Eliza St./Mall Connector: Bad for Bikes

Not every project contemplated by the City makes cycling safer or easier. Case in point: the Eliza Ave. extension that will connect the northwest corner of Bellis Fair Mall to W. Bakerview. This project is in the latest edition of the Six-Year (2012-2017) Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) (7 MB PDF), which the City Council is voting on tonight (Agenda page). The project was included in last year's TIP, too.

In this year's TIP it is Project #6 - Eliza Avenue Multimodal Arterial Connection. The point of the project is to reduce traffic on Cordata between Bakerview and the mall. It will:

"Construct an arterial street connection from the northwest corner of Bellis Fair Parkway, across the northwestern parking lot, to the southern terminus of Eliza Avenue to 3/4 of a collector arterial standard with a 5-foot concrete sidewalk on the south side, curb and gutter, two 14-foot travel lanes, and a minimum shoulder on the north side." 

Note the absence of bike lanes on either side of this new road, and that there will only be a sidewalk on the south side. The project narrative ends with:

"Future development of the properties on the north and east sides of Eliza Avenue will be required to construct a 5-foot bike lane and 5-foot sidewalk from West Bakerview to Bellis Fair Parkway."

This is a problem for cyclists heading to Whatcom Community College from anywhere south of the freeway. Right now the safest route includes this section of Eliza between Northwest Ave. and Matanuska Ct. It has a sidewalk on one side, parking on both sides, no bike lanes, and only has a center stripe for part of it. This is ok because the traffic volume is very low. But connecting this incomplete street to Bellis Fair Parkway will, if all goes as the City plans, dramatically increase traffic on this section of Eliza.
But their plan apparently envisions no changes to the existing incomplete Eliza until the vacant lots are developed, for which I know of no plans (the development will fund the street improvements). If the plan follows the description in the TIP there will be no changes to Eliza Ave. at all from this project, not even a center stripe. Traffic volume will increase from the current residential levels to "3/4 of a collector arterial" worth, but still won't have a curb or gutter on the east side, and will still allow parking on both sides. With parking on both sides of the street there is barely room for opposing traffic to pass by each other safely; there will be no room anywhere for bikes.  
This project makes me unhappy because it will negatively impact the cycling safety of this stretch of my commute, with no mitigation in sight.