City Council -

I am writing as a resident of Allied Arts and daily user of Middle Ave via all modalities (ped, bike, car), and not in my capacity as a planning commissioner.

1. Overall, I think the new changes on Middle are great. Its great to have a buffered bike lane all the way up and down the street. Im looking forward to the additional traffic calming measures coming next year (sooner would be nicer). I also am a huge fan of the Blake St. closure - my kids like to walk/bike to Nealon and that route feels much safer than it did before.

2. I am strongly opposed to the proposed change to Nealon frontage parking. Having children bike down the street while cars are crossing the bike lane in reverse seems very unsafe. Even as an adult cyclist, Id feel uncomfortable. I highly recommend that the bike lane is kept next to the sidewalk. It seems more room could be added for parking by moving more portions of the bike lane over to the curb (ex: have it bisect the curb by the push-button at the Blake crossing), rather than moving the bike lane between the parked cars and traffic.

3. Like many survey responders, I would like to see traffic enforcement stepped up. In my experience, the bike lanes are often blocked by cars and other vehicles during the day, especially on weekends.

Thank you for your time and consideration
Misha Silin