I'm curious what people think of this bike/auto situation in Menlo Park (Stanford uses a building 100 yards to the right of the image; A high school is immediately on the left)
Before: https://goo.gl/maps/rMCyZ7gYSHfjvycF7
The visible street is Middlefield. Ravenswood is the street that comes in from the right and ends at the intersection.
Consider a cyclist traveling in the bike lane that passes through the intersection, has a short bicycle lane, and then encounters a (normal) lane that comes in from the right. Call that lane "R-M".
The bicycle lane restarted a 100' or so further up, next to the curb.
Notice the yellow sign indicating a lane is added on the right with traffic already in it. The car (or bike) traffic in that R-M lane is continuing on, with no traffic light, stop sign, or yield sign (there is a crosswalk).
I would consider this to have been the rule for a cyclist wanting to enter the R-M lane:
"Entering traffic: When entering traffic, you must proceed with caution and yield to the traffic already occupying the lanes. "
I should add that cars in the right (R-M) lane often merge left as soon as possible into the left lane, to turn left at the next light.
In 2015-2016, they painted the bike lanes green. and added dashed green where cars & bicycles both go.
After: https://goo.gl/maps/VWZynyQFYESqVY5y9
Overhead view: https://goo.gl/maps/BKD5dHmx82dA6MeE8
Once they painted the broken green lane across the R-M lane, it seems that a cyclist might think they have the right-of-way and the car should yield for them, while a driver in the R-M lane would continue to think they have the right-of-way.
It seems to me to be a dangerous intersection because of the unclear right-of-way and the pretty significant amount of bike & car traffic, with cars continuing straight or moving left and bikes moving right.
If a cyclist is entering from Ravenswood (on the right) and heading toward the top of the image, and they follow the bike lanes, they have to cross the R-M lane twice (once right to left, and then left to right).
Potential solutions:
1. Put up a Yield sign for either the bikes or the cars. And hope that it is obeyed....
2. Redo the island. Extend it out (left) to cover what is currently the bike lane preventing bikes from continuing straight and having to merge into the R-M lane from the left. Widen the crosswalk (on the right of the island) area for perpendicular crossing of the R-M lane so that it has both a crosswalk and the dashed bike lane. Widen the R-M lane to add a bike lane next to the curb. Cyclists would need to turn right (after crossing the crosswalk that comes in from the left) and then left, but the danger of a entering from the left hand side of the lane would be removed. There is no change in how the bicycles cross the pedestrian crosswalk. The bicycles cross the R-M traffic perpendicularly as is the case at almost all intersections. The bicycle lane is adjacent to the pedestrian crosswalk as it crosses the lane (the driver/cyclist in the R-M lane has one area, not three, where others are crossing the lane). The cyclist coming from Middlefield and turning right on Ravenswood uses the R-M bike lane and never has to cross car traffic.
3. Remove the R-M lane. Widen the intersection so that a new lane is added at the intersection. Adjust the crosswalks and bike lanes accordingly. The traffic that would use it would have to turn right at the light. This would result in a backup on Ravenswood and would likely increase the risk to pedestrians and cyclists waiting to cross Middlefield at that light. (The R-M lane floods in heavy rains, so the traffic sometimes has to turn right at the light currently.)
Before: https://goo.gl/maps/rMCyZ7gYSHfjvycF7
The visible street is Middlefield. Ravenswood is the street that comes in from the right and ends at the intersection.
Consider a cyclist traveling in the bike lane that passes through the intersection, has a short bicycle lane, and then encounters a (normal) lane that comes in from the right. Call that lane "R-M".
The bicycle lane restarted a 100' or so further up, next to the curb.
Notice the yellow sign indicating a lane is added on the right with traffic already in it. The car (or bike) traffic in that R-M lane is continuing on, with no traffic light, stop sign, or yield sign (there is a crosswalk).
I would consider this to have been the rule for a cyclist wanting to enter the R-M lane:
"Entering traffic: When entering traffic, you must proceed with caution and yield to the traffic already occupying the lanes. "
I should add that cars in the right (R-M) lane often merge left as soon as possible into the left lane, to turn left at the next light.
In 2015-2016, they painted the bike lanes green. and added dashed green where cars & bicycles both go.
After: https://goo.gl/maps/VWZynyQFYESqVY5y9
Overhead view: https://goo.gl/maps/BKD5dHmx82dA6MeE8
Once they painted the broken green lane across the R-M lane, it seems that a cyclist might think they have the right-of-way and the car should yield for them, while a driver in the R-M lane would continue to think they have the right-of-way.
It seems to me to be a dangerous intersection because of the unclear right-of-way and the pretty significant amount of bike & car traffic, with cars continuing straight or moving left and bikes moving right.
If a cyclist is entering from Ravenswood (on the right) and heading toward the top of the image, and they follow the bike lanes, they have to cross the R-M lane twice (once right to left, and then left to right).
Potential solutions:
1. Put up a Yield sign for either the bikes or the cars. And hope that it is obeyed....
2. Redo the island. Extend it out (left) to cover what is currently the bike lane preventing bikes from continuing straight and having to merge into the R-M lane from the left. Widen the crosswalk (on the right of the island) area for perpendicular crossing of the R-M lane so that it has both a crosswalk and the dashed bike lane. Widen the R-M lane to add a bike lane next to the curb. Cyclists would need to turn right (after crossing the crosswalk that comes in from the left) and then left, but the danger of a entering from the left hand side of the lane would be removed. There is no change in how the bicycles cross the pedestrian crosswalk. The bicycles cross the R-M traffic perpendicularly as is the case at almost all intersections. The bicycle lane is adjacent to the pedestrian crosswalk as it crosses the lane (the driver/cyclist in the R-M lane has one area, not three, where others are crossing the lane). The cyclist coming from Middlefield and turning right on Ravenswood uses the R-M bike lane and never has to cross car traffic.
3. Remove the R-M lane. Widen the intersection so that a new lane is added at the intersection. Adjust the crosswalks and bike lanes accordingly. The traffic that would use it would have to turn right at the light. This would result in a backup on Ravenswood and would likely increase the risk to pedestrians and cyclists waiting to cross Middlefield at that light. (The R-M lane floods in heavy rains, so the traffic sometimes has to turn right at the light currently.)