Friday, June 21, 2013

Washington Street Bike Plan - DESIGN IDEAS!

SO finally, after months and months, we are starting to see some designs for what a bike path on Washington Street could look like.

Washington Street bike plan


The image shows what the current state of Washington street is, and what it could look like.  Some thoughts:


  • this is a section of Washington Street at 68' wide.  But not all sections are that wide, nor do they support a 6' median.  But, we are not supposed to take this view as the literal implementation of the plan.
  • the pathway/sidewalk on the right is a nice feature, and because it's grade-separated, it looks really safe.  
  • both bike lanes look like safety is a priority
  • the median planted with a tree makes the whole street look much more aesthetically pleasing.  I wonder if they are thinking about capturing any runoff in that median?
  • it's not really fair to call it a "Parking Lane" in the existing view because it is actually a bike lane currently, albeit a really poor one.  Apparently the city places a sign off to the right indicating it's for bikes, but someone keeps taking it down.  That said, this bike lane contains an average about 15 cars a day parked in it, because as we all know, there is no parking in Five Points.
What do you think of the proposed design?  Do you think it's safe?  Do you think it works?  What do you think the impacts will be?