Riding the other day, a cyclist came up to me and told me he had a suggestion for a column. He told me his story, which I’ve experienced before, but it made me want to bring it to everyone’s attention even more.
I even needed to do just a touch of research to make sure I was fully informed. I’ll ask it to you in a question: When you are driving a car or riding a bike and there is a green painted bike lane on the road, what does it mean? Why are some bike lanes or crosswalks painted green, and others just have the white paint or nothing?
The fellow told me there were four cyclists riding down Granville Avenue towards Railway. At that point, the bike lane is painted green until it reaches the intersection when Granville splits to the right. Motorists must cross the green painted bike lane if they want to turn right. The cyclists were in the bike lane in a row and a car decided to barge his way from the left, between the bikes and try to make the turn right onto Granville towards No. 1 road.
What happened was the motorist ended up driving his car on the green bike lane for a ways as he forced cyclists to the right into the car turning lane, or to slow down. It really doesn’t matter what colour the ground was painted, this was an extremely careless move by the motorist.
But, what about these green painted bike lanes? And why are they only painted in certain parts of a city? The answer is that the green paint on the roads is simply used to raise awareness for motorists and for cyclists that they are entering a potential area of conflict. This would include an area with higher than usual cycling activity and intersections which are busier than most. Legally, the paint on the road does not change any laws. Cyclists do not have more legal protection while on green pavement. However, it’s been found that green paint on the roads raises awareness for everyone in the area.
While the City of Richmond website has some information on cycling facilities and amenities, they do not have anything regarding green painted bike lanes that I can find. However, the City of Vancouver, which I consider to be the most progressive city towards cycling and other forms of transportation in all of the Lower Mainland has a great website which covers everything you could want to know.
It’s simple, really. If you see green painted bike lanes or crosswalks, and whether you’re on a bike, in a car, walking or anything else, just be more careful. The colour of the road can tell you you’re entering an area identified as more dangerous than others and extra caution from everyone is needed. Everyone be safe as cycling season is getting under way!
Geordie McGillivray is an avid Richmond cyclist. His column appears regularly in the Richmond News.
