Understanding Bike Lanes & Shared Lane Markings In Lakewood

[Peter Grossetti]

The bike sharrows are now in place on Detroit Avenue and on Franklin Avenue.

So ... what does it all really mean?

The City of Lakewood website offers these explanations: http://www.onelakewood.com/News.aspx?NewsID=319

[Jerry Ritcey]

I like the idea of sharing the road with bicycles!

But the word "sharrows" - no.

[Grace O'Malley]

Cars and drivers can't seem to share the road with pedestrians, or even each other! What makes anyone think they will be more courteous to bicycles?

You cannot rely on those street markings to do anything. Drivers ignore stop signs and red lights. Bicyclists who think those markings will help them are taking their lives in their own hands.

I think it's unfortunate, but drivers cannot be counted on to follow the rules.

[Jim O'Bryan]

Cars and drivers can't seem to share the road with pedestrians, or even each other! What makes anyone think they will be more courteous to bicycles?

You cannot rely on those street markings to do anything. Drivers ignore stop signs and red lights. Bicyclists who think those markings will help them are taking their lives in their own hands.

I think it's unfortunate, but drivers cannot be counted on to follow the rules.

Grace

I believe none of the groups mentioned care about suggestions or laws for the most part.

.

[Peter Grossetti]

If I am not mistaken, cost of installing the sharrows on Detroit and Franklin was in the ballpark of $35K.

[Jim O'Bryan]

If I am not mistaken, cost of installing the sharrows on Detroit and Franklin was in the ballpark of $35K.

Peter

I think you are right on the cost, and they are being done by an outside group not the city,
as they are a special technique and process. I believe raised epoxy heat treated to bond it
with the asphalt. When I asked about snow plows, everyone seems to think 10 years or
more even with plows and heavy traffic.

I do find the placement slightly odd, as most places seem to have them to the right side
of the lane, instead of in the middle, as if to say, you have rights, and motorists look out
but could you please stay to the right.

More and more I have seen cyclers taking to the middle of the street, all times. And if you
have right, then you have rights, and if a vehicle is a vehicle then we should all have the
same rights, but...

The other day I was wondering, and I know this is abstract. If we were rally to be green
and understand the issues of cars using both electricity and petro chemical products, as
electricity often comes from carbon/oil products. To reduce harmful gases, toxic levels,
green house gases, and save oil based products, why don't cars have the right away?

It seems to me that billions of gallons must be wasted at lights, and crosswalks.

Just saying...

[Matthew Lee]

I have no problem with bikes. In fact, I will probably buy one soon to use for quick trips in Lakewood.

The problem I do have is the way Lakewood is enforcing their laws on the books.

Basically, what are the laws in Lakewood for bikers? Can I ride on the sidewalk if I am over a certain age? Do I have to follow all the same rules as a car? And, if so, when will Lakewood police start enforcing those laws so that everyone gets it. And, if not, when will have laws on the books?

Either bikes are vehicles or they are not. Stop at a red light. Brake for pedestrians in crosswalks.

Instead, many bike riders want the best of both worlds. "Treat me as a vehicle until it is better for me if you do not". I've seen way too many bikers blow through red stop lights. Way too many bikers who weave back and forth from the sidewalk to the street.

We need to get the laws out there and start enforcing them. The "sharrow" doesn't quite do that, IMHO.

[Jerry Ritcey]

Can I ride on the sidewalk if I am over a certain age? Do I have to follow all the same rules as a car?

You can legally ride on sidewalks on a bicycle at any age. But - it has a higher accident rate than riding in the street - every driveway becomes a potential point of collision, many with poor visibility.

[michael gill]

People shouldn't get too worked up about "sharrows."

They don't signal any new law or policy.

Their only message is that bikes have the right to the road.

Unfortunately, a whole lot of people either don't know that's the case, or need to be reminded.

Of course cyclists should obey the rules of the road, just as motorists should.

Of course a lot of cyclists roll through red lights and stop signs.

Of course a lot of people in cars roll through stop signs, exceed speed limits, and turn without signaling.

Bikes are allowed to be on any road, whether there are sharrows or not, with the exception of freeways. No laws or rights of way have changed. The shared lane markings are just a reminder.

[Jim O'Bryan]

People shouldn't get too worked up about "sharrows.

Bikes are allowed to be on any road, whether there are sharrows or not, with the exception of freeways. No laws or rights of way have changed. The shared lane markings are just a reminder.

Michael

Have you ever seen any psychological studies on Sharrows? Ever since reading "Freakanomics,"
I have been fascinated with cause and effect and how sometimes, what you think makes
sense actually gives the complete opposite results.

It seemed to me that more motorists are pissed over the Sharrows than they were before
sharing the road. At least they are more frugal.

Also is there potentially a better way to spend $32,000 for awareness than sharrows?

Just curious.


.

[Betsy Voinovich]

People shouldn't get too worked up about "sharrows.

Bikes are allowed to be on any road, whether there are sharrows or not, with the exception of freeways. No laws or rights of way have changed. The shared lane markings are just a reminder.

Michael

Have you ever seen any psychological studies on Sharrows? Ever since reading "Freakanomics,"
I have been fascinated with cause and effect and how sometimes, what you think makes
sense actually gives the complete opposite results.

