These are two of the more substantial projects; there were several other projects that improved or refreshed existing bikeway facilities, or added bike lanes or sharrows.
Thank you for not parking in the bike lane.
It's great to see cities incorporating bike lanes, sharrows, and other bike infrastructure into their regularly scheduled maintenance. Some vocal citizens, thoughtful planners and engineers, and a little paint can go a long way toward making a community more welcoming for bikes. That makes for a greener, healthier community overall.
Do you have a bike project you'd like to share? Let SVBC brag about the good work in your town! Email submissions@bikesiliconvalley.org with a story, photos, or other proposal.
Comments
MikeOnBike
November 28, 2011 - 1:42pm
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I wish they had put the
I wish they had put the entire buffer between the bike lane and the parked cars, to add more "buffer" to the door zone. As painted, a cyclist at the right edge of the bike lane is still within door range.
I also wish they had not painted a double-white stripe that makes it illegal for cyclists to leave the bike lane. That stripe also makes it illegal for the parked cars to cross, so I'm not sure how those parked cars got there without breaking the law.
MikeOnBike
November 30, 2011 - 5:08pm
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Turns out I spoke
Turns out I spoke prematurely. The double stripe in this situation becomes illegal to cross on January 1, 2012, thanks to AB 1105:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1101-1150/ab_1105_bill_2...
"21460 (b) If double parallel solid white lines are in place, a person
driving a vehicle shall not cross any part of those double solid
white lines, except as permitted in this section or Section 21655.8."
(21655.8 applies to HOT/HOV lanes.)
Since this is a non-standard design, it violates 21207(b), so it's not legally a bike lane. It's an undefined space with a do-not-cross stripe blocking it.
MikeOnBike
January 12, 2012 - 3:10pm
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According to this VTA press
According to this VTA press release, http://www.vta.org/news/show/NR+12+01+05
California Highway Patrol Lieutenant Spencer Boyce says: “It is a moving violation for any driver to cross over the double solid white lines and can result in a ticket.”
In the press release, they're talking about the new 237 express lane, but the same rule makes it illegal for anybody to enter or exit the undefined space on Veteran's Blvd.
Because of the double solid stripe, that space cannot be called a Class II Bike Lane. Not only are cyclists not required to use it, they're not even allowed to enter it midblock without violating section 21460.
Same thing for the motorists who are parked there. They broke the law to enter the parking, and they'll break the law to exit.
If I want to paint two stripes on my bedroom wall, I don't have to worry about it being a moving violation. But if I want to paint two stripes on the road, I might want to first make sure it's consistent with http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/oppd/hdm/hdmtoc.htm , http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/mutcdsupp/ , and http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/vc/vc.htm .
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