Park Avenue bike lane vs the painted gutter lane on 5th

I finally got to compare the new Park Avenue protected lane with the old painted gutter on 5th Street this morning. Park Avenue has these concrete dividers and actual green paint at intersections. I rode the whole 2 miles without a single car honking or cutting me off. Then I took 5th Street on the way back and almost got doored twice in the first block. The difference is night and day. I felt safe enough to ride at my own pace on Park Avenue. On 5th I was hugging the parked cars and still worried. Has anyone else noticed a big jump in safety with those concrete barriers?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_sean9d ago

Wow, that's a huge difference and not surprising at all. What nobody talks about is how those concrete barriers actually change driver behavior even when you're not in the lane. When I'm riding on a protected lane like Park Avenue, drivers seem less stressed and more patient overall, maybe because they know there's no chance I'll swerve into them. But on a painted gutter, drivers treat it like a suggestion and get mad if you even slow them down. The concrete dividers force them to accept that bikes belong there, plain and simple. It changes the whole vibe of the street for everyone, not just cyclists.

the_dylan9d ago

Man, you hit the nail on the head with that one. I had a similar experience when they put in those plastic flex posts on my commute route last year. At first I thought they looked flimsy, but the change in driver attitude was immediate and real. People stopped tailgating me at red lights and didn't honk the second the light turned green. It's like once there's a physical separator, drivers just automatically shift into a different mindset. Painted gutters feel like a dare to drivers, but barriers create a mental wall that changes the whole street for everybody.