Bike lanes seeing red
By: Andrea Koskey
Examiner Staff Writer
November 4, 2009
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| Roadster red: The bike lane along a section of Edgewood Road at Scenic Drive in Woodside has been painted in a test to help vehicles keep away from bicyclists. (Juan Carlos Pometta Betancourt/Special to The Examiner) |
When Didrik Hoag begins his bicycle commute to work, potential dangers with cars are always in his path.
That’s why he’s supportive of new efforts by the county to help drivers stay clear of cyclists at heavily used intersections.
As a test, the county’s public works department has painted the bike lanes bright red along a section of Edgewood Road at Scenic Drive in Woodside.
“I’ve had close calls,” the 41-year-old San Carlos resident said. “Intersections are tricky. Bright paint would help bicyclists and cars know where to go.”
The “roadster red” is a bright contrasting color to the black asphalt surface.
The Edgewood Road location has a signal on the two-lane road; when cars try to make a left on to Scenic Drive, it stops traffic and other cars try to go around and end up in the bike lane, said Jim Porter, director of the public works department.
“We want to dissuade vehicles from passing on the right,” he said.
Porter said he was not aware of any fatal accidents at the location, but said because of its heavy use and windy nature of the road it is a good starting point.
“The color really stands out,” he said. “When you come up on it, you can’t miss it.”
The test area will be monitored for roughly six months to see if the material in the paint can survive weather and wear, Porter said. If it proves to hold up, the color may start popping up on other county-maintained roads.
The county is also testing a brightly colored bike lane at Westborough Road between I-280 and El Camino Real, Porter said.
