State of the Lane (Comments: 0)

A commuter’s perspective on bike lanes in the city of Albany.

I think this picture pretty much sums it up.

This was taken a few weeks ago on Clinton Ave, headed up hill. This is one of the “new” bike lanes they put down in the fall of last year. The paint is pretty messed up and cars use it like a right turn lane.

The other “new” bike lane they put down, the sharrows on Washington Ave, was covered by snow most of the winter.

I appreciate the new riding spaces. I use them daily. I think Albany could do a lot to make the city more bike friendly by clearing/cleaning the WHOLE street, from curb to curb. If half of the sharrow paint is covered by snow, it’s not helping anyone to have put it there. If the bike lane is filled with broken glasses and potholes, it’s not helping anyone to have put it there. If the WHOLE street, curb to curb, was clean, you could actually ride in the street- whether there were marked lanes or not.

Word is they intend to make more bike lanes. Which is a great thing. But if they aren’t going to be kept clean and clear, this is going to be an ineffective gesture. If the lanes become invisible due to paint loss after a few months, this will be a complete waste of time. Please Albany, let’s do this right.

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