Wrote off the two-way protected lane on 8th as a waste, then I rode it for a month
Three years ago I was dead set against the two-way protected lane they put on 8th Street, mostly because it killed about 40 parking spots and my old route felt faster. Last month my commute changed and I ended up using it twice a day for four weeks straight. The thing that changed my mind was timing it: 22 minutes door to door on 8th versus 27 on my old street route, and that's with lights. The part I didn't expect was how calm the ride is when you're not getting buzzed by cars every block. I still think the parking loss was handled badly, but I was wrong about the lane itself. Anyone else here get turned around on a route they used to hate?
So when do we get the part where you apologize to the lane? Ha. I had almost the same thing happen with a street near me, swore it was a mess, then actually rode it and felt dumb for how much I'd complained. Your 22 vs 27 number is the whole ballgame for me, five minutes saved and you're not white-knuckling it the whole way? That's a win no matter how you slice it. The parking thing still stings and I get why people were mad, but sounds like the lane itself earned its keep. Guess the lesson is we should all time our routes before we shoot our mouths off.