How many bicyclists does one see riding around town on frames laden with groceries? That is the most absurd and pathetic excuse I've seen in a long time (tied with the council's excuse in approving a glass cube City Hall: "It will make for more transparency!," the ironic comment of the century).
Without any objective attempt to discern citizen approval (now that's a surprise, right?), our council decided to buckle to a bunch of loud, in-your-face bicycle advocates who see disrupting the busiest shopping street in our area (that is not 11th St.) as making good transportation sense.
This is just one more example of the city's deeply flawed decision process. 
Eugene, under Kitty, Ruiz, et al, has become increasingly ugly and inefficient. This latest decision puts the lives of many Eugenians at risk, for no apparent reason: cyclists long have had parallel routes that easily access all Willamette St. businesses.