Got Protected Bike Lanes?

While Angie Schmitt doesn't ask this question in her article on the movement behind these lanes, she writes that cities without them "are being left behind". They're popular because they effectively address the #1 reason for not riding: safety

2 minute read

August 7, 2013, 10:00 AM PDT

By Irvin Dawid


Prospect Park Bike Lane

Eric Fischer / flickr

You may know them as 'green lanes' or 'cycle tracks' - they are "a special class of premium bike infrastructure" in which the bike lane is separated from car traffic by several means. It could be a row of parked cars or plastic bollards; sometimes it's just striped paint. "As planners look for more permanent options, more formidable obstacles like landscaping planters or curbs are being used," Schmitt writes.

In this comprehensive look behind the movement toward protected bike lanes, Schmitt begins with the controversial Prospect Park West bike lane in Brooklyn, N.Y. She credits the opponents, "dismissed as irrational and parochial by cycling advocates", for knowing "how quietly revolutionary that little green stripe of pavement would be". But real credit goes to the lanes themselves for reducing "crashes and injuries of all kinds... by 63 percent".

Playing an instrumental role in the advancement of protected bike lanes is the "Green Lane Project, a nonprofit project of bike advocacy group Bikes Belong working with six cities...to install protected bike infrastructure." According to director Martha Roskowski:

Last year alone, the number of protected bike lanes in the United States nearly doubled from 62 to 102. This year, the number is expected to double again. Protected bike lanes are now in place in 32 cities across the United States.

Success is not measured by the increase in lane miles of protected lanes, but in getting more folks to take to bike pedals rather than gas pedals.

For decades, in the United States, the cycling rate has held stubbornly around 1 percent – despite the fact that almost 50 percent of trips Americans make by any mode are three miles or less. “The number one reason people don't ride is that they don't feel safe,” said Roskowski. “When we put in the protected lanes, people feel safe.”

And numbers prove Roskowski's point. As reported here on October 23, 2012, a recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health indicated that "protected bike lanes – with actual barriers separating cyclists from traffic – really make a difference. The risk of injury drops for riders there by 90 percent."

Wednesday, July 31, 2013 in Momentum Magazine

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight