City workers on Thursday began removing the much maligned temporary roundabouts on Humboldt Street, replacing them with a series of flat-topped speed bumps aimed at slowing traffic along Santa Rosa’s so-called Bicycle Boulevard. The work closes a contentious chapter in the city’s efforts to be more bicycle-friendly.

The Santa Rosa City Council on Tuesday approved a wish list outlining where 88 miles of bike lanes and 5 miles of walking paths should be built over time. It includes bike lanes through a retirement community that doesn’t want them and a bicycle boulevard not far from where an existing one is set to be torn out.

The new Santa Rosa City Council mapped out a new route for its “bicycle boulevard” Tuesday night, voting to rip out the much-maligned temporary traffic circles on Humboldt Street and install speed humps to slow down traffic. Mayor Ernesto Olivares said the scaled-down plan represented a good compromise that still achieves a key goal of slowing traffic on the narrow residential street.

A cheaper version of a controversial plan to make Humboldt Street more bicycle-friendly heads tonight to the Santa Rosa City Council. Instead of spending up to $850,000 to install permanent traffic circles, the city wants to spend $100,000 installing speed bumps and stop signs. Bicycle advocates say the latest proposal doesn’t even deserve the name “Bicycle Boulevard.”

Petaluma’s bicycle boulevard proposal is set to come to the City Council on Dec. 20 for possible approval, but neighbors are already objecting to the lack of public input on the controversial East D Street project.

Following an election that shifted power back to candidates supported by local business interests, retired Santa Rosa police lieutenant Ernesto Olivares is poised to become the next mayor of Santa Rosa. All signs point to the 53-year-old councilman being elected to the post by a majority of his fellow council members at the Dec. 7 council meeting, when new council members take office.

Windsor took a step Wednesday toward radically redesigning one of its main thoroughfares — Old Redwood Highway — potentially adding as many as three traffic roundabouts. The design is intended to slow motor vehicles and make the road more welcoming to cyclists and pedestrians.

A proposed bicycle boulevard in Petaluma similar to Santa Rosa’s Humboldt Street drew mostly negative responses during a public hearing Wednesday. Critics are worried about the impact on pedestrian safety and the flow of traffic on East D Street. Supporters say it would help bicyclists cross town safely and reduce air pollution. What’s your take?

The year-long experiment to turn Santa Rosa’s Humboldt Street into a bicycle-friendly roadway returns Tuesday to the City Council for a vote on whether the pilot project should be made permanent or be abandoned. Public opinion on the subject appears divided as ever.