Unbelievable how often this is written about without mentioning one of the primary reasons for this design: Parklets. Before the pandemic there was a finalized design for Valencia that would have done what has been done most commonly elsewhere which was to swap the car parking and the bike lanes, putting bike lanes right by the curb. But then the pandemic happened and many more parklets opened on Valencia for outdoor dining and people loved them! But parklets replace parking spaces so suddenly swapping the parking and bike lanes made a mess instead of safety. Take a look at Telegraph in Oakland, they had swapped parking and bike lanes before the pandemic, and now a ton of bars and restaurants have active bike lanes cutting through their dining areas. It's terrible! The alternative that was considered to the center lane involved weaving the bike lane around parklets, creating stretches of bike lanes that were no longer protected from cars and eating up parking spots with the weave.

As a cyclist, I love the center lanes. I feel safe. Before the change every time I biked down Valencia I had to weave in and out of the car lane b/c 100% of the time someone was parked in the bike lane. That basically doesn't happen anymore, and the one time I had an ambulance blocking my way, I went around it _in the opposing bike lane_ not exposed to cars at all.

It's always been the merchants opposing this stuff and study after study says they are wrong about it.