As a civil defense attorney for over forty years, often defending motorists who are sued, I know there are many reasons why a vehicle leaves the roadway, sometimes with tragic results. I'm sure the design professionals know this and look forward to their solutions to that issue. That said, I also like the "look"....

I'm sure 'urban planner' types love this 'hottest traffic trend' - it's new, and it saves money. But it's a design failure waiting to happen.

Unless there are physical barriers in the 3 foot "buffer" between vehicle lanes and bike lanes, the bike lanes will be at danger of vehicle intrusion - ranging from blockage by delivery vehicles to potentially deadly collisions between car and bikes.

Likewise, a physical barrier or curb between sidewalks and bike lanes is helpful to both cyclists and pedestrians as a clear delineator to help separate people traveling at significanly different speeds.

Form should follow function, not the other way around. First design streets/bikeways/sidewalks that work... then think about making them hip and cool.

they did this in Europe somewhere
took away the lines and made Traffic
Mingle with everyone else -- it slowed
down most miscreants and the others
were led off in Handcuffs. Win-Win!

seems like this places
Value on Everyone

@5 - Unfortunately, this isn't Europe. Driver education is woefully inadequate, we have a car-centered culture, and cops accept 'I didn't see them' as a valid excuse for drivers who run over pedestrians and cyclists.

We're more likely to get European healthcare than European transportation.

This is dumb, dumb, dumb. getting rid of an important safety featre for some New Agey BS about "cars being guests." You let guests roam wherever they want in the house, but we should NOT let cars roam wherever they want to into the sidewalks. Also, I had to Google "Aurora Way" before I figured out you meant Aurora Ave. Ironically, that is one of the streets where maybe this makes sense. The hookers won't have to risk their lives stepping down the curbs in those stripper heels.

@NoSpin -- well that's Depressing. on the way out to Tahaya there's a stretch of roadway that gets right up close and Personal to homes on both sides of the thoroughfare and yes there Are drivers who rocket thru with total disregard for others' Life and Limb – who would Ever be pulling out in front of Me?! – but while my niavete suggests we can Enforce our way thru this and pragmatism seems to suggest, sadly, Big Brother-type remedies but if we can figure out Roundabouts (blinker? what’s a ‘blinker’?) (oh, you mean turn signal.) (well that’s Personal.) I [sorta] Believe there’s still Hope.

we need Massive Doses
of Cash into our Schools:
Civics and Critical Thinking
or fucking bust.

Maybe put down your cellphone while walking in these areas and pay some attention? Might prevent 1 or 2 pedestrians from walking into a roadway...

Curbs suck, yeah maybe

Expected some critiques in the comments, which are totally valid given how this seems at first blush, but at least now we're trying something new while simultaneously debating it in theory instead of just the latter. Way too many people die to cars in the US with things as they are now, so not trying something different seems at least as harmful. At least now we can have objective proof if this doesn't work instead of just anecdotal predictions, which are much less reliable a foundation for new policies or design standards. Who knows, this could even adapt to it's own shortcomings and become a legitimate way to reduce deaths and improve the pedestrian urban sphere... we'll see

Curbs suck, yeah maybe some motorists will careen into pedestrian or bike lanes, but that happens with curbs too. The problem is cars, and curbs are another step towards modifying our city to accommodate them, so screw that. Removing curbs means streets shut down to traffic will transform into their “natural” state. It makes car travel the exception and Walk-ability/bike-ability the rule. Using sturdy planters is a better solution than bringing back curbs.

@3: Bingo. The difference between the old strip of paint on Second Avenue, and an actual protected bike lane -- protected by solid concrete blocks, to be specific! -- was immediately and dramatically welcome.

If we want a street to go curbless, that depends upon local drainage during rains, but once we deprive pedestrians (especially ones staring at their phones) of the physical notice which comes from a short drop to the street, we again need to protect them, and again, large concrete blocks are preferred. (As on Second Avenue, making them planters works really well.)

It's wonderful to see better-designed streets. European cities are so much nicer and calmer, and a big part of that is because their roads aren't a wide sloppy mess. Our road engineering is forty years behind.

I still don't understand why we choose to put bikes next to the cars. That's dangerous. Bike lanes belong next to the sidewalk, with parked cars, trees or another barrier between the bikes and cars. That's how the Dutch do it - they have been doing this for decades and have perfected it, and their resulting safety records are among the best because of their tireless effort to study accidents and try new methods. We ought to shamelessly copy everything they do in road engineering until our safety record matches theirs.

@14: Planters, bollards, whatever.

@15: "That's how the Dutch do it"
True. But then the Dutch have a goal of protecting cyclists (and pedestrians). Not intermingling them as a form of motor vehicle traffic calming. I've cycled a lot in places like Amsterdam and never seen anything as stupid as green "bicycle boxes". Which place bikes out in front of cars to slow traffic down. There, they have separated intersections and dedicated bike signals to prevent "right hook " accidents.

It also helps that the majority of Dutch cyclists actually commute with their bikes (look at how many are wearing business suits). It's not like the USA, where everyone is wearing Lycra and trying for a best time in the Tour de Fatso. And geting upset if they have to stop for a red signal.

The Stranger used to be cool, they offered an alternative to mainstream SeattleTimes news and connected us to local music and opinions. Now they just print nonsense like this living in some insane dreamworld where cars soon won’t exist. You people literally got our Governor to sign off on banning all gas vehicles by 2030... where are poor people supposed to plug in? Their garage? Street parking? It makes no sense. You are defunding the Police but offer no alternative for people assaulted who need the Police. You divert $100 million to the homeless, while the situation gets worse and worse while buses with thousands of people drive over dozens of bridges about to fall down... in an earthquake zone... spending less than $6 million a year on maintenance. You think that will help transit? Or are roads and bridges done since cars are irrelevant now? Or are you also biking over the Fremont, University and Ballard bridge? Stop supporting the Stranger, they have lost their way. Supporting gas taxes on the poorest in our community while also supporting limited taxes on the rich as if they justifies it. Despicable, incompetent, anarchist, socialist, do-nothing, feel-good BS. If you gave a shit about the environment you would build a bridge to Bainbridge tomorrow eliminating 10 ferry routes overnight instead of spending Billions to “hybridize” diesel ferries.

Urban planning is an oxymoron. Like the Dutch do it? Do they have steep hills, crappy public transit system, shitty rainy weather, kids to get to school and soccer practice, trips to the grocery store for a family of four and a million other reasons no one would want to ride a bike?

Clearly the issue here is that the Urban Planners have not fully tuned their COCAINE AND MALT LIQUOR intake. They need to hire a professional.

@18 are you serious? uh, yes, the dutch do have shitty rainy weather, children's schools/activities, and grocery stores, all of which many people there have miraculously figured out how to accommodate on bikes. do you know literally one thing about the netherlands and the bike culture they have there?