TLDR: A disappointment with safety concerns.
Is it better than nothing? Maybe.
Is it a replacement for the Washington Ave protected lanes? No.
In case you missed it (but who did?): The award winning Washington Ave bike lanes were removed, and the city’s “replacement” is a new bike lane on Pennsylvania Ave. Now that it’s built, we decided to hop on our bikes to check it out, review, and compare it to the protected lanes on Washington.
So, what did we find?
Limited Connectivity. Pennsylvania dead ends into 7th and 17th, grossly limiting access and connectivity to the places we need to go.
Pictured: The Dead End.
No businesses on Pennsylvania. There are very few practical destinations on Pennsylvania. The intention is that you “jog” over to Washington once you reach the closest cross street; however, there are no bike facilities on these connections. This adds time and distance to access Washington businesses. Clearly cars were priority #1 in this setup.
No serendipity. If you want to go to a business on Washington you now need to know exactly what and where it is. You will need to memorize the address so you can make sure you pick the right cross street to make your “jog” over. The days of rolling down Washington and impulsively grabbing a croissant at Bettant Bakery are over. This trip must now be planned and mapped.
A reinforcement of “Cars = Business” and “Bikes = Leisure”. People on bikes are economic engines for cities. When cities banish the bikes to off streets, they banish the economic impact as well.
The installation was slow. The city’s administration claimed that Pennsylvania would replace Washington as a bike corridor. The bike lanes on Washington were removed and months passed prior to the full implementation, leaving riders no safe route to get around town.
Much of Pennsylvania doesn’t even have a bike lane. Sharrows make up the beginning and ending portions. (Remember, sharrows are shown to make streets LESS safe for bikes than nothing at all). The northernmost section doesn’t even have sharrows.
The bike lane randomly ends. Then begins again. There are curb extensions that block the lane forcing riders to cut back into traffic multiple times. Having to swerve in and out of car traffic is dangerous and uncomfortable.
No Protection. Unlike the parking protected lane on Washington that physically protected users, the Pennsylvania lane provides no protection. Only a narrow, painted buffer zone.
Doorzone!!! This lane forces riders to ride right next to the driver side door of parked cars. Being “doored” is a dangerous, sometimes deadly, difficult-to-avoid hazard. The Washington Ave lanes provided space to avoid this deadly zone.
Positives:
Is this lane better than nothing on Pennsylvania? Probably yes. The bike lanes are painted green (good) and the paint extends through intersections (also good). Might this lane encourage someone to ride who would not have? Perhaps, and this would undeniably be a good thing.
Conclusion:
This lane has little connectivity, is incomplete, and provides limited protection to riders. Clearly cars were the priority when planning this configuration in opposition to the city’s adopted transit priority, which is supposed to be: 1. Pedestrians, 2. Bicyclists/Transit/Freight, 3. Private Cars. The lack of consistency, connectivity, and slow timing give us great concern about city priorities when it comes to those who don’t drive.