Denver installs pop-up bike lane to test space for cyclists

A pop up bike lane has been installed for a weekend in Denver, to test whether a road with heavy traffic could be made safer for cyclists.

The stretch of Broadway to downtown has been cordoned off for three days as part of ongoing consulting about travel in the area.

One whole lane of traffic has been given over to a wide two-way bike lane, with signs directing cyclists to try it out.

“A pop up bike lane is an opportunity for city staff to take a lane of traffic and install temporarily a bike lane to show what it might look like in the future,” Bike Denver spokeswoman Molly North told CBS.

“Come ride your bikes, come walk it, come drive it– not the lane but next to it– and come experience this corridor with the popup bike lane and see how it affects your experience,” she said.

“We already know a lot of cycling commuters and recreationalists use this corridor so for a weekend to test this out to see how it performs, see how it feels, I think it’s a great idea,” said one cyclist.

It’s not the first time a pop up bike lane has been trialled in the USA. For 2013's Bike to Work Day, two bicycle safety groups convened unofficially before morning rush hour traffic began in downtown Denver to install a temporary protected bike lane along Wynkoop St. between 15th and 16th streets.

The city council offered to wash the green paint that was used to highlight the bicycle lane for free after the event but noted that, without permit, any following pop ups would incur a fine.

A similar stunt was attempted in Minneapolis in 2014, using green felt and plant pots to create a garden-style bike lane along another busy street.