A new bike lane has been striped on Goldsmith Lane between Bardstown Road and Bon Air Avenue in the Bon Air neighborhood. The two five-to-six-foot lanes were created by narrowing two travel lanes from 12-feet wide to ten feet and eliminating an eight-foot parking lane on one side of the street.
Heading west, the lane disappears briefly as a turning lane passes through and then picks up at the intersection (see plan below). The eastbound lane begins just after the intersection. Many cities have been experimenting with painting these “conflict zones” with green paint to warn motorists and cyclists alike to pay extra attention as vehicles transfer lanes, but Louisville has yet to apply green paint.
Rolf Eisinger with Bike Louisville said the lanes are complete but a few signs must still be installed before the project is done. He noted these lanes represent the second time the city has used the wider six-foot lanes (up from five feet), the first example being a set of lanes installed last year on 8th Street. The wider lanes offer more protection from traffic and the door zone when parallel parking exists.
I think it’s great that these bike lanes are so close to Seneca High and Goldsmith Elementary. It’s really important to me that kids can have a safe way to get to and from school independently. I’m only concerned with how small the section of bike lane is.
Do we know if they plan on extending these lanes at all? They don’t head all of the way to the school, and in order for them to be used a person would probably have to head from busy Goldsmith Lane west of Bardstown, or ride on the even busier (but wider) Bardstown Road.
I’d love to see new bike lanes on Bardstown Road from Hikes Lane to Brighton Drive, (or possibly even Taylorsville Broad).
Even though this is only a half a mile of bike lane compared to the two miles of bike lanes I’d rather see, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.
This is great. The narrower driving lanes should ‘calm’ traffic as well. Isn’t the speed limit on that road (supposed to be) only 25 mph anyway?
It’s nice to see more bike lanes in Louisville. They would be even better if the Metro Gov’t. spent a little time and money educating motorists about them and enforcing traffic laws relating to bike lanes. Check out the two photos of the bike lanes above. There are cars driving in the bike lanes in each photo. BIke lanes won’t be a safe way for kids to get to school until we figure out how to keep cars out of them.