Allan, I also spoke in opposition to this at the Citizens Action Committee And have spent time with the city engineer who is willing to consider signage establishing priority for vulnerable road users.
To be fair, Buff's picture above is a bit misleading because it excludes pedestrian oriented improvements including crosswalk refuges. In addition, the circle is exactly the same radius as the High Street Circle. The detailed plans can be seen on the city website at http://bloomington.in.gov/documents/viewDocument.php?document_id=35 In addition, to a cyclists going straight or to the right, the lane separation may actually reduce confusion. The real issue for cyclists will be the left turn. Unfortunately, road cyclists are the only constituency that loses something in this.
Nonetheless, this will take an intersection where everyone stops and change it to one where the left turning carsvare projected to go at 17mph, right turning cars at 27mph, and straight bound cars at 25mph (all despite 15mph posted speeds).
The next step is the policy committee on 4/8. I will attend as the BBC safety director AND, REGARDLESS OF MY PERSONAL WILL ADVOCATE A POSITION ON BEHALF OF THE BBC THT REPRESENTS A CONSENSUS OF FEEDBACK I RECEIVE. Feel free to email me at the address in the club roster.
Chris Tietz