In Berkeley, Telegraph Ave is 68 ft wide and carries a higher volume of traffic than Telegraph in Oakland, which means four traffic lanes may be needed in spots. If so, Telegraph Ave could look like this with curbside protected bike lanes:
The configuration includes 4 travel lanes, each 10 ft wide, parking lanes on each side of the street, and 7 ft bike lanes next to the curb. (With this drawing of Telegraph, we assumed 8 ft wide sidewalks, but they may in reality be wider). The protected bike lanes are wide enough for two people to pass comfortably on bike.
At busy intersections where turn pockets are needed, a few parking spaces are removed to make room, as shown at right. The bike lanes stay continuous up to the intersection, with bike boxes and bike traffic signals at busier intersections having higher right turning traffic movements.
This approach to street redesign is what Bike East Bay is advocating for in all future street campaigns–redesign the street from the curb to the middle of the street. Start by
- asking how wide the sidewalk should be
- then ask how wide the curbside bike lane should be
- then ask what kind of transit improvements are needed to make transit efficient
- make sure loading zones and ADA parking and access is well-designed
- and left over space is for travel lanes, designed as best they can be to accommodate local traffic.
In Copenhagen, Tietgensgade is a street with similar dimensions and neighborhood characteristics to Telegraph Avenue, and here is what the Danes would do. You may notice that there is no buffer between the parked cars and the bike lane– certainly not ideal, but Copenhagen does this all over the City and it works fine. Bicyclists are alerted to watch for doors opening, and drivers are cautioned to look first before opening passenger side doors.