There’s a lot of talk about sharrows lately — shared lane arrows — which are properly used instead of bike lanes to keep bicyclists out of the “door zone,” and motorists aware of a bicyclist’s place on the road.
Information on the web about sharrows has been sparse. But this video from the San Luis Obispo County Bike Coalition does a great job showing what a sharrow is, where it goes, and what it does.
We love sharrows, but we especially love good communication efforts like this!
Blacksburg has a sharrow project in the works — stay tuned.
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I think people are getting way too excited about painted lines and symbols on the road. I also think that in many cases poorly executed (and this happens all the time) paint can decrease cyclist safety, especially for cyclists who feel those markings always show where they should be riding. All the appetite for symbols and special lane markings feel a lot like the promotion of helmet use as a cure-all for bike safety felt 5 years ago. Helmets and well executed paint are fine and helpful, but neither are the magic bullet they are often made out to be.