The City of Carlsbad has added green paint to bike lanes in areas where drivers and cyclists are at a higher risk of colliding.

Why

• The green paint is to make drivers and bicyclists more aware of each other as they share the road. 
• This increased visibility enhances safety for everyone, helping reduce collisions. 
• The green paint does not change the rules of the road. 

These are the different kinds of bike lanes you may come across on the roads in Carlsbad. Here’s what they mean and what to do. Learn about other street striping. 

Dashed green

• The dashed green paint is in areas where bicyclists and drivers are likely to cross paths, such as between a through lane and a right turn lane, or where the drivers and bicyclists share the area at right turns.
• Bicyclists have the right of way.
• Drivers must yield to bicyclists before driving across the dashed paint and must make a right turn from as far right as possible. Doing so helps prevent a collision called the "right hook" when a car makes a right turn in front of a bicyclist.

Solid green with solid white lines

• Drivers may not cross a solid white line into a bike lane except to enter a driveway.
• Bicyclists always have the right of way.

Buffered bike lane

• The buffered lane gives greater distance between bicyclists and drivers.
• Drivers are not allowed to cross into the buffered lane except to enter a driveway.

Door zone striping

• A dashed line with markings next to a bike lane and street parking. 
• This is there to alert bicyclists to watch out for people opening doors in parked cars.
• Watch this animation to see how it works.