This is what is wrong with the proposed Hillsborough Street redesign:

Actual illustration from the Kimley-Horn Hillsborough Street Report, pg. 12.
Based on this illustration, a recipe for disaster.

Note the three bicycles—ALL of them are in the door-zone. none of them are aligned with the narrow through lane. The bike approaching the pedestrian bulb-out is about to be forced to either jump the curb or swerve into the path of the on-coming bus. In practice all three of these cyclists need to be four feet closer to the middle of the lane. The raised median makes it impossible for cars to safely pass bicycles, so motorized traffic on Hillsborough Street will need to slow to ride safely behind bicycle traffic.

The present configuration is:

eastbound: one through lane, plus one parking lane
westbound: two through lanes, plus one parking lane

Currently westbound motorists use the inside lane to pass bicycles. Eastbound motorists cross the middle line to pass bicyclists. The proposal to remove one westbound lane will make the former impossible. The proposed raised median will make the latter impossible.

Sharrows

The solution: add sharrows, and "Bicyclists may use full lane" signage:

"Bikes may use full lane" "Do not pass"

Modified to make it safe: Sharrows added, bicyclists repositioned to within the through lane

Is it really this bad?

Maybe not, it's hard to tell from this report as it does not give hard numbers on the proposed redesign. The report does state: At midblock crosswalks, the plan would change this to 37 percent for moving traffic, 37 percent for pedestrians, and 26 percent for bicyclists. Elsewhere, the plan would provide 37 percent of the street width for moving traffic, 23 percent for parked cars, 26 percent for bicyclists, and 12 percent for a landscaped median. the report further states: The width provided throughout is 17 feet, exclusive of parked cars and the raised curbs (i.e. median and street edge).

If the 17 feet width does indeed not include the parking, the width is 22' and the breakdown is:

  parked cars → 23% = 5'1"
  through bicycles → 26% = 5'9"
  through cars → 37% = 8'2"
  landscaped median → 12% = 2'8" 

at the bulb-out:
  pedestrian bulb-out → 37% = 8'2" less 2'8" pedestrian median = 5'6"
  through bicycles → 26% = 5'9"
  through cars → 37% = 8'2"
  pedestrian median → 12% = 2'8"

Is 5'1" enough to park a car and open the driver's door, or is opening the door planned to encroach on, or even entirely consume the bicyclists' space? There's no space allocated for "landscaped median" at the midblock crosswalk, and indeed the illustration shows that there is no landscaped median within that region, but the two feet and eight inches of space there is a pedestrian area—I'm assuming that space is included in the "37 percent for pedestrians". Presumably the actual width of the median/island is twice that.

I am grateful that there are no bike lane striping plans that would restrict cyclists range of operation.