I don't like the whole idea of the "diamond lane".  I didn't like it
when I first saw it, and I like it even less now that I have seen how
people use it (doing exactly what I thought they would, passing on the
right rather than leaving it to the bikes and buses).  There is not
really enough bike/bus traffic to justify having a separate lane; most
people have picked up on this and use it as an additional through lane.

A big part of the problem is that people need to park on the right
and/or turn to the right (as I and many others have to do to access lot
10).  If you get over to the right too early, you are violating the lane
restriction and risking a ticket; if you wait until just before you need
to turn, inevitably someone will be moving up quickly in the right lane
making it impossible to get over safely.  Another problem is that the
three lanes are necessarily a lot narrower than the two they replaced,
and the chewed-up pavement in the middle lane makes such a great "rumble
strip" that it encourages drivers in that lane to "hang out" over the
right lane, narrowing that one even further or blocking it completely.

The idea of a bus/bike lane on 5th Street was a "noble experiment" that
has gone wrong.  Given the traffic patterns on that street, it never had
much of a chance to work properly.  I suggest that 5th Street be
returned to its previous two-lane configuration ASAP, before someone
gets hurt.

Joe Dumas