Sharrows Almost Here! Ball Is Now In DOT's Court

June 10, 2010 at 12:56 pm | Posted in Bike News | 4 Comments
Tags: eric garcetti, LADOT, sharrow

A Finished Sharrow in New York; photo, streetsblog.org

One of LACBC’s on going campaigns is to bring sharrows (shared-lane markings) to the streets Los Angeles.  After almost 6 years of delays from LADOT, the project is finally happening, thanks to the leadership and support from Councilmember Eric Garcetti, and funding from Soutern California Association of Governments and the David Bohnett Foundation.

Last month LACBC conducted pre-sharrows surveys and counts and this month, LACBC has rallied volunteers as LADOT has been conducting data- collection test rides. We would like to thank all the volunteers that came out and spent valuable hours helping move this process forward. As of Thursday, all the pre-installation sharrows tasks are complete and LADOT should now begin to get some paint on the streets.

We expect to see Sharrows painted between the 2nd and 3rd weeks of June as outlined in the scope of work timeline.

New York City workers put sharrows on 5th Street, a common route for cyclists; photo, streetsblog.org

Although we are a few years behind, Los Angeles is finally starting to catch up to our neighboring cities. Sharrows are far from a new concept.  In years past, cities such as San Francisco, Portland, and New York implemented sharrows on their own streets.

These markings provide more protection and visibility for cyclists on streets without bike lanes.  Sharrows guide cyclists safely out of the “door zone” as well as positioning them far enough into the lane that they are noticed by drivers. They will serve as a clarification of bicyclists’ right of way in spots where there are commonly problems between cyclists and drivers.  In areas where there is a gap between two bike lanes, sharrows can be used to connect the lanes.

In San Fransisco, sharrows were first implemented 2 years ago on Market, and today, those locations have gone on to become SF’s first street with a dedicated bike lane. As sharrows increase bicyclist comfort and respect received in the street, they’ve been seen to regularly serve as a stepping stone towards more comprehensive bicycle infrastructure.

San Francisco's Market Street Dedicated Bike Lane; photo, SFBike.org

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