Tomorrow: Offer your comments to make University Avenue in North Park more bike friendly

Do you want to make University Avenue in North Park more Bike Friendly? Then attend the meeting below and speak up and ask for what you want.
When: Tomorrow (July 19, 2012) at 6 PM
Where: Queen Bee 3925 Ohio St, San Diego, CA 92104
What: Attend the North Park Planning Committee to listen to plans on improving or modifying University Avenue and how it will affect “transit, pedestrian access, parking, and utilities along an approximately 1.25-mile-long segment of University Avenue, between Florida Street and Boundary Street”
If you cannot attend the meeting but ride on University Avenue and would like to make it better, email your comments to: DSDEAS@sandiego.gov with the subject line “Project No. 115295/SCH No. 2010031029”

Plans that are being suggested by the City’s consultants include removing parallel parking from University and converting them into angled parking on streets adjacent to University Avenue.

The City consultants that were tasked with evaluating existing conditions of the North Park community and making proposals on how to improve mobility along University Avenue released a myriad of pdf documents that relate to this project for public review. The overall objective is to have a project and proposal that is consistent with the Greater North Park policy guidelines which is to,

[r]educe vehicular traffic in Greater North Park by encouraging the use of alternative modes of transportation, including public transit, bicycles and pedestrian travel

The biggest change being proposed is the implementation of transit only lanes on some sections of University Avenue. On  westbound University Avenue, a transit-only lane will be along the entire length of University Avenue between Florida and Boundary. On eastbound  University Avenue, a transit-only lane will be along Utah and Boundary. The consultants, Wilson & Co., propose that the transit only lanes be shared by bicycle riders and at intersections by right turning vehicles.

Currently, University Avenue mostly looks like this between Florida St and Boundary St:

Here is what is being proposed:

The proposal has a lot of great suggestions on improving safety for pedestrians. This includes suggestions on extending the curb popouts which would shorten the crossing distance at intersections and installing a raised median which would serve as a refuge for pedestrians crossing University Avenue. A transit only lane will clearly improve transit along University Avenue in North Park. But the additional component of reducing vehicular traffic by encouraging bicycle usage seems to have been mostly forgotten by the consultants.

There was no mention of including bike parking (such as a bike corral) especially at intersections which would increase visibility for pedestrians crossing these streets and drivers when driving out of adjacent streets onto University.

I am unclear on the effectiveness of bicyclists sharing transit only lanes. But shared transit/bicycle lane would be a vast improvement over what currently exists today. What are your thoughts on this proposal?