Across the country, experimental bike lanes have begun popping up in major cities as officials attempt to ease traffic congestion while avoiding car-bicycle accidents. For e-bike users and enthusiasts, these new avenues of transport could help bolster America's continued and growing fascination with electric bicycles — depending on which state you live in, of course.
Rise in protected lanes
According to the Green Lane Project, protected bike lanes are "on-street lanes separated from traffic by curbs, planters, parked cars or posts."
"While protected bike lanes have worked well in places like Denmark and the Netherlands for many decades, they have only recently arrived on U.S. shores," the Green Lane Project states. "Between 1874 and 2011, only 78 of these facilities were built nationwide. This number nearly doubled to 138 protected bike lanes within the first two years of the Green Lane Project. By mid-2015, the U.S. Department of Transportation had officially endorsed the designs, and the count was up to 213. The number is expected to keep growing dramatically."
This explosion in popularity has been evident in the past couple of weeks as multiple states (California, Utah and Illinois) have taken up the challenge of either implementing protected bike lanes or revamping pre-existing ones.
For example, in three downtown Chicago streets — Randolph, Dearborn and Kinzie — major changes are underway that will allow for greater access and ease of transportation for the city's bicyclists. Randolph will receive a protected path for bikes. Meanwhile, both Dearborn and Kenzie, which feature the city's first protected bike lane, will simply be repaved.
Denver is also testing a new bike lane, but on one of the busiest stretches of road the city has to offer in South Broadway. For the next 15 months, the city will be experimenting with a new protected bike lane.
Recently in California, the transportation agency awarded approximately $19.5 million throughout Orange County for bicycle and pedestrian mobility projects. This is despite the fact that the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) couldn't find enough bike projects to fund initially. But with the recent explosion in bike ridership, things have changed.
According to Southern California Public Radio, OCTA CEO Darrell Johnson said during a meeting, "We went many, many years — we couldn't find enough bike projects to put money to, which is not good in its own right but now we're in the opposite side of that."
Sure enough, at this time there are tons of bike projects waiting for funding, one such being in Santa Ana where OCTA funded approximately $4.4 million for projects that include protected bike lanes on Bristol Street and Hazard Avenue.
Know your state
No matter how popular protected bike lanes may be, e-bike users invariably will face stiff fines and apprehension. For e-bike users, it cannot be mentioned enough: They must familiarize themselves with the laws of their state.
In California, for example, protected bike lanes are open to e-bikes. In fact, just over a year ago the state clarified e-bike designation, making them more akin to regular human-powered bicycles as opposed to mopeds. According to current law, e-bikes are perfectly welcomed within California's expanding infrastructure of protected bicycle lanes.
Similarly, in Colorado, e-bikes are allowed on bike lanes and share the same designation as regular human-powered bicycles. And in Illinois, e-bikes are required by state law to have a top speed of 20 miles per hour and are allowed usage of all and "any highway, street or roadway."
However, Alabama considers e-bikes to be motorcycles, and Kentucky considers them mopeds. Legislation in Nebraska and Michigan doesn't even identify them as e-bikes, but rather mopeds.
While the recent explosion in bicycle riding has seemingly forced infrastructure to adapt and make way, e-bike riders should nonetheless do their due diligence and research their rights to use these new avenues of transport, for the safety of themselves and others.
