Comments on: New High-Visibility Bike Lanes in Brooklyn

By: lynn hannah

lynn hannah — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:56:08 +0000

I like the green streets it shows that we aren't so plain and that we can be exciting.

By: steve

steve — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 18:22:47 +0000

The chartreuse is growing on me. And now Adams St. has been painted. But that may not be enough:

http://nyc.mybikelane.com/post/index/2267

By: Carrie

Carrie — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 15:35:31 +0000

I don't have a bike, but walk on Henry St. all the time and actually think the green looks really good. It's a nicer shade than the picture shows and is a good reinforcement that biking is good for the rider and the environment. I'm hoping more lanes will be painted like this.

By: steve

steve — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:41:43 +0000

I saw a recent report or statement somewhere that this coloration is a trial, and that it may be introduced throughout the city. Does anyone know about that?

By: Dustin

Dustin — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 21:17:12 +0000

Is data being collected on its effectiveness?

By: Jackie

Jackie — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 18:48:49 +0000

I ride on that street often and I feel safer now that it's green. The traction is fine.

By: Louis

Louis — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 20:03:49 +0000

For me, the fact that there are no signs is a big plus. Especially for any "historic feel". The green lane speaks for itself, and anyone would know it's a bike lane. What the city doesn't need is more streetside signs to direct drivers. That said, this street probably only needed sharrows. But if this will encourage more bikers, all the better.

By: epc

epc — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 19:17:14 +0000

This stretch of Henry is pretty narrow, only about 2.5 lanes wide, and constantly has cars double-parked (either in the traffic lane or in the bike lane).

Would be better if the parking were eliminated and the lane made dedicated.

By: Steve

Steve — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:30:06 +0000

In my view the bike lane is a good thing on this street because the raod is so narrow and has parking on only one side, so that if a car double parks or parks at the on the curb opposite the parking lane, the resulting "pinch point" does not leave enough room for a car and a bicyclist to proceed abreast of each other. The bike lane requires a car approahing a pinch point to yield to the bicyclist, let him or her through first. Without the bike lane, I'd expect about 7 of 10 motorists to try to edge out the cyclist (with the bike lane the statistic is problably more like 5 of 10).

By: James

James — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 15:16:15 +0000

Why not either make the lanes the same dark green as the Bike Lane signage OR change the Bike Lane signs to neon green? If you want people to know what the lanes are, you need a consistent visual vocabulary.

By: raccoon

raccoon — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 14:47:33 +0000

So, what sort of traction does one get on the paint? I'm sure someone thought of this, but I'd be a bit skittish to ride it right after the rain...

By: gabriel

gabriel — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 13:36:19 +0000

bold, thoughtful, VISIBLE, and contemporary, everything that Brooklyn is, I love it!

By: m

Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:04:48 +0000

Hmm. I'm wondering whether this street needs a bike lane at all? As a cyclist, I'd feel safer here if they got rid of the bike lane, maybe put big bike icons in the middle of the street. It also doesn't look like a street that is congested with standing traffic very often, where a bike lane would be practical for cyclists to pass.

On the plus side, looks like it's reasonably wide and fortunately not next to parked cars (door zone).

In London, where I currently live, the color of bike lanes is actually green tarmac. While they seem to have different types of this, the one most commonly used is awful in quality. It is very rough and has higher rolling resistance than the street asphalt. It is usually just put on at the very end manually, without a steamroller smoothing it, so the result is awful to ride on. The green tarmac is also usually not at all durable, and chips and cracks quickly, making the ride even worse.

By: epc

epc — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 05:46:45 +0000

Before painting the lane did have bike icons.

I thought the paint job was poorly done, not so much the color but that it started perhaps 50-60 feet from Clark St and then ends at Love Lane (perhaps they'll return and finish).

There's no signage or other communications from DOT indicating what this is. I think some of the resistance from BH residents is that it looks like someone just came in and dumped a load of off-green paint.

By: vito

vito — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 04:53:55 +0000

i personally like the way it looks. should have bike icons as well though.

By: Casual Observer

Casual Observer — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 01:34:09 +0000

Flailey, I live here too and I've got to point out that black asphalt streets with yellow and white stripes and gray concrete sidewalks are neither pretty nor "historic."

When I see this green lane I see a street that has become safer and more functional and a city that's becoming greener, literally and figuratively. That's aesthetically pleasing to me. I think it's a great meeting of form and function and far more attractive than a big, empty swatch of black asphalt.

The full historic effect, btw, would involve quite a bit horse manure in the street.

By: Flailey

Flailey — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 01:26:01 +0000

I live there.

I have nothing against bikes. But the f--king paint job is a total aesthetic disaster. This is the prettiest neighborhood in the city, the first historic district, brownstone brooklyn. One thing it surely does not need is a giant neon green stripe.

If someone painted a stoop this color the city would sue them. For good reason. That principle works in reverse. If they want to make the bike lane clearer then put a raised ridge between it and the other part of the road to catch a tire. This is just retarded.

By: Jmc

Jmc — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 23:33:52 +0000

Hooray! Finally! This is a great innovation. I can't wait until they do this for bus lanes as well. People will instinctively avoid driving on a different color, it also will probably slow down cars and make them a little more aware as it makes the road seem "narrower."

This DOT moves quickly!

By: Clarence

Clarence — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:37:36 +0000

It is green alright, and bright. But it is great. I heard a few people are complaining about the color. I say grow up people, it's just asphalt. We are talking about safety here.

Besides, in about a few weeks, the color will not be as vibrant I am sure after the sun and weathering cuts down on the color.

By: Sarah Goodyear

Sarah Goodyear — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 21:19:34 +0000

They had done some kind of a test of a darker, perhaps more tasteful, green paint on Henry St. a couple of months ago, and it totally made the bike lane invisible. This color is actually OK by me, but I do think it still needs bike icons in white or else people have no idea what it means.