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For more than a decade, Mark Birnbaum’s daily commute was edged with anxiety. The Novato, California, resident and member of the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (pictured) biked 16 miles to his job in San Rafael and, every day, braved a narrow stretch on Alameda del Prado.

“It became apparent the first day I ever commuted on my bike in 2000 that it was totally unsafe there,” Birnbaum told the Marin Independent Journal earlier this year. “It was just a matter of time before somebody got killed by an impatient driver. I’ve had a couple of close calls myself.”

Last week, advocates celebrated new bike lanes that will help ease the anxiety of riders like Birnbaum. “I wish Mark were here today,” Judy Arnold, Marin County Board President, said, as she cut the ribbon on the new bicycle facilities.

Birnbaum was traveling out of the country, but more than three dozen advocates showed up to christen the 4-foot bike lanes stretching along both sides of Alameda del Prado. Not only do the new facilities make a dicey stretch more passable for cyclists, but they also connect the existing bicycle lanes on Ignacio Boulevard to the Pacheco Pathway, closing a key one-mile gap in the North/South Bikeway.

According to the Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Birnbaum would be proud. “The completed project includes narrowed landscaped medians, underground utilities and a smooth surface to roll along,” the organization notes in its latest newsletter. “Check out the new bikes lanes the next time you’re traveling north. They’re very nice!”

Read more about the Marin County Bicycle Coalition here.