Contractors are finishing up work today on the improvements to Hedding Street in San Jose. The work includes repaving, a 4-3 lane reduction, and buffered green bike lanes.
Here’s how Hedding looked at 4th just a few weeks ago.
Here’s what I saw this morning.
The city of San Jose and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition plan a ribbon cutting and celebration this Sunday, July 21 2013 from 10 AM to 2 PM at Raymond Bernal Jr. Memorial Park on Hedding & 8th.
I was personally a little meh on the concept, but it’s a night and day difference riding on Hedding — especially the area west of about 2nd, across 1st, past the Santa Clara County buildings to Highway 87.
Lady Fleur even ran into this woman on Hedding earlier this week who said she bought a bicycle because of the green lanes on Hedding. How cool is that?
There was some initial concern about creating doorzone bike lanes on the handful of blocks where the city retained on-street parking, but there’s plenty of buffer space to the left to easily avoid those hazardous opening doors.
Lady Fleur has also been enjoying the new lanes and has photos of people using the new lanes at her blog, including another of Sarah with her new bike and one of my buddy Mitch.
Why wouldn’t they put a buffer on the parked-car side?
“There was some initial concern about creating doorzone bike lanes on the handful of blocks where the city retained on-street parking, but there’s plenty of buffer space to the left to easily avoid those hazardous opening doors.”
Yeah, but the green paint (where you’re “supposed” to ride) is in the door zone. And it’s legally dubious to ride in the buffer space. So this is yet another example where cyclists have to outsmart the paint.
Why can’t they put the green paint in the BEST lateral position? Why is that so hard?
Also, it’s probably illegal for a cyclist to ride in the buffer. http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21651.htm says “it is unlawful to … drive any vehicle over, upon, or across the dividing section.”
It would have been so easy to put the bike lane on the left, and a shoulder/buffer on the right. Cyclists ARE allowed to ride on shoulders. For a cyclist on the shoulder, the green bike lane to their left is the buffer.