FROM THE CITY OF ST. PETERSBURG
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Joe Kubicki, Transportation & Parking, (727) 892-5274
CityTrails Go Green for Bicycle Safety
St. Petersburg, Fla. (March 19, 2007) - Mayor Rick Baker announced today a significant enhancement to the St. Petersburgs CityTrails bicycle lanes. Beginning this week, one of the citys major bike lanes, at First Avenue N. and 34th Street, will be marked green to help visually elevate the prominence of the bicycle lane on the road. The eye-catching green asphalt is a bold, visual reminder to motorists that cyclists could be present. Colored pavement also helps remind both motorists and cyclists where the proper cross over point is for the right turn lane and to be extra cautious when approaching these areas. If studies show that the colored pavement helps reduce motorist/bicycle conflict, it may be expanded to other locations in the city.
"Colored bicycle lanes have several benefits," explained Mayor Rick Baker, "Safety, comfort, and education. The differentiation makes the statement that bicycling is important to St. Petersburg and that the city is taking great strides to improve the safety and experience of bicyclists and motorists." Colored bike lanes can help establish St. Petersburg as the safest and most friendly city in the country and will go a long way toward encouraging more people to enjoy bicycling.
Chicago, Portland, Oregon and Cambridge, Massachusetts have all experimented successfully with colored bicycle lanes in areas of bike/car conflict. A recent study in Portland found that the number of motorists actively looking for, and yielding to cyclists at conflict points dramatically increased after the bicycle lane segments were painted. Such treatment is common in European cities. "As the CityTrails Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan moves forward, we need to make sure that our city transportation planners consider the full range of proven design tools and techniques to make our streets more bike friendly," said Joe Kubicki, director of Transportation and Parking.
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