I agree, it's exceedingly valuable to let drivers know that bicyclists
are not only allowed, but supposed to be in lanes marked with
sharrows. I've found it's a great boost in my confidence as well, and
I don't ride as erratically in the lane as I do in unmarked ones.
As far as road markers go, it's nicely subtle, and works best when you
know what else is around you — just like most other road markers, like
crosswalks or yield markers. They're starting to appear in a lot of
other cities as well. I saw them first in San Francisco and Los
Angeles, and both Seattle and Portland have painted a lot of them in
the last few years. The chevrons and the exact size seem to be the key
indicators: to let people know that "bikes can go here" in the
positive sense, not "only bikes here." I don't think many people would
get them confused with striped bike lanes, in part because sharrows
should be painted only where there no separate bike lanes, and mostly
on busier streets. (Johnson north of Ingersoll would be a great place
to put some down.)
--Dan Liu
On 8 Oct, 2009, at 10:12 AM, Bill Obermeyer wrote:
I like the idea of a marking that encourages people to ride on
streets and encourages people in cars to share the road. Letting
motorists know that it is OK for bicyclists to "take the lane" is
priceless. It's great that something is being done about E. Wilson.
That said, I'm a bit skeptical about these particular markings in
the long term. If we don't instantly recognize the meaning of the
symbol, what are the chances that someone who is not a bicyclist
will do so? An education campaign would help - 'though it would
not help out-of-towners.
The symbol, at first glance, looked like an enhanced bike lane
marking to me. If people get in the habit of driving over bike
silhouettes, will people be able tell the difference between
sharrows and bike lanes when they are driving. Will we have to add
markings to the bike lanes to make it clear that a silhouette
without chevrons means that no cars are allowed? From what I
understand, a research project about effectiveness is ongoing.
-Bill
On Oct 8, 2009, at 9:48 AM, Mitchell Nussbaum wrote:
I'd like to see them on the on-street segments of the Lake Monona
Loop.
No guarantees that they would prevent crashes at the Dempsey/
Cottage Grove
intersection, but they might, if they encouraged bikes to ride in the
street instead of hiding on the sidewalk.
Michael Rewey wrote:
Sharrows are being placed on East Wilson between the bike path
segments!
Cool. They
probally aren't really needed for bike-motor vehicle safety on this
street, but its a great idea
to place them on street segments that are part of the path
system. Good
for continuity.
Other street segments might be Olin-Turville Park Road and the short
street segments on
the the Starkweather Path. Waunona Way?
Thanks!
Mike Rewey
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