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

The Real Reason America Can’t Have The Tiny Japanese-Style Cars Trump Says He Wants

Trump is right that kei cars are super-kawaii — but he's wrong that clearing the regulatory decks is enough to bring them to U.S. shores.

December 16, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Were So Much Older Then, We’re Younger Than That Now

Getting around without driving can be tough for anyone, but particularly seniors and children.

December 16, 2025

Boston’s New ‘CharlieCard’ Raises Privacy Issues in an Age of High-Tech Tracking

The new CharlieCard provides several benefits, but riders should also be aware of the military vendor that's operating the new system.

December 15, 2025

Ride E-Scooters, Do Crime? Study Explores Relationship Between Micromobility and Vehicle Offenses

"I suspect there are confounding factors that make the link from e-scooters to crime spurious."

December 15, 2025

Find Out Exactly How Much Downtown Highways Cost Your City

"How much does it actually cost to be car dependent?" This Dallas-based analyst set out to answer that question for cities across the U.S.

December 15, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Are Under Repair

The Biden administration's Reconnecting Communities program received $14 billion in requests for $1 billion total funding. A new bill would greatly expand it.

December 15, 2025
See all posts