[Guest post by Pete Tonery.]

A new national project is underway to help cities access current information about building improved bike lanes. Called the Green Lane Project (GLP) it operates under the auspices of the national advocacy group Bikes Belong.

Most cities have begun to accept and appreciate that bicycling is an essential part of transportation planning for the future. Municipalities are persuaded that the many benefits of bike riding- reduced congestion, less pollution and noise, cleaner streets and a healthier population, to name a few- are important goals to be pursued in urban planning.

The Green Lane Project intends to collect and distribute national and international ideas on urban bike planning as well as data on the progress major US cities have made installing quality bike lanes.
According to The Atlantic magazine, “GLP is educating city officials through travel and the exchange of information with peers around the world; identifying obstacles to implementation of better bike infrastructure; and gathering data to quantify the effect such lanes have on riding patterns and demographics.

They also want to change cultural concepts about who city bike riders are. In major American cities a misperception has evolved that defines city riders as maniacal messengers and angry lycra covered Alphas. The idea, “is to get cities to start building bike networks that provide a comfortable place to ride not just for ‘the 1 percent’ – the fearless, physically fit, expert bike handlers who are willing to jockey for space with cars, trucks, and pedestrians. Green lanes are meant to serve a more cautious group, people who might want to ride to work, to socialize, or to do errands, but who are intimidated by pedaling through hectic urban traffic.”

Developing urban bike lanes is an important step to increasing the number of bike riders. The best way to encourage more city riders is to help them feel safe and welcome. This involves a gradual but momentous change in citizen’s and government’s perceptions about cities, cars and people. Says, Martha Roskowski, head of The Green Lane Project, “We’re getting away from the assumption, ‘That’s car space and can’t be used for anything else. It’s space for people – in cars, on bikes, on transit, and on foot. It’s public space.”

Modern thinking.

The Green Lane Project:
GLP
The Atlantic:
How to Build a Better Bike Lane (and Get More People Out on Bikes)