[*BCM*] Fwd: Comm Ave Bike Lane meeting Aug 31st.

[Ari Pollak]

In case people are wondering how this turned out, a few points about
what happened at the meeting:

- Local government is trying to phase out "share the road" signage
because of confusion about what exactly that means
- The most popular proposal is to put a bike lane on the left side of
both directions of traffic, thereby avoiding all parked & double-parked
cars, while narrowing the two existing lanes of travel & keeping one
lane of parking. There are still some kinks to be worked out, but some
of the considerations include:
  - "bike boxes" at intersections
     (http://www.portlandonline.com/TRANSPORTATION/index.cfm?c=46717)
  - eliminating one car lane on the Mass Ave underpass and continuing
    the bike lane, eliminating the messy merges that happen at the end
    of the tunnel
  - replacing a regular travel lane with a bike lane between Kenmore
    Square & Mass Ave
  - a wide (8 inches) reflective, non-slip solid line delineating the
    bike lane from the other travel lanes
- All of the proposals only include changing lane markings & signage,
without requiring any other construction.
- Contrary to what some people were reporting, the Neighborhood
Association of the Back Bay is not actively opposing bike lanes, mostly
since the proposed changes would theoretically improve life for all
three classes of travelers, not just one. They're mostly concerned about
the proper planning taking place, as well as keeping bikers from riding
through to the Public Garden once they get to the end of Comm Ave at
Arlington.
- A lot of residents kept asking about whether having the bike lane
would make it illegal for bikers to use the normal travel lanes. Others
made it clear that no, that is not the case in MA or Boston, especially
since bikers would still need to be able to make turns and merge into &
out of of the bike lane.