Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Houston

Downtown Houston Will Get Its First Protected Bike Lane

Houston's protected bike lane should look a lot like this one from Seattle. Photo: Seattle DOT, via Flickr

Houston’s protected bike lane should look a lot like this one in Seattle. Photo: Seattle DOT/Flickr

A piece of top-notch bike infrastructure is coming to the largest city in Texas.

That’s the word today from Kevin McNally at Houston Tomorrow, who relays the news that a two-way protected bike lane is on tap for downtown:

The City of Houston will install the City’s first on-street protected bike lane along Lamar Street in Downtown, possibly as early as October, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Mike Morris. The two-way protected bike lane will help to connect Downtown to both the Buffalo Bayou trails and the Columbia Tap Trail.

The bike lane will be three-quarters of a mile long and will be painted green, the Houston Chronicle reports. It will be separated from car traffic by “armadillos,” or hard, low-lying plastic bumps. McNally says:

Based on the description from the article, the bike lane should look similar to the above photo of a two-way protected bike lane in Seattle, with the exception being that the white plastic bollards will be replaced by plastic “armadillos” or “zebras” (see examples of those here).

Bike Houston Executive Director Michael Payne said the objective is to make “people feel comfortable” about biking and getting “out of their cars.”

Elsewhere on the Network today: Washington Bikes shares a poll showing overwhelming support for Safe Routes to School among the state’s residents. And Bike Portland reports that advocates in that region are trying to ensure that every school district has a Safe Routes to School program.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: The Secret History of Amtrak’s Mardi Gras Service

...and what it means for new passenger rail service across America.

December 19, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Walk the Line

If you're a capitalist, the market says there's a premium for living in a walkable neighborhood. So why not supply more to meet demand?

December 19, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Fighting to Win

Carter Lavin talks with Jeff Wood about the necessity of messy politics in obtaining street safety.

December 18, 2025

Streetsblog’s ‘Car-Free Carolers’ Bring the Joy, Mirth and Ho-Ho-Hope to this Holiday Season

Streetsblog's singers are back, belting out their parody classics to make a serious point: New York's roadways don't have to be dangerous places for kids and lungs, but can be joyous spaces for people to walk around, shop, eat or just ... hang out.

December 18, 2025

Study: More Protected Bike Lanes = More Micromobility Users

This ought to silence doubters who claim that no one's using that shiny new cycle track.

December 18, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Hot-Blooded, Check It and See

Hopefully the Earth won't have a fever of 103 when judges get done with the Trump administration's proposal to dismantle greenhouse gas regulations.

December 18, 2025
See all posts