PORTLAND (NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Almost two weeks since the City of Portland cut the ribbon on a new protected bike lane project on Park Avenue, the city is hearing minimal complaints. Traffic is separated for cyclists with delineators and a row of parked vehicles. Portland Public Works appropriated $100,000 for the project. Costs should come back lower since city crews did the majority of the construction, according to Public Works Director, Chris Branch. Branch said he didn't anticipate the public adjusting to the lane change this quickly.
"We haven’t seen any real issues. We’ve been really surprised with the compliance right off the bat," said Branch. "It’s different, it’s the first time this has been done in Portland. It’s been done around New England, they have them in Boston and Cambridge and across the country.”
A spokesman from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine says it's a significant change to the cycling landscape and could lead to more people embracing cycling as an alternative to their car.
“Protected bike lanes make cyclists feel safe, particularly cyclists that are new to it, who want to try bicycle commuting and perhaps don’t have that much experience and are not confident riding in traffic," said Frank Gallagher, the communications director from the Bicycle Coalition of Maine. "I think that it reflects a learning curve with cyclist among anything else."
The design is based on national standards, according to PPW. The reflective polls, called bollards, can be removed for plowing and street sweeping. The city is now looking into other areas to install these more protected bike paths, somewhere down the road.