The meeting went quite well, I thought. The upshot is that the lanes will not be removed. A few complainers were there to vent, but the overwhelming opinion was that the new scheme is a change for the better. Present from the city were Cliff Wood, Lt. Schiavulli, Lt. Ryan, John Nickelson (DPW), and Linda Painter (Planning).
Only complaint raised more than once: afraid of pulling out of my driveway, I might hit a bicyclist. Response: the cyclists have always been there, you should have been looking out for them all along, this changes nothing except possibly the number of cyclists.
Nearly all attendees agreed that motor vehicle speeds are down, and that there are fewer drivers operating in the bike and parking lanes today than in the first few weeks. To respond to that, Lt. Schiavulli said that he would assign patrolmen to the Blvd during commuter hours more often. John Nickelson’s response was that DPW is still considering other ways to make it clear that the parking lane is for parking. Currently there are no markings stating that (though there are new signs up now, explaining the uses of the 3 lanes). He is looking into painting diagonal lines across the parking lane at fire hydrants and bus stops, as a way to make it a little clearer. Between heightened enforcement and DPW efforts, combined with locals simply getting adjusted, we should see even greater reduction in these situations.