Here's something cool; the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has issued an Interim Approval for the use of green coloring in bike lanes, much like the one in the picture from San Francisco.
Citing multiple experiments that demonstrated positive operational effects for both bicycle riders and other road users, with no notable negative effects, this approval allows states to apply for approval to use coloring in bike lanes. This Interim Approval does not make the use of green-colored pavement mandatory however.
Here's more info on this decision from FHWA, including the research that went into making it.
What do you think? Is this an improvement for bicyclists in your eyes?
4 comments:
Looks great, now where is the money coming from to pay for painting the bike lanes?
Electric vehicles?
Gas tax?
Yep, same thing we say everytime something new comes up. It costs more than most people would suspect to even stripe bike lanes and keep them striped each year, so this will add a new layer of cost. There hasn't been any talk locally of painting green bike lanes recently, but we'll monitor and report back if/when it comes up, as well as how to fund them.
Do you have any information regarding manufactures who can provide green bike lane material that is FHWA compliant?
I don't but the FHWA staffer you can (allegedly) contact for questions is Bruce Friedman at bruce.friedman@dot.gov. Or there have been several agencies that have experimented with green bike lanes, you can call them and most agencies are generally willing to share any information they have with you: the City of Portland, OR; the City of Columbia, MO; the City of Missoula, MT;
The ones I listed are generally smaller jurisdictions so have more time to talk to you. Columbia, MO was recently used in a non-motorized study so has been trying all kinds of new ideas that may help you out.
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