Adding bike lanes to a previously wide avenue was part of a city plan to encourage less dependence on cars. I’m not sure if the model chosen by city planners was the best choice. Here you see in a microcosm what the issues are. The bike lane is the lane closest to the curb. Next to it is car parking, then a single lane for moving cars. Theoretically the parked cars will protect cyclists from moving vehicles. However, from the driver’s perspective, the road changes at various places from two lanes to one, and suddenly your moving car is right behind a parked vehicle. The other danger is making a right turn in front of parked cars, and not seeing a bike come shooting up on the other side. It would be one thing if we had so many bicyclists in this part of town that drivers would be constantly aware of them, but frankly they are few and far between. Maybe the new design will encourage biking to the downtown business area but I am not optimistic. Meanwhile a wide lovely road is now a street I try to avoid.
