Protected bike lanes are coming to Comm. Ave

BOSTON — In an effort to make it safer to travel in the car or on a bike, "protected bike lanes" are being constructed on Commonwealth Avenue, according to BU Today.

The lanes are being installed between the sidewalk and street parking, on a mile-long stretch along Comm. Ave between the BU Bridge and Packard's Corner.

The specifically-designated lanes will be six-and-a-half feet wide, with a three-foot buffer between parked cars to help cut down on the number of bicyclists being "doored" by drivers opened their car doors.

The construction isn't cheap - they'll cost $2.5 million of the $20.4 million designated for the Comm. Ave roadway construction project.

"Comm. Ave. is a great start, but the level of it's success will depend on how committed the city is to building out a full network of protected bike infrastructure," said Stacy Thompson, with the LivableStreets Alliance. "The success of these lanes will also be more effective because they are part of a larger project that includes signal priority for the Green Line and 57 bus, protected intersections for pedestrians and easier parking for drivers."%

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And that's not the only change - new traffic lights have also been installed that are specific to cyclists. Those were placed in an effort to avoid crashes between cyclists riding straight, and right-turning vehicles.

The protected bike lanes are similar to lanes being used in Copenhagen, Manhattan, and Montreal.

City officials said bicycle use on Comm. Ave has increased 47 percent in the morning and 135 percent in the afternoon since 2007.

Cox Media Group