Pre-Sharrows Counts and Surveys Kicks Off, More Data to Gather in Coming Weeks

May 12, 2010 at 4:29 pm | Posted in Get Involved | 4 Comments

Volunteer Rye Bearg listens to bicyclists concerns during a morning survey, photo: Will Campbell

Yesterday morning at 7am on a beautifully bright, clear day, LACBC kicked off the first activity in our half of the tasks needed to complete the Sharrows Pilot Project. At six locations across the City, several volunteers were at the ready, counting and surveying bicyclists as they rode by locations that will be painted with Sharrows in June by the LADOT.

While the forms are still making their way into us, what might very well have been the City of Los Angeles’ first ever on-street bicyclist intercept survey proved to be an enlightening affair. The diversity of Los Angeles’ bicycling community was on full display while the common denominator was clearly a strong desire for better infrastructure and a shared experience of the difficulties of getting around on a bike in this city.

While this session of counts and surveys will continue this Saturday, the week of May 24th will bring a whole new type of data gathering to the streets of Los Angeles.  With LACBC supplied cycle computers (or for those who have their own, BYOCC) attached to volunteers bikes, riders will be biking on the streets to be sharrow-ed in June. Over a two hour period, as bicyclists ride back and forth on the designated street, motorist behavior will be documented in relation to how and where these bicyclists ride in the road. While we’re still waiting on the details from the ever opaque DOT, everyone interested in volunteering to help with this first-ever bike experiment is encouraged to email sharrows@la-bike.org.

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