http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/06/29/cyclists-pumped-about-long-beachs-green- sharrows/
I respectfully disagree with David. We must NOT accept a mindset that says bikes and cars can't share the same space, and if that is the current mindset, then sharrows can go a long way towards changing that, provided they are actually used where they are most needed. And, as Kevin pointed out, sharrows are definitely intended for higher volume/speed streets, where they are arguably more needed. I'm not against using sharrows on E Wilson St - there have been documented incidents of road rage perpetrated by motor vehicle drivers (including city employees) against bicyclists there, but I sincerely hope that their use is not limited to such low volume streets. See the video here: http://la.streetsblog.org/2009/06/29/cyclists-pumped-about-long-beachs-green- sharrows/ which clearly shows bicyclists and cars in the same shared lane (forward past the beginning of the video which shows a bike lane, to the car lane painted with sharrows. Other places in town where they might be even more useful - West Washington Ave, which is one lane in each direction from the outer loop to Bedfore(excepting the turn lanes at intersections) according to traffic engineering, yet motorists consistently treat it as a four lane road on that section. Other notable things in the video: The last trio of bicyclists are revealed during their interview to be something other than intimately knowledgeable about bicycling transportation infrastructure, and the Long Beach official tells them that riding in the center of the shared lane is the safest place to be. Chuck Strawser University of Wisconsin-Madison UW Commuter Solutions 124 WARF bldg 610 Walnut Street Madison WI 53726 608-263-2969 www.wisc.edu/trans -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of David Waugh Sent: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 10:10 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Bikies] Sharrows Thanks Kevin for the Seattle sharrows link. I'm still a little uneasy about their use on even low to moderately busy streets. I think as a community, we must accept that bikes and cars can't share the same space safely with the current mindset [snip] _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
