I find it interesting that we are getting almost daily updates on the survey and comments. I have never seen survey results and comments released before a final decision is made in a government agency. It is almost like they are are trying to skew the results one way or another.

EDITOR NOTE–Clancy, I agree. Who would have thought bikes would come down to being a political issue…and I would venture, generational. i.e. “Old conservatives don’t like bike lanes, young progressives want to get rid of cars.”

The #1 factor should be safety for cyclists, pedestrians, & even motorists.

I thought is was telling at yesterday’s meeting 4 of the 5 commissioners had not biked in the lanes yet. Rebecca Arnold said she intentionally avoids those streets now.

It does seem the Commissioners are reading the ACHD website input function of TELLUS as they call it. tellus@achdidaho.org

When I drive to work I drive Main and Idaho. When I bike to work/or anywhere westward I do not use Main or Idaho. I still do not.

Bikeboy, I hope you can make it to the ACHD meeting to testify.

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.

But what ACHD doesn’t tell us is if they’re filtering submissions from identical IP addresses.

I’m guessing that most cyclists are aged 20 to 35 and more likely to be tech savvy. That is they know they can clear their cookies or use multiple browsers or proxy servers to enter the survey more than once. I’m guessing many of them have multiple email addresses and multiple internet capable devices, like a work computer, home computer, and cellular smart phone all with different IP addresses. There would be no way to tell if there’s vote brigading.

What about less tech savvy users (older husband and wife) in a single household with a single IP address. It wouldn’t be fair to exclude those legitimate results.

Danger factor:

Drivers making lefts off of Main is definitely a more dangerous situation than before. A row of parked SUVs or even cars blocks the view of drivers from seeing cyclists in the bike lane. This makes a left hook very likely. It makes pedestrians less safe. I find myself looking right for light runners, then over my shoulder to the left for cyclists and the last thing I look for is a pedestrian in the crosswalk. But I’m in a hurry to cross the crosswalk because I don’t want a cyclist broadsiding me while I’m turning left.

In fact this is absurd. It is patently illegal to make a left or right from other than the left most or right most travel lane unless stripped as a multiple turn lane. To have turning traffic cross over thru traffic defies logic and it defies common sense.

Usage:

I drive Main everyday. I count the cars and cyclists. Moving cars far outnumber moving cyclists. 20 to 1 or more. It’s probably 100 to 1.

Summary:

Given the constraints of history and topography motorists will never have a new road punched through downtown. The bike lanes are a shoehorning hatchet job. Cyclists and motorists and going to have to settle for something that’s less than perfect.

Grove and Bannock are good enough. Remove the wooden planks and pave the 8th Street trestle.