Eric Garcetti calls for 'sharrows' in L.A.

I bet cyclists will have lots to say about this one: Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti this morning introduced a motion calling for the city to explore using "sharrows" on city roadways to improve relations between cyclists and vehicles.

What are these things? They're markings on the pavement that show the best place for cyclists to ride on roads. And they're increasingly popping up in other cities -- Denver, Portland, Paris, New York and San Francisco, to name some. Here's an excerpt from Garcetti's motion that explains it:

"Traffic curb lanes on signed/shared bikeways are often too narrow to be safely shared side-by-side by cyclists and passing motorists. On these routes, cyclists wishing to stay out of the way of drivers often ride too close to parked cars and risk being struck by [a] suddenly opened car door. To avoid this, experienced cyclists ride farther to the left and position themselves closer to the center of narrow lanes. Although this is permitted by the California Vehicle Code, it often irritates motorists who are now aware that this is permitted.

"In order to address this situation, many cities have experimented with "shared lane marking," also known as sharrows, as a potential solution. These pavement markings do not connote a separated bicycle lane, but instead direct the bicyclists to travel outside the car door zone and encourage safe co-existence."

Garcetti wants the city to try two pilot programs with sharrows. One would be on Vermont Avenue, between the 101 Freeway and Hoover Street. The other would be on Fountain Avenue, between the 101 and Hoover Street.

Here's a link to a good report by the city of San Francisco on such markings.

The city of L.A. is in the midst of writing a master bike plan. It will be interesting to see how quickly the city bureaucracy reacts to this and gets something in place.

The motion, by the way, has been in the works for a while, but for the sake of self-gratification for the Bottleneck blog, I'll note that most public officials are not so quick on the draw when tagged with pothole of the week!

-- Steve Hymon

Photos: City of Seattle

Comments

[Tom Woodward]

Approved does not equal effective. "Share the Road" signs are also approved by the state of CA, yet they are completely ineffective when it comes to altering motorist's behavior.

[Tom Woodward]

Approved does not equal effective. "Share the Road" signs are also approved by the state of CA, yet they are completely ineffective when it comes to altering motorist's behavior.

[Colin Bogart]

Tom, I'm not sure where you're getting your info about sharrows. They've been approved in this state. This is not an experimental project although it seems our city is treating it as such since they've never done it before. It is a new traffic control device, so some sort of motorist education will be needed, just like the state is bending over backwards to make sure we all know you can't drive while holding your cell phone any more. Bike lanes are certainly a good option too. So are bicycle blvds or dedicated paths that are designed for more than recreational use. Sharrows are just one of many options worthy of support.

[Tom Woodward]

The effectiveness of sharrows is still in question. Recent studies suggest that the markings have little or no impact upon motorist/bicyclist behavior, and many motorists either don't see the markings upon approach, or are confused by their presence. The local bicycle advocacy group should focus their efforts upon securing more effective bicycle facilities such as bike lanes, falling back on sharrows only as a last resort, or a stop-gap measure.

[Larry Scholnick]

WHO CHECKS THIS STUFF? One of the aforementioned Pilot Programs is planned "on Vermont Avenue, between the 101 Freeway and Hoover Street. " However, Vermont Avenue and Hoover Street run paralel (both North/South), from Prospect Avenue in east Hollywood to Jefferson Blvd near USC, without ever intersecting.

[Roadblock]

ALL HAIL ERIC GARCETTI. If this actually happens - I'm incredibly cycnical about anything until I actually SEE results - it will continue the path towards a healthier city and constituency. Less FAT americans!! WHOO HOO!

[don]

take out seats in the first or last car.

[Tony Fernandez]

The whole county needs a new attitude when it comes to bicycles. They're a much more efficient form of travel. We need more bike lanes and slower car drivers to make roads safer for bikes. Hopefully these "sharrows" will make the roads safer for bicyclists.

[BlogReader]

Go Eric

[Dorothy Le]

This is great news! Due to leadership from LACBC and Garcetti's office, the sharrows program can finally move forward!