While it is frustrating that Saint John has few bike lanes and they are not well-connected, I'm very pleased that progress is being made. The temporary Main Street Bike Lane may not be perfect, but the fact that the city is making an effort and providing a solution for cyclists who would normally use Harbour Passage is great!
It would be great if this change was permanent, as Main Street does not need to be six lanes wide, but once Harbour Passage re-opens, it shouldn't be necessary.
Given that Union Street is closed, I don't think that the center lane should be left turn only at Main and Union. Funelling the traffic down to one lane, then back out to two lanes on St. Patrick Street isn't a major problem, except that some people will go through straight in the left turn lane and cause an accident.
The bike lane starts and ends at intersections. The expectation is that cyclists will access it via the crosswalks. The city will release an istructional video tomorrow.
I'm very glad that Saint John is catching up in Active Transportation!
Here is the press release:
http://www.saintjohn.ca/en/home/newsroom/newsreleases/mainstreetbikelanetobeinstalledthisweek.aspx