The real dumb thing is another win for the traffic engineer proposing a full intersection at 2nd & 13th. All this will do is slow pedestrians (those who are silly enough to not jaywalk on a low-traffic road). Exact opposite of the treatment that a non-main street, primary pedestrian corridor, high-density neighbourhood intersection should have.
Other recent dumb things in city centre roads construction:
- MacLeod Trail triple right-turn lane onto 5th Ave, removal of crosswalk.
- Removal of pedestrian blinker cross for fully controlled intersection at 4th Street & 8th Avenue SE to slow pedestrians crossing to the new, parking-free library
I love the bike improvements, but sometimes it seems like we can't build even the simplest pedestrian improvement without give car users a side benefit. Many things are coached in language of improving "safety" for pedestrians, while actually slowing them down and promoting a creeping car-orientation on even the most urban of streets.