Sharrows—Good or Bad for Cyclists?
CICLE.org defines “sharrows” as, “Markings painted directly onto the road consisting of a stencil of a bicycle with two chevrons placed above it. They are designed to function as a guide to encourage safe riding and driving behavior from both bicyclists and motorists.”
According to Pittsburgh mayor Luke Ravenstahl, “Shared Lanes Markings (the Federal Highway Administration asked us not to call them “sharrows”) are one of several good options we are pursuing to improve bicycling in the City.” Ravenstahl continued, “Along with trails, bike lanes and bicycle wayfinder signage, we are improving the bicycle infrastructure to create a truly multimodal commuter transportation system,” indicating that sharrows are just part of the solution.
Not everyone is so confident in the effectiveness of sharrows, however. Kevin Jackson of The Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition points out, “The most commonly used position for these symbols (centered eleven feet from the roadway edge) frequently places cyclists in the door zone of parked cars.”
Finally, Jonathan Maus of BikePortland.org wisely reminds us, “Sharrows and other infrastructure improvements can never match the safety that comes with being a skilled, confident, and defensive cyclist.”
August 29th, 2007 at 11:01 am
I think it’s good that motorists will see that bikes will use the road, even when they aren’t there at that moment, my only concern is that those same motorists will believe any roads that don’t have these “sharrows” are not for bikes. As for the effectiveness, nothing is perfect. The few bike lanes around me often bring bikes into deep holes and drainage grates. This causes bikers to leave the bike lane and enter the traffic lane, but it’s better than nothing at all.
August 29th, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Yeah, we have the “Sharrows” here on Bryant Ave. in South Minneapolis. I think you get the same result whether or not you paint them on the road. Twice in the past two months I’ve been told to get off the road and onto the sidewalk on this “Sharrowed” street. Who’s the genius that came up from this idea? No signage, just a single “Sharrow” - one per block - obviously not someone who rides a bicycle as a primary mode of transportation.
August 29th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
I don’t see how they can be considered bad. If it raises awareness of a couple of drivers, that’s better than not doing it. I’m not sure exactly where it falls in terms of return on investment, but nonetheless, I am thankful they are being tried out here (Pittsburgh) as part of the second bike laned street in the city (that I know of). I doubt a motorist would interpret a non-sharrowed road as one on which cyclists aren’t allowed.
Thanks for including Maus’ quote about cyclist riding skill, etc, as the most important aspect. Just as a helmet won’t necessarily keep you from getting hurt in an accident, a sharrow won’t protect you from an inattentive (or malicious) driver.
Any official validation of bikes on roads will help (at least in a small way) engender some change in the worldview of our crazy coexistors on the roads…
August 30th, 2007 at 11:44 am
Here in NYC/Brooklyn, sharrows are all over the place. Some have lanes, some have just painted bicycles along the road, and others just have a little tiny green sign with a bike on it hung 15 feet above the road.
I have mixed feelings about these, but for the most part, I don’t find “sharrowed roads” any more safer the “non-sharrowed roads”. Now, I’m not saying that sharrows are necessarily a bad thing. Nor should they be banished off the face of the earth. It’s just that they just give a false sense of safety.
For example, and this happens to me all the time. Traffic is stopped at a red light. I am happily cruising past numberous A/C lovers, enjoying the fact that I don’t own a car and will never be stuck in said traffic. Then BAAAM! Off the side walk, out from between the parked cars, comes a pedestrian crossing in the middle of the street. My two choices are to drop a shoulder or swerve and clip the closest rearview mirror. Neither of which are very pleasant. This, although stupid, cannot really be fully blamed on the pedestrian. Traffic stopped? I think I’ll save some time and cross here…
See what I mean? False sense of safety. Just because your city has graciously placed a marked lane for you to cruise your two wheeled craft in, it doesn’t necessarily mean the ride is going to be as smooth as an Olympic victory lap.
And don’t even get me started about double parking, FedEx/UPS/Fresh Direct trucks, open car doors, cyclist riding wrong way, or the occasional wheel chair pan handler. All of whom enjoy “my” lane.
Personally, I prefer riding in “non-sharrowed” lanes. No one assumes anything and there are no exceptions to traffic laws.
August 31st, 2007 at 3:39 am
Brian is spot on, these fake bike lanes are just dangerous, they give a false sense of safety to cyclists but are more often than not used to park cars. The street is for everyone, it just a question of mutual respect and courtesy.
August 31st, 2007 at 12:25 pm
I’m with Brian G. ^
Riding in the regular traffic lanes is almost always my preference. Then again, it’s not for everyone, so I think bike lanes and sharrows and whatnot are great (just not where I want to be if given the option). I guess that’s the beauty of it; your city can lay out a bike lane and you can use it, but you aren’t confined to it.
September 10th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Generally they’re not big enough to be easily readable by drivers who don’t already know what they are — that’s the big problem.
I don’t think any cyclist here in Portland thinks that they are bike-lane surrogates or tries to ride their bike over the top of each one or whatever is supposed to make them dangerous. They’re just indicators that the street is a high bike traffic area. And no, they don’t change (and aren’t supposed to change) driver behavior.
If there’s a problem with them it’s that politicians or DOT people in cities with lousy bike infrastructures might see them as a cheap solution-surrogate to their bigger problems related to bicycling infrastructure. Sharrows are a small reinforcement or component of bike planning, not a good solution to any particular problem by themselves. And I’m not sure they’re a good starting place for a bike plan.
December 31st, 2007 at 12:02 am
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