Surprise! "Road diet" causes congestion

From the San Mateo Daily Journal:

Although Mayor Jeff Gee said congestion on Farm Hill Boulevard has declined significantly since Tuesday, he also said the pilot program to restripe the thoroughfare for safety reasons may be shortened.

The council approved a one-year pilot program to reduce the number of lanes from four to three, which includes a left turn center lane, and two bicycle lanes, on Farm Hill Boulevard and Jefferson Avenue.

On Tuesday, traffic was snarled on Farm Hill and Jefferson so bad in the morning that it caused angry commuters to call for an end to the pilot on the very day it started.

Councilman Ian Bain told the Daily Journal Wednesday that approving the pilot may have been a mistake by the council.

Councilwomen Alicia Aguirre and Rosanne Foust also expressed displeasure with how the city rolled out the program.

Gee, what a surprise: when you remove traffic lanes on a busy street to make bike lanes, it makes traffic worse.

Streetsblog is annoyed: "Redwood City Electeds Blink After Knee-Jerk Complaints Over Road Diet on Farm Hill Boulevard"

Those wimpy "electeds," paying attention to the people who elected them!