Maybe in 2006 it was different, but I don't recall Novelty Hill ever having a bike lane (except at the Avondale intersection, and the crest by Trilogy shopping plaza.) I live at the crest of Novelty Hill road and ride it almost every day (from Trilogy to Avondale) and there is no bike lane going down the hill from Redmond Ridge Rd. until you get to the marked turn lane split at the Avondale intersection.
The King Co. Park & Rec. maps show Novelty Hill Rd. as a bicycle route, but do not make any claims to a bike lane. The map legend lists Novelty Hill Rd. as "Moderate to Heavy traffic with wide curb lane or paved shoulder", not "On Street bicycle lane".
It sucks that the guy's permanently injured, but I don't see where King County is at fault because this guy didn't watch where he was going. Novelty Hill is full of potholes, crumbled roadway around manhole covers, tire-grabbing pavement cracks, gravel, and blown-down tree debris. I'm surprised I'm still in one piece after some of the pre-dawn runs I've taken down it.
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"I feel like my world was classier before I found cyclocross."
- Mandi M.