Bike buffer

This week, the city of Chico is finishing work on the first of what may become many buffered bike lanes.

Lanes like the one scheduled to be completed today (May 11) along Ivy Street from Second to 10th streets are common in other cities and provide a 2- to 3-foot buffer for cyclists, according to a city press release. The Ivy Street project is part of a pilot program to evaluate how such lanes could work in other locations in Chico.

The improvement is part of a long-running effort to upgrade existing cycling infrastructure that helped Chico earn the designation as a gold-level “Bike Friendly City” by the League of American Bicyclists earlier this month. The city will be installing signs promoting its gold status at various locations around town, with a ribbon-cutting event slated for May 19 at 3:30 p.m. at the north entrance to One-Mile Recreation Area.