Santa Cruz Sentinel: Ken Layne - Ban bikes on Mission, put a lane on King

The continuing letters to the Sentinel about the recent bicycle vs. truck accidents on Mission Street prompt me to add my two cents’ worth. The tragic death of one young person and the serious injuries to another, both within the space of a week, can’t be dismissed with 15 minutes of attention and official regrets. The city must take action to fix this deadly situation.

When Mission Street was improved for through traffic several years ago, it was restriped as a four-lane road. This left no room on either side of the street for designated bicycle lanes, even though parking is prohibited on Mission from Chestnut to Swift. Anyone trying to ride a bicycle on Mission has to battle cars and trucks for the right-of-way in the curb lane — severely dangerous at best. Mission Street is inarguably unsafe for bicyclists, period.

Some bicyclists choose to travel Mission Street on the sidewalk, but — with only a few exceptions — that is against state vehicle laws. More importantly, bicycling on a sidewalk is dangerous to both cyclists and pedestrians.

Some letters to the editor have recommended prohibiting heavy trucks on Mission. That’s impractical, considering the need for deliveries to local merchants. Trucks above a certain size or gross vehicle weight could be restricted to off-peak traffic hours on Mission, but that’s still not the best safety measure for cyclists.

Some bicycle groups have suggested reconfiguring King Street to allow only “local” vehicle traffic and installing barricades on King at Bay Street. Such poorly conceived proposals to usurp King Street primarily for bicycles will not be well received at all by several hundred parents who daily deliver and pick up their children at Mission Hill Middle School. Additionally, residents of Escalona and High streets would not be happy with increased traffic on their streets as motorists try to bypass King Street barricades.

I would like to offer another proposal that I think would be most practical, economical and expeditious. King Street is wide enough to accommodate a vehicle lane in each direction, along with an ample bicycle lane at the curb in each direction. Doing this would require restriping the roadway and changing the parking regulations.

King already is restricted to two-hour parking during the school year to eliminate long-term parking by university students. It’s not a major change to prohibit street parking on King for visitors and residents alike. I don’t believe that there is a driveway on King Street that can’t hold two or more vehicles, so on-street parking can hardly be called essential for residents. If residents object too strongly, however, parking could be prohibited just during peak bicycle travel hours: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., for example. Overnight parking would still be allowed for residents with permits.

Vehicle traffic on King already is moderated by speed bumps and traffic circles. Additional restrictions — at additional cost — are unnecessary.

The final piece of my proposal is to prohibit bicycle traffic on Mission from Chestnut to Swift except for a distance of one block or less to get to a local merchant. Sorry, cyclists: Mission Street is unsafe no matter how experienced you may be on your bicycle. The person who wrote to the Sentinel asserting that he regularly rides on Mission and will continue to do so is just flagrantly flouting his foolhardiness. I only hope he comes to his senses before he becomes an accident statistic.

Ken Layne lives in Santa Cruz.