Photos: How Downtown, Midtown Bike Lanes Turned Out

Fans of pedal-powered transportation are applauding recent cycle-friendly additions to Midtown and downtown, where buffered bike lanes have debuted in recent weeks. The Peachtree Center Avenue Cycle Track — a north-south route connecting Edgewood Avenue to Peachtree Street on downtown's eastern flank — officially opened to the public Friday. We gave the track a test-ride Saturday, finding the two-way, eight-foot-wide route a safer and more enjoyable alternative to other streets in the vicinity — with nary another cyclist on it. (Some riders have complained that the route has too many mid-block curb cuts — 25 of them — and loading docks and parking decks, and that northbound cars turn left across the cycle track at four key intersections). Anyhow, between the track and bike-squashing cars is a two-foot buffer with durable striping and plastic bollards. Elsewhere downtown, expect an east-west route called the "Portman PATH" to open this year along John Portman Jr. Boulevard. Meanwhile, the second (and final) phase of the 10th Street Cycle Track has wrapped, linking the Beltline to the heart of Midtown. So it'll be interesting to see how high Atlanta's rising Bike Score climbs next year.

· PEACHTREE CENTER AVENUE CYCLE TRACK [CAP]
· New Cycle Tracks Cause Excitement and Concern [Curbed]