Advocacy & Safety - Boston-DCR BU Bridge Meeting #4

Anyone on here attend the DCR's 4th meeting presenting the final plans for the BU Bridge reconstruction tonight?

DCR has not yet posted the latest presentation, so the following images are from past presentations. You can check out previous ones here (http://www.mass.gov/dcr/news/publicmeetings/bridgematerials.htm)

Bike related Highlights:
-The BU Bridge is being reconstructed to include bike lanes. Four lanes will become three as the fourth will become the bike lanes. The final selected lane redesign will look like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/thehum/bike/bikeforums/bubridgebikelanes.jpg

According to the DCR rep., who stated over and over again, the rotary on the Cambridge side is a major cause of congestion over the bridge as it is chaotic and dangerous for everyone because it's too wide and there are no painted lanes. It will be redesigned to look like this,
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/thehum/bike/bikeforums/bubridgecambridgeside.jpg

Construction is a three phase process during which certain lanes will be closed. During certain nights from 11pm-5am all traffic lanes will be closed for construction.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/thehum/bike/bikeforums/bubridgephase1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/thehum/bike/bikeforums/bubridgephase2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/thehum/bike/bikeforums/bubridgephase3.jpg


Noteworthy Q&A Comments/Thoughts/Observations:
-I estimate around 50 people showed up.
-It didn't seem like the design had changed at all since the last meeting nor had the designers really take into consideration a lot of what all the bike advocates went up and talked about last time. It was a confirmation of their final plans, which is fine, but there wasn't much new info, really.
-Bike specific stop/go lights would really make the intersection with the Charles River Path
-several people mentioned the need to address the bridge effect (when cars speed up on bridges to get over the curved "hump") and the safety of cyclists when it happens, especially during the consturction phases when bikers have to share single lanes. Suggestions include signs to alert drivers.
-Several people pointed out that the Cambridge side bike lane disappears at two points in the new plan. Once on Cambridge side-the right turn onto the bridge. And the northbound lanes coming off the bridge. They didn't have a response to this.
-Someone asked the DCR guys whether they had ever ridden a bike across the bridge themselves, to which they sheepishly replied that they had not. All the engineers/designers designing the bridge reconstruction should really see what it's like to ride a bike across the bridge.
-Many people raised concerns that the redesign of the rotary alone in addition to the cut down to three lanes. With no plans to redesign the intersection on the Boston side (it's composed of three different sections controlled by three different city governances who have yet to cooperate in a redesign), car traffic will be even more of a living nightmare than it is now, especially during rush hour and Sox games.
-Pretty much every bike specific concern I could think of was mentioned by others.

The bridge has been effectively reduced to three lanes due to sidewalk construction for some time now, and the backed up traffic has gone from bad to horrific. Even from a cyclists perspective, I'd honestly rather see four lanes, than three with a bike lane. It would make things a little better on both sides of the bridge, even if crossing the bridge itself would be a bit trickier.

Is it such a huge deal that the bike lane disappears at two points on the Cambridge side? When exiting the bridge, a bike lane would just be taking cyclists in the path of right turning vehicles (maybe a sign telling cyclists to merge left would be appropriate), and getting on the bridge, a cyclist would likely just stay to the right, where the bike lane would be anyway.

I don't know. Seems like a huge amount of expense and hassle, with very minimal gains for cyclists, and huge drawbacks for motorists. (There's still going to be a one-lane bottle-neck for motorists in both directions. That fact isn't mitigated at all eventually changing to two lanes.)