About 12 cyclists officially inaugurated a portion of San Jose’s new downtown bike lanes on Aug. 9. The 7.6 miles of newly designed lanes will allow cyclists a segregated and safer ride through downtown streets.

These lanes are the first part of a project that will decrease car lanes, reduce auto speeds and give cyclists a street buffer. The new larger bike lanes offer different bold colors and in some cases flexible pylons that can be removed or placed by a machine.

The city has plans and funds to construct such lanes in East and North San Jose, and a grant will soon extend the lanes from downtown to Park Avenue in the Rose Garden. Officials also plan to expand bike lanes on creek trails around Willow Glen. Plans to reduce vehicle lanes and decrease parking to make way for bike lanes on The Alameda have drawn criticism from residents and businesses in the area.

“Downtown streets were planned and built during the 1960s before there was light rail and freeways to make it easier to get around,” Hans Larsen, director of the San Jose Department of Transportation, said at a press conference showing off the new lanes. “Many of our streets were overbuilt, and the new bike lanes allow cars to move quickly and still provide safe lanes for bicycles,” he added.

Some streets have had parking moved to one side of the street, while others also have parking separated from the curb by the bike lanes. The lanes are colorful, some with white or colored diagonal stripes. Cars will be able to merge no more than 200 feet before a turn into an intersection.

“I recognize that these treatments are not for every neighborhood; some are too congested and some need parking,” said Councilman Sam Liccardo, a bike enthusiast. “But we’re planning 1,000 units of housing downtown, and we need innovative ways for people to move by pedal or foot.”

In an earlier blog, Liccardo said these bike lanes are part of a strategy to get cyclists to commute to work or school and riding the miles of trails throughout the city.

“Construction is already under way to create a bike path extending the Guadalupe Trail to key employment centers in North San Jose, and we’ve recently expanded southward to Virginia Street,” he said.

“We plan to extend the bike system to other parts of the 500-mile bike network, including 100 miles of trails and 400 on the streets,” Larsen said.

The council plans to implement a regional bike share program for people to use a form of transit and then take a bike–using a credit card–to get where they’re going and drop the bike at one of 20 bike stations located downtown.

Construction on the lanes began in June and was completed in July. Elements include damage repair, pavement sealing and marking.

Funding for the bike lane extensions came from regional grants from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Valley Transportation Authority.

The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition and SPUR San Jose are sponsoring a meeting on Aug. 22 to discuss how bicycling is good for business and local economic development. The meeting will address how San Jose can gain the support of businesses to promote cycling as a strategy to strengthen sales.

The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, 101 W. Santa Clara St. It will feature April Economides of Green Octopus Consulting, who has helped launch bike-friendly business districts across the U.S. Register at http://bfb dworkshopsanjose.event brite.com.