The creation of a couple of bike lanes for downtown Lincoln was long overdue. The Lincoln City Council — beleaguered as it may be for missteps on other topics — deserves a nod of approval for catching up with other localities that have had bike lanes for years.

Downtown Lincoln has more than its share of bicyclists thanks to the proximity of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s downtown campus. Downtown regulars know there will be an upsurge in pedal-powered commutes when fall classes begin at UNL.

Students aren’t the only cyclists, of course. Other commuters use them as well, and their numbers have been growing as gasoline prices hover around $3 per gallon.

The new bike lanes on 11th and 14th streets will be marked by solid white lines near intersections, with white dashes in mid-block to signal where motorists should change lanes. The bike lanes also will have two painted bicycle symbols per block, as well as arrows indicating direction of travel.

Because city officials wanted to preserve on-street parking, the new bike lanes will not be adjacent to curbs. Instead, the lanes will be more in the center of the street, allowing for a turn lane and buffer space next to parked vehicles.

Obvious as the need for bike lanes should be, the move apparently still has stirred some controversy, judging by comments posted on the Journal Star’s Web site in reaction to the council action. Many of the comments echoed entrenched animosity between bicyclists and motorists, with each camp accusing the other of disrespecting their rights and traffic laws.

From the perspective of the Journal Star editorial board, which has used both types of conveyance and regularly observes commuter behavior from the pedestrian point of view, both sides are right.

Fortunately, the advent of the new bike lanes will be accompanied by a educational campaign, including a video on Time Warner cable channel 5 and on the city’s Web site that explains how the lanes should be used and urges both motorists and bicyclists to follow the rules of the road.

One advantage Lincoln has is that it was able to draw on the experience of other communities that created bike lanes decades ago. The configuration adopted here is “fairly typical” in other communities, city Transportation Planner David Cary said.

No doubt, however, some adjustment will be required when bicyclists begin using the new lanes. Both motorists and bicyclists should be on their best behavior. Many other communities have learned that bike lanes are a valuable alternative for urban travel. So will Lincoln.