A Good Bike Lane Placement

I saw a good example of a bike lane that I normally wouldn't like.  For the record, I am always willing to revise my views based on the facts.  This doesn't qualify as a view change though.  I was driving along on my way to the Holland Tunnel when I came across a new street configuration on Forsyth Street between Delancey and Houston Street.  The bike lane was on the left side of the street.  The cars were parked on the left side of the street also, but a few feet from the curb.  I don't usually like this because it doesn't provide enough of a buffer between cyclists and pedestrians, and believe it or not they need to be separated.  However, this is a quiet street and actually quite a few people live there, yet it's not a busy, busy commercial place like Chinatown or Soho.  I can see cyclists being a greater problem than pedestrians because it could potentially cut the pedestrians off from the park along the border, but I don't think there are enough cyclists to make that a real problem.  I'll have to bike through it and check it out.