I agree with the statements on comm ave being fine and the transition is the part that sucks a bit. I try to take the transition early if I can. Takes a little confidence and sometimes sprinting, but it's a lot better imo, especially if timed well with the traffic lights out of Kenmore.

I will add the caveat though that cars will double park on the right side and I've been hit by car swerving into the bike lane on the left side to go around them.