New Traffic/Bike Lanes

I must say I don't see much rhyme or reason to the flow and configuration of the new bike lanes through downtown. Someone told me they believed Caltrans was responsible for the design but who at city level would have signed off? Ideally they will encourage many more of us to hop on our bikes but did anyone do a study of what critical mass may be at which point it neutralizes the sometimes severe negative traffic flow impacts we now experience. I was also told of confused pedestrians walking in them as crosswalks.
Comments?

This is the bike lane along Main Street.

Nothing unusual about it.

It may seem wide, but is probably just the standard width for a modern bike lane.

I don't think there was any in this area before.

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Posted in reply to the post by photolite:

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Since you so obviously read the thread already posted...

116 is a STATE Road.

Sebastopol had nothing to do with the bike lanes.

Actually, the Seb. City Council voted 4-1 for the bike lanes, with only Michael Carnarchi opposing them, as noted here on Waccobb.net and also in a recent front page article in Sonoma West.

I am among the many who feel that this development is dangerous and likely to lead to some serious accidents. Getting onto the road going South from downtown is particularly dangerous, especially for those just traveling through.

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Posted in reply to the post by ChefJayTay:

Since you so obviously read the thread already posted...

116 is a STATE Road.

Sebastopol had nothing to do with the bike lanes.

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https://www.sonomawest.com/sonoma_we...1725804ec.html

This is the most relevant Sonoma West article. It is about ADA sidewalk ramps, repaving Hwy 116 and the bike lanes.

Carnacchi said the project appeared on his radar in 2014 as a court-mandated project on Highway 116 to bring sidewalks into ADA compliance. The project went mostly unnoticed until Sept. 2017, when several city representatives met with Caltrans staff about the project and raised concerns about coordinating design work with other city projects that include marking bike lanes and making sidewalk corners wheelchair accessible.

The city council drafted a letter of disagreement with Caltrans’ construction plans. The letter to Caltrans said they were stunned to see the project details on Oct. 9, 2017, the same day the project went out to bid with a due date on bids of Nov. 15, 2017.

Carnacchi, who serves as the alternate board member for the Sonoma County Transportation Authority, said he wasn’t sure how the project moved from the environmental phase to the construction phase without input from the city or its citizens. “Now I’m really aware of it, and it won’t happen again,” he said.
Due to a push from Carnacchi and other city leaders, the CalTrans project originally slated to begin this year was moved from the construction phase back to design phase with a budget of more than $3.1 million.

“Now that we are back in the design phase, it’s really important we come up with a good design,” Carnacchi said.

As a long time resident I know how to get around the huge traffic backups that have resulted from this unfortunate turn of events. However,this may mean the end of a vibrant commercial downtown and much more traffic on previously quiet residential side streets. I wonder if there is any way to unwind this awful snafu. Would recalling all of the city council except for Michael help?

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Posted in reply to the post by Shepherd:

Actually, the Seb. City Council voted 4-1 for the bike lanes, with only Michael Carnarchi opposing them, as noted here on Waccobb.net and also in a recent front page article in Sonoma West.

I am among the many who feel that this development is dangerous and likely to lead to some serious accidents. Getting onto the road going South from downtown is particularly dangerous, especially for those just traveling through.

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Bike lanes are an attempt to make the roads safer for bicyclists,but they require everyone's participation to really make them safe. The person (walking?) in that picture could easily get hit by a driver's door as they get out of their car.

Bicyclists need to give themselves space for a door to open into the bike lane - this is why folks often ride on the left side of the bike lane. Also, drivers: when opening car doors (especially into bike lanes), please try to open with your right hand so your body is twisted so you can see if any bikes are coming up on you. I know that this is hard to do on days when back pain is at its worst, but we need to remember to look out for bikes before we open our doors. And folks, please don't doublepark in a bike lane. I once went between cars and got doored by the double-parked passenger.

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Posted in reply to the post by MikeH:

This is the bike lane along Main Street.

Nothing unusual about it.

It may seem wide, but is probably just the standard width for a modern bike lane.

I don't think there was any in this area before.

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I'm so glad you mentioned traffic on quiet residential streets.
Drivers, please slow down on our residential streets. They are not highways.
Drivers, please stop at stop signs. A stop sign means stop.
Drivers, please use your turn signals. We cannot guess when you intend to turn.
Drivers, please turn off your high beams when a car, bicycle, or pedestrian is approaching.

Driving, walking, and riding a bike in Sebastopol has become a chaotic, unsafe, and disrespectful mess of drivers who have forgotten SHARE THE ROAD

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Posted in reply to the post by Norbu:

...However,this may mean the end of a vibrant commercial downtown and much more traffic on previously quiet residential side streets. ...

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