The new bike lane begins near the end of Lakeshore Avenue, in front of Lake Merritt United Methodist Church. It wraps around the lake over the dam and ends at Lakeside Drive. It replaces one of two car traffic lanes and is clearly identified by bright orange cones and bulky orange traffic barriers.

"Yeah, definitely I feel safer (having the lane blocked off)," said Regina Dawson of Oakland, who was walking the south end of the lake with friend Melida House last week. "I rode my bike down here over the weekend and saw it. It's so nice."

House said it's particularly good not to have to negotiate the narrow sidewalk that rises above the dam with cyclists, which is often not safe for those walking.

Unlike the rest of the lake shore, which is wide and has grass and paths so joggers, walkers and cyclists have room to spread out, on the south end where 12th and 14th streets cross the dam, everybody is squeezed onto the sidewalk, and there is no buffer between the cars whizzing by like it's a freeway.

But Audrey Knight, a longtime resident at 1200 Lakeshore, a high-rise apartment building at the south end of the lake, doesn't like the parking spaces being taken out to accommodate the bike lane. She particularly dislikes the loss of one traffic lane in front of her building,where the bike lane begins.

"The problem is, it's right there in the curve so all the traffic flows from what had been two lanes into one lane. Any of us coming out of this building have to wait during busy times in the morning and afternoon to try to merge into the traffic."

Cyclist Chris Angelos, however, emphatically supports the bike lane.

"I bike to work in City Center every day. When I first saw the cones, I thought they were getting ready for some bike race."

Angelos said she rode her bike on the sidewalk rather than in the street because it is safer.

To create the bike lane, city public works crews took out the equivalent of eight to 10 coveted parking spaces along the lake, said Kathryn Hughes, city transportation coordinator.

"The parking spaces on Lakeshore's south side were removed because we had to create a transition area, to find a place to make it safer for bikes to get on that loop," Hughes said, adding that engineers will try to find a way to replace the lost parking spaces.

"With all the potholes on Lakeshore, instead of fixing those, the city makes a bike lane," Knight said. "I'm sure the bikers need the space, but it hasn't been a problem. No accidents."

Actually, two years ago a woman lost control of her van as she drove around the sharp curve that feeds Lakeshore Avenue onto 12th Street. The van jumped the curb, hit a man and dragged a woman who had been walking on the sidewalk for 50 feet before slamming into the railing that overlooks the lake. Both victims survived.

Hughes said the bright-orange barrier makes sure drivers notice it and perhaps slow down.

"We wanted it very bright because it changes people's behavior," Hughes said. "We've received incredibly positive feedback."

But another nearby resident who did not want her name used said she hopes the city takes down the barriers now that the bike lane is painted on the roadway, so cars have more room to maneuver around potholes.

"I have mixed emotions about it," she said. "I love the idea of having a bike lane because the bikers scare me to death. They take up lanes and slow traffic. They make me very nervous, so for that reason I'm delighted it's there. But I'm not happy with the loss of parking."

The woman has a parking space in her building, but visitors must park on the street. Tenants with more than one car also often park on the street, but they are worried about being robbed if they park too far away at night, she said.

Hughes said the new bike lane is a temporary fix until the roadway between the lake and the Kaiser Center is reconfigured with funds from the $198 million Lake Merritt Measure DD bond to make the south end of the lake much more inviting for recreation and pedestrians.

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