Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bicycle Infrastructure

Activists Form Chains of “Human Bollards” to Demand Protected Bike Lanes

An August demonstration in Manhattan demanded better protection for the bike lane on Second Avenue. Photo: David Meyer

Last weekend in San Francisco, bike advocates formed a human chain along the Embarcadero. They were calling for physical protection of a green bike lane that directly abuts high-speed traffic -- using their bodies to shield the riders who use the route every day.

It was the third such protest in San Francisco in recent months, and it's a tactic that's inspired advocates in other cities.

New York City's Transportation Alternatives organized a human-protected bike lane protest along Second Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, which lacks physical protection during the morning rush hour (at other times there is a row of parked cars). With nothing to stop them, drivers park and obstruct the bike lane, forcing people on bikes out into moving motor vehicle traffic.

To show the need for round-the-clock protection, about 45 people held hands and cheered everyone riding down the bike lane on their morning commute, documented by Streetfilms:

In San Francisco, organizers say more demonstrations with people-protection are on the way, and advocates in Boise recently staged their first human-protected bike lane downtown. Expect to see this attention-grabbing activism tactic in more cities in the future.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Talking Headways Podcast: Designing and Delivering Bike Networks

NACTO's Ryan Russo on the transformation of street systems and managing space for people and deliveries.

August 21, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Faster Than a Speeding Bullet Train

Amtrak lost a champion in Joe Biden just as new, more advanced trains are set to start running up and down the East Coast.

August 21, 2025

Study: Fire Departments Clash With Street Safety Advocates

"If fire departments are hearing from the city council and mayors that safe streets are a priority that we need to figure out how to make work—well, that can be really motivating."

August 20, 2025

OPINION: NYC Has Noise Cameras To Catch Loud Cars. Why Aren’t We Funding It?

The Adams administration is supposed to install 25 of them by the end of September. What's going on?

August 20, 2025

Advocates Beg DOT Sec. Duffy to Give Up Space and Fix Transit On Earth

Transportation Secretary/acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy wants to put a nuclear reactor on the moon. But a lot of Americans just want the bus to come on time.

August 20, 2025
See all posts