On the web and print bike maps, Smallman street between 16th and 20th is marked as "cautionary". Biked it this afternoon on the way to 21st street coffee (yum), and it seemed far from cautionary, to the point of being preferable: a pleasant, slow, wide street.
So what's up with it being highlighted? Was my experience just serendipitous?
during the week, it's pretty gnarly. the pot holes, the little room to pass, and the trucks make for a not so pleasant experience.
i do ride smallman frequently, but there's a lot they could do to the street to make it "bike friendly"
I go one street over to Railroad and I prefer that to Smallman.
Smallman really needs a fresh coat of asphalt.
The whole city does 
Smallman is pretty horrendous during peak hours. No shoulder, fast cars, huge potholes.
..."transportation solutions" buses
I ride it to Lawrenceville daily, it's not so fun but I can deal with it. I find my only option is to just hold 25+ from 21st street - 31st st, or keep with traffic. It's impossible for a road bike to comfortably ride anywhere except the middle of the lane.
@rsprake I'm a Railroad Street man myself.
@Erok: Is Transportation Solutions where all the drivers that failed that PAT testing went, or do they just make it a point to hire incapable and rude drivers?
there's also lots of fine gravel and sand on the side of the road, making it dangerous to bike off to the side
Off-peak, Smallman isn't too bad. During rush hour, I find it very uncomfortable. Many drivers do not allow much room for bikes, and the sides of the road are marginal at best along some stretches. I prefer to use Railroad Street at least until 28th Street.
Most people in this thread are commenting on the narrow part of Smallman, but the original post was about the wide part - 16th to the church on 21st street.
The massive width of this section makes it super-dangerous 'cuz it gives cars a false sense of security that they aren't going to hit anything if they make wide turns or drive fast. Plus, the pull-in style parking is a total nightmare once that car needs to back-out and can't see around the delivery truck parked next to them, or when a car attempts to back out into the opposite lane which is much further away than on your regular two-lane city street. I've been in a car on Smallman a few times and have found the width to be totally bewildering. It's not like most streets people usually drive on. It's also really hard for pedestrians to cross during peak hours.
The narrow part of Smallman has it's own set of troubles for sure.
I can see how 16th-21st would be pleasant on a Sunday afternoon, but on the weekday and Saturdays it's full of people in a frenzy trying to find parking. It sucks! I'm glad it's marked as cautionary.
