I bike all the time - literally (even to and from the AZ Cancer Center for treatments, up on Campbell and Allen). While the Bike Lane is awkward, it's not horrible. And yes, it throws bicyclists into downtown without bike lanes, but the plan was never anything different. YES, all of downtown needs bikelanes... the same can be said for almost every major city in the USA.
I know there's a lot to complain about. But complaining about the fact that the 4th Ave. underpass ends up doing exactly what it planned, a couple of months after it has opened, seems unhelpful on our part. Rather, why don't we try to work with the city to make the transition for the downtown portion for bikers to be more bike-friendly.
And as to Patrick's comments on the trolley tracks, I have not had any problems, and I take those turns almost daily. As a full time biker in this city, I think this complaint is exaggerated and not-of-serious substance. I have, really and truly, had one person die in my arms from getting hit by a car, in this city. And the person was legally in the right. I do not anticipate the trolley tracks at 4th Ave. and 9th St. to be of serious concern, compared to many, many, many other more problematic and potentially harmful areas of the city.
The underpass is well-lit, clean, the bike-lane is wide, and it does what it claimed it would do. Being annoyed with it doing what it claimed it would do seems misdirected to me. There are many things that can be improved... let's work with the city to do that, rather than complain about the city actually completing the underpass, more or less, in the manner that they proposed it to be.
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I know there's a lot to complain about. But complaining about the fact that the 4th Ave. underpass ends up doing exactly what it planned, a couple of months after it has opened, seems unhelpful on our part. Rather, why don't we try to work with the city to make the transition for the downtown portion for bikers to be more bike-friendly.
And as to Patrick's comments on the trolley tracks, I have not had any problems, and I take those turns almost daily. As a full time biker in this city, I think this complaint is exaggerated and not-of-serious substance. I have, really and truly, had one person die in my arms from getting hit by a car, in this city. And the person was legally in the right. I do not anticipate the trolley tracks at 4th Ave. and 9th St. to be of serious concern, compared to many, many, many other more problematic and potentially harmful areas of the city.
The underpass is well-lit, clean, the bike-lane is wide, and it does what it claimed it would do. Being annoyed with it doing what it claimed it would do seems misdirected to me. There are many things that can be improved... let's work with the city to do that, rather than complain about the city actually completing the underpass, more or less, in the manner that they proposed it to be.