Photo: TPD tickets motorist on Mountain Avenue

I was out at this intersection doing some outreach work with the TPD enforcement. The bikes were very well behaved here. I talked to the Sergeant and he asked what kind of offences I had seen, as had other officers throughout the week. I also saw them pull over MANY cars for getting in the bike lanes. It was great to see them pull over cars in reference to bicycle safety and the law. I think at least the motorcycle officers we were out there with are starting to understand our side, too.

Great! That's one down. Now, for the other hundred or so per week...

I was walking and was at this intersection on Saturday night. This was happening on both sides of Mountain, with one car in the green painted bike lane waiting to turn right (he happened to be cutting off another car who was turning right properly). It got me thinking, I remember years ago, before there was even blue paint designating the north bound bike lane, there were plastic barriers about three feet tall separating the bike lane and the driving lane at approaching the intersection. Why couldn't the city do something like that? Physically narrow the bike lane and install a physical barrier to ensure cars don't enter the bike lane and use it as a turn lane... The problem with the south bound bike lane is that there is very minimal marking and it is wide enough to be a lane for a car, so I could see how someone would almost naturally use it as a turn lane. Why not use a small barrier and paint it green like the other side?