[kqr]

I agree -- bike boxes are quite miraculous. They're the one instance where paint actually is infrastructure, and I use them any time I can just to show other cyclists that they are allowed to.

But to add some nuance to the argument: bike boxes are an improvement over filtering up on the side of the road. Doing what (I assume) GP did and taking the lane behind waiting cars is about as safe, because any other cars coming up from behind ought to see you as they roll up to you, being that you are in front of them and not to the side. (And they're already paying forward attention thanks to the car ahead of you.)