There seems to be a great deal of confusion about bike lanes on Miller Avenue, regarding whether there are one or two traffic lanes in each direction. The answer is that there is no difference. Both alternatives provide for adequately wide bike lanes.
The reduction to one lane does not impact the bike lane. It includes curbside parking along the street (this is what takes up the lost traffic lane), which will have significant impacts on traffic congestion and introduces new hazards to bicyclists (dooring, etc.).
No one in Mill Valley is opposed to bike lanes. In fact, in the 15 years that I served on volunteer advisory committees and participated in the Miller Avenue Plan process, bike lanes have always been the number one item that all have agreed need to be improved on Miller Avenue.
There is a petition going around to support one lane of traffic, that's trying to get people into thinking that having two lanes of traffic removes the new bike lane. It doesn't. That it totally false and misleading.
Both the two lanes solution and the one lane solution have very adequate bike lanes the entire length of Miller Avenue. However, as former Mayor Ken Wachtel, who was the city liaison to the Miller Avenue Streetscape Plan process for many years, has explained in his first and second comment letters, in addition to increasing traffic congestion, the reduction to one lane creates more biking hazards than the two lane solution, both on Miller Avenue and in the Triangle neighborhoods.
The one lane alternative was debated, studied, and voted on 4 times by 4 task force groups over a five year period. It was approved by both the Planning Commission and the City Council. It is codified in our General Plan 2040 update. The decision cannot and should not be second guessed by a random process.
The issue at hand and the petition to oppose changing the community approved plan is about honoring our democratic and government decision making process, not about whether or not to have good bike lanes. The new bike lanes remain intact.
To learn more, please read these two articles by former Mayor Ken Wachtel.
Thank you.