Bicycle Infrastructure

Eyes on the Street: It’s Not Easy, Being the Right Shade of Green

With construction on the massive Third Water Tunnel shifting east along Grand Street, the section of the street through Soho, Little Italy, and Chinatown is getting repaved for the first time in years. Along with the new surface comes restoration of Grand Street's protected bike lane -- this time with a twist: Unlike other NYC bike lanes, this lane is being repainted in a bright, Kermit the Frog shade of green.

By Stephen Miller

5:14 PM EDT on September 5, 2014

Does something seem… off? It’s not just you: This is not the standard color DOT uses for bike lanes. Photo: Julia Day

With construction on the massive Third Water Tunnel shifting east along Grand Street, the section of the street through Soho, Little Italy, and Chinatown is getting repaved for the first time in years. Along with the new surface comes restoration of Grand Street’s protected bike lane — this time with a twist: Unlike other NYC bike lanes, this lane is being repainted in a bright, Kermit the Frog shade of green.

DOT, which lays down a more bluish-green color on its bike lanes, directed questions about the hue to the Department of Design and Construction, which is in charge of the Grand Street reconstruction. (DDC hasn’t yet responded to a request for comment.) While this color scheme may be closer to the green on display in some other cities, it appears to be the DDC’s shade, not the new standard in bike lane tinting here in New York.

I am green. And it’ll do fine. It’s beautiful! And I think it’s what I want to be. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Stephen Miller

In spring 2017, Stephen wrote for Streetsblog USA, covering the livable streets movement and transportation policy developments around the nation. From August 2012 to October 2015, he was a reporter for Streetsblog NYC, covering livable streets and transportation issues in the city and the region. After joining Streetsblog, he covered the tail end of the Bloomberg administration and the launch of Citi Bike. Since then, he covered mayoral elections, the de Blasio administration's ongoing Vision Zero campaign, and New York City's ever-evolving street safety and livable streets movements.