In an attempt to discourage vehicles from encroaching on lanes reserved for cyclists, New York City has implemented a new initiative to paint bicycle lanes green.

Painting the lanes green costs the city about $100,000 a square mile, a DOT spokesman told the New York Sun [1]. While residents of one street raised their eyebrows at what they felt was an abrasive hue, cyclists lauded the more visible lane as a triumph in their ongoing clash with motorists over limited street space.

"It makes it impossible for drivers to ignore bike lanes and it creates a more protected space for cyclists only," a spokeswoman for Transportation Alternatives, [2] Caroline Samponaro, said.

The advocacy group would ideally like to see all of the city's 200 miles of bicycle lanes separated from automobile traffic flow by physical barriers, but that colored lanes have proved successful at making urban cycling safer in cities such as Philadelphia.