The plan with this is to make the second eastbound lane a bus lane, potentially shared with bikes. There are 6 bus routes going through Davis, so if the goal is to move as many people as possible and encourage greener/denser transportation, that's better than a second car lane.
Westbound is more of an issue. It will cause congestion, but I don't think it'll be terrible and people will decide not to drive accordingly. (You can also sort of consider going up to the T station a westbound bus lane.)
Car traffic is 1 lane everywhere (except maybe turn lanes), so there's no place where there's a sudden 2->1 bottleneck.
Yeah.... there are lots of options for Chester St, none of which sound perfect. I think my favorite so far is parking, including handicap accessible parking, with a cul-de-sac that intrudes slightly into the pedestrian area. This would also be a potential loading zone. Bowers Ave would not be blocked, since it has access to Grove and the open part of Elm. Though it may be nice to reverse it for better access to the neighborhood back there.
I generally agree on parking, but I think parking on Summer St would be better than usual: It's off street and close but not in the way. That space wouldn't be that nice for pedestrians anyway since it's so wide there. It should be market-rate parking though.
I'm worried about bikes, too, since my most of my time in Davis is spent biking through. I posted a comment with a proposal for connecting the Somerville Community Path. And for bikes going in other directions, biking in traffic is less scary in a slower smaller intersection.
I'm also hoping for bike lanes on Elm St (as part of a different project), a Hubway station at the east end of the pedestrian area (for better access to/from everything south and east), and bike parking throughout.
I've considered bike lanes through the pedestrian area but I think that it'd disrupt the safe pedestrian feel and also would have a weird connection at Day St.
no subject
Westbound is more of an issue. It will cause congestion, but I don't think it'll be terrible and people will decide not to drive accordingly. (You can also sort of consider going up to the T station a westbound bus lane.)
Car traffic is 1 lane everywhere (except maybe turn lanes), so there's no place where there's a sudden 2->1 bottleneck.
Yeah.... there are lots of options for Chester St, none of which sound perfect. I think my favorite so far is parking, including handicap accessible parking, with a cul-de-sac that intrudes slightly into the pedestrian area. This would also be a potential loading zone. Bowers Ave would not be blocked, since it has access to Grove and the open part of Elm. Though it may be nice to reverse it for better access to the neighborhood back there.
I generally agree on parking, but I think parking on Summer St would be better than usual: It's off street and close but not in the way. That space wouldn't be that nice for pedestrians anyway since it's so wide there. It should be market-rate parking though.
I'm worried about bikes, too, since my most of my time in Davis is spent biking through. I posted a comment with a proposal for connecting the Somerville Community Path. And for bikes going in other directions, biking in traffic is less scary in a slower smaller intersection.
I'm also hoping for bike lanes on Elm St (as part of a different project), a Hubway station at the east end of the pedestrian area (for better access to/from everything south and east), and bike parking throughout.
I've considered bike lanes through the pedestrian area but I think that it'd disrupt the safe pedestrian feel and also would have a weird connection at Day St.