It seemed to me that more motorists are pissed over the Sharrows than they were before
sharing the road. At least they are more frugal.

Also is there potentially a better way to spend $32,000 for awareness than sharrows?

Just curious.


.

Wow is this frustrating to read. Mike Gill says not to get too worked up about Sharrows-- they are just a reminder about what many drivers obviously don't know. And STILL don't know. There's now a drawing of a bicycle painted on the road in a very expensive way.

Jim said:

Also is there potentially a better way to spend $32,000 for awareness than sharrows?

Yeah, signs at car drivers' eye level like other signs that say, "Motorists must share road with bicycles."

The fact that a law exists doesn't mean people know the law. Or what a picture of a bicycle means. (Or what the word "share" means for that matter but at least it's a start.)

Good thing we didn't need that $32,000 for something else.

Betsy Voinovich

[michael gill]

Jim,

Have you been surveying motorists, gathering data to establish a pre-sharrow and post-sharrow index of pissedness?

I've been riding my bike around a lot. I know a lot of people think bikes belong in one place or another--either on the sidewalk or in the gutter, where the sewer grates are. And it seems to me that the sharrows in the middle of the lane probably clarify that a bicycle is in fact allowed to take the whole lane.

I think painting white lines to delineate lanes on the pavement is pretty broadly understood, as are the painted arrows that show which lanes are for turning and which are for going straight. Those same indicators could also be posted on eye-level signs. For some reason, traffic engineers find it effective to put the markings on the lane itself. No one questions this.

I think the meaning of sharrows will, over time, be broadly understood.

[Betsy Voinovich]

Jim,

Have you been surveying motorists, gathering data to establish a pre-sharrow and post-sharrow index of pissedness?

I've been riding my bike around a lot. I know a lot of people think bikes belong in one place or another--either on the sidewalk or in the gutter, where the sewer grates are. And it seems to me that the sharrows in the middle of the lane probably clarify that a bicycle is in fact allowed to take the whole lane.

I think painting white lines to delineate lanes on the pavement is pretty broadly understood, as are the painted arrows that show which lanes are for turning and which are for going straight. Those same indicators could also be posted on eye-level signs. For some reason, traffic engineers find it effective to put the markings on the lane itself. No one questions this.

I think the meaning of sharrows will, over time, be broadly understood.

Hi Mike,

I question this! If there was just a picture of a bike on a sign I would also question it. It only means, "Bikes are here." It "seems to you" that people will realize that a picture of a bike painted in the center of the road means a bike is allowed in the center of the lane? Why?

Of course I had to ask around at the Root to see what people sitting here think the bicycles painted on the road mean.

From a person who knows that bikes are allowed in the road: "Do bikes have MORE rights here? Do I have to yield to them?"

From another: "Am I in the wrong lane, like when I'm Downtown (Cleveland) and suddenly find that I'm in the bus lane? And I'm not supposed to be there? Is this still the lane for cars?"

From an older bicyclist: "Does this mean I HAVE TO BE in the center of the road?"

I got these responses within five minutes.

It's pretty dangerous riding on Detroit Road, because it's so incredibly congested at certain times. Adding more confusion by painting a picture of a bicycle on the road could make it more dangerous.

Sometimes it seems like members of the bona fide biking community have a hard time stepping outside of that to understand what it's like for the rest of us.

As you know I ride my bike every day. I ride on the sidewalk if there's no-one there and it seems safer. I always ride on the sidewalk with my kids unless the newest sidewalk cafe makes it impossible, or there is construction, and we have to ride in the street.

I ride in the street when the sidewalk is full-- but the street is dangerous. There's not enough room and people get really pissed off when you ride right in front of them, even using hand signals. I realize that the more of us do this, the more awareness there will be, but I don't really feel like risking my life to be a freedom fighter for bicycle laws. Which, as my extensive research this morning shows, people don't know, and they don't know what the painted bicycle means either.

The bicycle community needs to spend more time outside the bicycle community, talking to the rest of the generally-uninformed-about-everything masses.

Also, an article in the Observer would help. What is the law? What are Sharrows? What are they not?

Betsy Voinovich

[Matthew Lee]

+1 to Betsy. She wrote what I wanted to but in a much more literate manner. I agree with everything she said.

It is NOT obvious what the "sharrow" means and seems even more confusing than anything else. True bike towns do true bike lanes. Those make sense. Sharrows do not.

[Valerie Molinski]

True bike towns do true bike lanes. Those make sense. Sharrows do not.

True bike towns use sharrows- a lot. The towns I consistently see as the 'best biking towns' predominately employ sharrows, so I am not sure where you got the above idea.

Cities such as:
Washington DC
Seattle
Boulder, Denver, CO
Portland, OR

The list goes on and on. According to articles I have read, they estimate that sharrows cost around $229 each to install, including labor and materials. Bike lanes run between $5,000 and $60,000 per mile.


Also found this:

Behavioral studies have shown that streets with shared lane arrows increase separation between motor vehicles and bicyclists, encourage cyclists to ride outside the door zone, and may reduce wrong-way cycling and sidewalk cycling, which are associated with increased crash risk.

It references the following studies:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/re ... /10044.pdf
http://sccrtc.org/wp-content/uploads/20 ... -FINAL.pdf