Staff from the Albany Bicycle Coalition was on duty at this year’s Upper Madison Street Fair (9/21) with a special mission – to educate the public on how Protected Bicycle Lanes can be integrated into the Madison Ave. streetscape.
Using a 1:87 scale model and an accompanying handout, ABCers were able to show how removing two of the current travel lanes for people in cars provides room for a 2-way protected cycle track on the north (Washington Park, College of St. Rose) side of the street. 
This 3-lane configuration – a downtown motor vehicle lane, and uptown lane, and a left turn/emergency lane seems to have gained universal acceptance. The issue of accommodation for people on bicycles seems to have settled on the 2-way Protected Bicycle Lane model with parked cars providing a physical barrier between the bicycle lanes and people traveling in cars.
In the re-design, there will still be motor vehicle parking on both sides of Madison Ave. and travel lanes that are the same width as currently. The bicycle lanes will each be 4.5’ wide with a 3’ painted buffer separating them from the parked cars. Incidences of “dooring” will decrease or disappear. The protection afforded by a row of parked cars will entice hesitant riders to use Madison Ave. as their “go-to” cycling route.
Find our more at the Madison Avenue Traffic Calming Facebook page.
Albany Bicycle Coalition 