I’ve had a lot of conversations with cyclists over the past week about the new protected bike lane on Franklin St. downtown. Many of those have been with my wife, who uses the street to commute and has seen many cars parked illegally, blocking her path and forcing her out into the street. Apparently her story isn’t uncommon.

With all that in mind, I wanted to pass along the below email from Max Hepp-Buchanan, director of BikeWalkRVA:

If you live or work in Richmond, you may have seen the new two-way protected bike lane on E. Franklin Street between Monroe Park and N. 9th Street. People who have been using the bike lane love it and our counts from last week have already shown that bike traffic on Franklin has doubled because of the bike lane. But there are also questions about the “floating parking” lane on the north side of the street against the bike lane buffer, so hopefully the below illustration and explanation will help answer some questions. 

Please click here to download the flyer and share with others.

We know that it will take several weeks to adjust to the new configuration of Franklin Street, but we also know that “floating parking” is the best way to retain on-street parking and keep people on bikes safe from motor vehicle traffic, and that it works in cities large and small across the country. Thank you for your patience and help educating others in your community.