Bicycle advocates have long argued that using plastic bollards to separate bicycles from automobile traffic is better than nothing, but that only concrete barriers will truly protect bicyclists. Sadly, this case is too often made when bicyclists in these “protected” lanes are hurt, or worse, by negligent, scofflaw, or intentionally violent drivers.
That case was made clearly, although less painfully, on 23rd Street in Santa Monica over the weekend. Reddit user The_Naj took the above video, used here with his permission, explains (emphasis mine.)
This was last Sunday August 9. Called the non emergency number but they never followed up for the video. They turned off the road when they saw me trying to get the plates after this. Hoping someone on here recognizes the car
The disrespect for the plastic bollards by drivers isn’t contained to just one driver behaving badly.
I saw someone parked on top of one in downtown today 😭 it was all jammed under their car, still attached to the ground just folded over
Santa Monica has a history of being ahead of the curve when it comes to installing safe transportation infrastructure. It’s past time to consider upgrading the quality of these separated bike lanes.
Brief History of Bike Lane
The protected bike lanes on 23rd Street are part of Santa Monica’s longer effort to build a network of safer, more comfortable bicycle routes. The city’s original 2011 Bike Action Plan called for expanding the bicycle network, and its 2020 amendment put a greater emphasis on protected facilities, identifying priority corridors where physical separation could make biking more accessible to people of different ages and abilities.
The 23rd Street corridor had already been identified as a bicycle route, but the city eventually moved to upgrade the existing bike lanes with physical protection. The project was completed in December 2021, adding protected bike lanes on 23rd Street between Ashland Avenue and Airport Avenue. The protected section extends roughly a half-mile between the Los Angeles border and Ocean Park Boulevard, connecting into the existing bicycle network in both Santa Monica and Los Angeles.
The project uses plastic bollards and green pavement to separate people riding bikes from moving vehicles. South of Ocean Park Boulevard, however, the protected treatment ends: 23rd Street has an uphill bike lane and downhill shared-lane markings, while parking remains on the street. The city continues to identify 23rd Street as part of its bicycle network, and its current bicycle map lists the corridor as a protected bikeway. The 23rd Street project was one of several early steps in Santa Monica’s broader effort to move beyond conventional bike lanes toward a citywide protected network.
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