The roadway leading north from Hutchinson on the former West Entry Parking Structure of the Pavilion will be painted with green paint, transforming it into the first green bike lane in Davis created for the purposes of enhancing visibility.
The decision to create the green bike lane occurred approximately a year ago during a campus Bicycle Committee meeting, according to Bicycle Program Coordinator of Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS), David Takemoto-Weerts.
“The portion of roadway that heads north from Hutchison Drive on the west side of the Pavilion Parking Structure and includes the turns entering and exiting the parking structure have been a source of confusion for some cyclists and motorists, neither of whom understand what lane position they should take when on this short stretch of roadway,” Takemoto-Weerts said in an email.
“I think the green path is wonderful. It provides a highly visible signal to bicyclists and automobile drivers. It shows and leads bicycles to where they should be riding,” said John F. Hess, a member of the Board of Directors for the Davis Bike Club.
Green paint is utilized either as extensions of bicycle lanes or inside them to increase awareness of bicyclist to motorists, thus deeming them a traffic control device according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“The edges of standard bike lanes are delineated with white lines. Green bike lanes fill in all or some of the space between the white lines with green paint. The purpose of the green bike lanes is to improve circulation and safety for bicyclists and drivers. North of Hutchison Drive, the green bike lanes will position bicyclists in the center of Dairy Road,” said Charles Alexander, who is the project engineer who designed the green bike lanes and a member of Charles Alexander of Fehr and Peers, a transportation consulting firm.
According to Takemoto-Weerts, the construction of the green bike lane is expected to be complete within the next few weeks and available for use once the green paint dries.
– Liliana Nava Ochoa
