Adopt-a-Bike-Lane?
I know there’ve been guerilla lane paintings and the like, but just curious if anyone knows of examples where this model has been done in the world of two-wheeled infrastructure. The sponsor could check maintenance, remove debris, monitor double-parking violations — I dunno, even install tube vending machines or free air or some such.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Bicycles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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December 10th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
You know… that’s a really great idea. I’m going to bring that up at the next bicycle advisory council meeting and let you know what comes of it. We have a few lanes here, but of course they collect a lot of debris since few cars are passing through them.
December 11th, 2009 at 7:54 am
That’s a very good idea and would certainly be a good fit for a local bike shop.
In the UK, Sustrans - a charity - operates a volunteer ranger system for bike trails. The ranger is expected to regularly ride the trail and keep it clean it, too.
Sponsorship of routes and transport nodes is becoming more common and sometimes this isn’t a good thing. Lots of UK roundabouts are sponsored by local companies and this can lead to ugly commercialisation where before there was none. And some railway stations are being sponsored. Odd, but needs must, I suppose.
December 11th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Here in the NL bike lanes are adopted by the local government
December 11th, 2009 at 8:19 am
It’s an interesting idea and as Carlton says would probably be a good fit for a local shop with sizeable pockets.
One problem I can see is with the idea of ensuring lanes are kept free of motorised traffic: unless the sponsor had powers under the law their ability to enforce compliance with the lane priority would be effectively down to motorists allowing them to do so. It’s not like they can hand out tickets, is it?
Another concern is liability. As sponsor of such a facility could you be held responsible in the event of an accident? Worth considering as I can’t imagine insurance would be easy to secure.
However, sponsoring facilities such as storage racks etc could be a great, relatively inexpensive opportunity to get involved.
December 11th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Have you seen:
The NYC guerilla DIY bike lane video: http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/12/10/nyc-ironically-announces-bikes-in-buildings-law-while-cutting-bike-lanes/?
The LA bike lane-painting incursion: http://info.interactivist.net/node/12910
This Toronto Blog about guerilla bike lanes: http://urbanrepairs.blogspot.com/
December 11th, 2009 at 9:29 am
Ooops! I see that your question was whether or not anyone knew of “Adopt A Bike Lane” efforts…
This page from Transportation Alternatives has some good guidance: http://www.transalt.org/campaigns/bike/adopt
And apparently an “Adopt a Bike Lane” campaign was launched recently in cooperation with Transportation Alternatives in NYC http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/transportation-alternatives-brooklyn/projects-pulaski
December 11th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Not a bike lane, but a very successful rails-to-trails project that runs all the way across south Minneapolis has a similar program:
http://www.midtowngreenway.org/adoptagreenway/
December 12th, 2009 at 4:15 am
As Michiel says, here in the Netherlands, the cycle paths are looked after by the government. It’s just as well, as they do a very good job of looking after them, and don’t just take an interest in the bits which go past a bike shop (or whatever). So leaves are removed, the paths are kept clean and in winter the cycle paths are free of snow.
If a city can afford to maintain its roads to a good standard, why not its cycle paths ?
December 12th, 2009 at 10:06 am
I might add the more general Pick Up One Piece Of Litter A Day idea.
December 29th, 2009 at 7:48 am
The Hillsborough County Bike/Ped Advisory Committee has discussed this, but so far nothing has come of it. I think it’s a great idea.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:02 am
I’ve been thinking about this idea too, and am looking for models.
I’m going to suggest it for my city initially as an informal thing–will people remove debris and broken glass, rake pine needles, leaves and the like, shovel snow from that the way they do driveways/sidewalks (in theory)? I used to have an adopt-a-highway-mile and can see it going official eventually with the sign recognizing the person or group who adopts it. Bike clubs and others might go for it.
I’m working on a blog post for CyclingSpokane.blogspot.com on the topic and welcome comments there if people find any examples of working programs, or you can reach me on Twitter.
@BarbChamberlain
Co-chair, Bike to Work Spokane
@Bike2WrkSpokane
http://www.biketoworkspokane.org