Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Protected Bike Lanes

Protected Bike Lanes 7 Times More Effective Than Painted Ones, Survey Says

alki 570
Alki Avenue, Seattle.
pfb logo 100x22

Michael Andersen blogs for The Green Lane Project, a PeopleForBikes program that helps U.S. cities build better bike lanes to create low-stress streets.

We all know that if your goal is to get meaningful numbers of people to ride bicycles, protected bike lanes are better than conventional ones painted into a door zone. But how much better?

Well, adding a bike lane to a four-lane commercial urban street increases the number of American adults who say they'd be "very comfortable" biking on it from 9 percent to 12 percent.

Making that bike lane protected increases the number to 29 percent.

two infrastructure types 570

The finding comes from a survey of adults in the 50 largest U.S. metro areas by the National Association of Realtors, conducted by Portland State University and published this summer. It's some of the clearest, simplest evidence yet that for people of every demographic, a door-zone painted bike lane on a busy street makes far less difference to people's biking comfort than one with a physical barrier between bike and car traffic.

In fact, the experience of riding in a protected bike lane beats riding in a painted door-zone one by about as much as riding on an off-street path beats riding on a city street at all. That's true across the board: women and men, every generation, every income, every education level.

three infrastructure types 587

(You can read the exact wording of the question here. Participants could choose "very comfortable," "somewhat comfortable," "somewhat uncomfortable," "very uncomfortable" or "don't know.")

Obviously there are many streets where cities can't install protected bike lanes, at least not yet. But if your city's goal is to increase the number of trips people take on bikes, it shouldn't be creating door-zone bike lanes unless there's a clear reason not to do better.

White paint just isn't good enough to make a major difference.

Looking for statistics that make the case for protected bike lanes? We've got a database of them.

You can follow The Green Lane Project on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook or sign up for its weekly news digest about protected bike lanes.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Thursday’s Headlines Are Charged Up for the Fourth

The Republican megabill is bad for the electric vehicle industry, but it could be worse.

July 3, 2025

Why is the Secretary of Transportation Begging Americans to Take More Road Trips?

Instead of making America easier to see on all modes, the US Department of Transportation is encouraging U.S. residents to just get in their cars and drive.

July 3, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Are for the Children

From mothers with babies in strollers to preteens on bikes, much of the U.S. is hostile to families just trying to get around without a car.

July 2, 2025

Ambulance Data Reveals That Boston Drivers Are 4 Times More Likely to Run Over Pedestrians From Black Neighborhoods

"Overall, residents of predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods are about four times more likely than residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to be struck as a pedestrian."

July 1, 2025
See all posts