A new video explaining the purpose of green bike lanes, green bike boxes and how to use them is now online at www.seattle.gov/transportation/bikeprogram.htm. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) has been installing these facilities over the past couple of years to encourage more cycling by creating a safe, more comfortable road environment. The video was created for SDOT by Max Hohlbein and Revolution Studios as part of the Art Institute of Seattle’s Winter Quarter 2012 Video Production Class.
“I’m not sure everyone on the road—car drivers and bicycle riders alike—knows what a green bike box is and how to behave around it,” said Max Hepp-Buchanan, Co-Chair, Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board. “This new video clearly illustrates the use and purpose of this new type of bicycle infrastructure for Seattle.”
Bike boxes improve safety by increasing driver’s awareness of cyclists and encouraging cyclists to make more predictable approaches to and through an intersection. When a traffic signal is yellow or red, motorists must stop behind the box. Typically at bike box locations, right turns on red are not be permitted. Cyclists using the bike box should stop before the crosswalk to make sure pedestrians can move freely. When the light turns green, motorists and cyclists may move through the intersection, as usual, with cyclists going first.
Green bike lanes highlight areas where bicycles and cars cross paths. Motorists should yield to cyclists and in turn cyclists should be alert and look for cars crossing the green lane.
Safety is SDOT’s most important priority. Our long-term goal is a city with zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries. During recent Road Safety Summit workshops, community members encouraged the city to implement a sustained education program encouraging people to share the road and to continue designing our roads so that all modes can operate safely.
Also released this month is a video on how SDOT’s making a faster and more reliable bus Route 44. You can view this video on Vimeo at http://vimeo.com/41097509.
The video was created for SDOT by Max Hohlbein and Revolution Studios as part of The Art Institute of Seattle’s Winter Quarter 2012 Video Production Class.
