Response provided to Mayor provided by Amanda Hernandez, Assistant Director of Planning & Richard Reynosa, Assistant Director of Engineering:
Please explain the logic behind changing from bike lanes to sharrows because of multiple driveways. A bike lane is delineated with striping or striping and a physical barrier. At every driveway, the striping or barrier requires a break to allow vehicles to enter/exit the property – this is called a conflict point. If we were to install a bike lane there would be 10-20 feet of lane and then 10 or so feet of break for the entirety of the street. In addition, many of those streets utilize the street for parking, which creates additional blind spots and conflict points. While bike lanes could still be implemented in some of these cases to do so would require additional right-of-way. In established neighborhoods this is not a desirable option.
What is the difference in a sharrow and standard roadway law on bike use of a street? There is no difference, cyclists have the right to use the street whether or not a designated facility is provided and are required to follow traffic laws. The sharrow is intended to draw the drivers attention to the fact that a bicycle may also be using the road. The sharrow markings can also be used to identify the path for bicyclists in accordance with the City’s designated bike routes.
