Providence Will Keep DIY Plungers in Place to Prevent Cars From Clogging Bike Lane

Keeping cars out of bike lanes can seem like a Sisyphean task, particularly when a street design makes it easy for drivers to go where they shouldn’t. But do-it-yourself attempts to stop automobile incursions have proven to be invaluable demonstrations of how simple steps can make a real impact — from flowers in Boston to traffic cones in Brooklyn to human barriers in San Francisco.

Most recently, advocates in Providence have taken a page from Wichita, Kansas, by installing plungers to unclog a bike lane — leading city officials to come up with a permanent fix.

Last fall, Providence got its first parking-protected bike lane on a short stretch of Fountain Street, which brings riders from the city’s west side into downtown. But the extra-wide bike lane, which is painted between a row of parked vehicles and the curb, is often full of cars whose drivers are either making right turns or double-parked.

Jeffrey Leary, fed up with car congestion in the bike lane, decided to fix the problem. He bought 72 plungers for a dollar each, attached reflective tape to the top, and dropped them along the edge of the bike lane.

Leary told the Providence Journal that he did it because he’d like the streets to be safe enough for his 9-year-old daughter to ride her bike. “There’s a lot of great stuff in Providence,” he said, “[but] I certainly would never allow her to ride in the streets in Providence. That would scare me to death.”

Often, city governments remove unauthorized bike lane barriers, but Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza has decided to keep them until his administration comes up with a solution.

“The plunger installation is a creative way to draw attention to an important issue,” said Elorza spokesperson Emily Crowell. “The City won’t remove them unless they impede traffic on the street. This summer the City is looking into ways to better delineate the lanes such as painting, flower beds and flexible posts.”