Belmont Shore’s 2nd Street may have seemed a little bit, “greener” in more ways than one. In the latest effort by the City to increase bicycle-friendliness, a green stripe was painted down the right lane on both sides of the street, with the goal of promoting a shared lane for both drivers and bikers. Current law actually states that drivers and bikers have equal rights in that lane and all others like it in the city, but the “Sharrows” design is meant to increase awareness and foster a positive relationship with the biking community.

The lane made its debut on Saturday, and LA.streetsblog.org celebrates the idea in this article.

The Los Angeles news blog LAist.com also showed the Sharrows lane some love today with this article, highlighting some of the benefits of the new lane and also including a pretty funny video made by Russ Roca, biking-photographer extraordinaire who found that the cars were slowing the bikes down – not the other way around.

So, is it working? While Roca and many others have embraced the lanes, I saw a biker this morning trying desperately to stay out of the street despite the bright green lane saying that it was alright to do so. Maybe drivers and bikers both need a little time to adjust to this arrangement.

What do you think of the new Sharrows?