The SC DOT painted bike lanes bright green in downtown Myrtle Beach. Here’s why

If you spend time near downtown Myrtle Beach, you’ll notice that Mr. Joe White Avenue has a bit more color lately, as bike lanes on the busy road have been painted an unmistakable shade of lime green.

The paint job is intended to indicate which direction bikers should travel and increase bike lane visibility to make the road safer for bikers and drivers.

Where are lanes painted?

As one of Myrtle Beach’s main thoroughfares, the Mr. Joe White Avenue corridor was identified in a South Carolina Department of Transportation project as a road that could benefit from safety improvements.

“The SCDOT safety project is data-driven, and the locations of the highlighted areas are where car-bike incidents have occurred,” said Myrtle Beach creative services manager Patrick Lloyd.

Along Mr. Joe White Avenue, the bike lanes feature highlighted striped sections along intersections and some solid blocks of green showing directional arrows.

“The green bike lanes are used to highlight areas where drivers might merge across or turn into a bike lane,” Lloyd said.

Why green?

While the bright hue is an eye-catching choice, green wasn’t the first pick for this kind of safety project.

“In the mid-1990s, the Federal Highway Administration supported experiments with blue and green paint in several cities across the country,” said Lloyd. “It was determined that there were operational concerns with blue treatment, as it could conflict with pavement markings commonly reserved for accessibility parking, and the blue color was less visible in low-light conditions.”

The bright green color painted along Mr. Joe White Avenue is the only Federal Highway Administration-approved color for use on bike lanes, Lloyd said.

How long will the paint last?

There’s no official timeline for the highlighted bike lanes. The paint won’t be removed but, depending on weather conditions and wear from traffic, it’s only expected to last about three to five years.

This story was originally published January 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM.