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

New Camera Tech Hopes to Stop Drivers From Close-Passing Cyclists

If only policymakers could fully experience the pervasive problem of drivers passing too closely to cyclists perhaps they'd find a way to stop the deadly practice and get victims justice.

December 11, 2024

Wednesday’s Headlines Are Staying Put

Cities like Atlanta, Denver and Minneapolis provide blueprints for how transit can improve neighborhoods without pushing people out.

December 11, 2024

Op-Ed: NYC E-Bike Registration Bill Is Impossible to Enforce, Unnecessary … and Won’t Even Work

It sounds common-sense: register electric bikes just like cars. But there are so many flaws to this Council bill.

December 10, 2024

Do Tuesday’s Headlines Live in a 15-Minute City?

Find out how long it takes to walk to stores, restaurants and transit stops in your neighborhood with this Washington Post widget.

December 10, 2024

‘Trojan Horse’: NYC’s E-Bike Licensing Bill Would Fuel Anti-Immigrant Policing

Council members fail to address the e-bike registration bill's potential harmful outcomes.

December 10, 2024
See all posts