Yes, coming from the Houston suburbs, I am giddy that there are even a few square feet of paved road that are labeled as a bike lane (I am temporarily in Lubbock). Makes it so much less stressful to get around--I have only spent $20 in gas this month, and that was from traveling out of Lubbock.
Unfortunately, anyone that has lived in Lubbock can confirm the quality of pavement in the city, and it seems that whenever they try to fix the road it just gets worse.
I just want to confirm that it is not illegal to avoid the bike lane if it is there. I could definitely see making the argument that it is unsafe to ride in these lanes, but I also know from experience that any officer of the law can skew the gray areas a little if they really want to peg you.
One particularly bad section is on a "recommended" bike route where it appears they have repaved a few times without actually removing the existing pavement first--so there is now a pretty steep shoulder that goes into the curb. The loose rocks that recently got swept there make it very dangerous if you get within 2-3 feet of the curb.