New Haven Independent

Posted by: WIMBY! | June 25, 2009 10:43 AM

I don't think Mrs. Gilvarg accurately described shared lane markings ("sharrows"). This is understandable considering they are somewhat new to this region.

Still, I'd like to clear things up by providing a skeletal overview of bikeway facilities and in what contexts they should be used.

On neighborhood streets of less than 4000 vehicles per day, the road is already safe for bicyclists and you don't need to do anything between intersections.

On larger streets, where it is unsafe for motor vehicles to cross the centerline to pass, it all depends on the lane width. If your lane is 14' or wider, you want to stripe a bike lane. If your lane is 12' or narrower, it is considered a "narrow" lane. In such a situation, it is unsafe for a bicyclist and a motor vehicle to travel side-by-side. THIS is where you want to install sharrows.

On a multi-lane road with narrow lanes (State Street in downtown is the perfect example), drivers are permitted to pass bicyclists by first merging into the left-hand lane, passing the bicyclist, and then merging back into the right-hand lane.

On a street with narrow lanes where you have just one lane in each direction and average daily traffic of over 4000 vehicles per day (i.e. Olive Street), it is both unsafe (and illegal) for bicyclists and motor vehicles to travel side-by-side within the same lane AND it is unsafe (and illegal) for drivers to cross the double-yellow centerline to pass. Therefore, on streets with narrow lanes and a double yellow centerline, it is illegal to pass bicyclists.

In practice, drivers often violate the law, either by forcing the bicyclist to the side of the road and passing within the lane (giving the bicyclist less than the required 3') or by crossing the double yellow centerline, oftentimes leading to near collisions with oncoming traffic.

According to federal guidance, sharrows are to be installed only in "narrow" lanes (12' or narrower). These markings are intended to indicate that drivers should not attempt to drive side-by-side with a bicyclist within that lane. It is further recommended that sharrows be accompanied by signs stating that "bicycles may use full lane."

Generally speaking, sharrows improve safety by encouraging bicyclists to "take the lane" in situations where it is not safe for motor vehicles and bicyclists to travel side-by-side within the same lane.

Posted by: Streever | June 25, 2009 11:17 AM

Great commentary Wimby.

Glad to see Chris Ozyck in the mix--a good thinker & a smart guy.

I'd welcome some iontegration with the regular street like Madison Wisconsin. It helps improve the overall city's level of safety.

Posted by: anon | June 25, 2009 12:38 PM

Thank you, Rosa!

Posted by: eddie | June 25, 2009 4:34 PM

Wimby: Interesting. I did not know most of that. To be fair, though, we cyclists are at least as guilty of violating these rules as drivers. (How many times have I shot past a driver slowed or stopped in traffic in a narrow lane?) While I'm all for laws that protect cyclists and drivers, I think this is one of those cases where common sense, mutual respect and courtesy should hold the trump card.

Posted by: WIMBY! | June 25, 2009 4:48 PM

Agreed.

(Some states actually have laws specifically permitting bicyclists to pass cars on the right, though I agree that that really shouldn't be necessary).

Posted by: WIMBY! | June 25, 2009 4:57 PM

I should note that such laws (that specifically permit bicyclists to pass cars on the right) aren't so much intended for general consumption as to give DA's the legal tools necessary to prosecute drivers who turn right, into the path of a bicyclist attempting to pass on the right (this is known as a "right hook" and is single largest cause of bicycle fatalities that I can think of).

So even if common sense and courtesy rules bicyclist-driver interaction at the end of the day, it's good to have the right laws on the books to ensure that when bicyclists do get injured or killed, DA's and government officials don't have to be put in the awkward position of having to say that the victim was "at fault."

Posted by: Bike & Drive | June 25, 2009 7:41 PM

Wimby

Fedral regulations are as useful as you know what. I drive a car and I ride a bike. Many road users turn psychopathic when they get in or on there machines. A standard road lane is 12 feet wide. Most cars are 6 feet 6 inchs wide. If a cyclist is 2 feet from the curb there is space for both. The problem when I'm in a car is there are psycho cyclists on the road who want a whole lane to themselves. They rejoice in putting it to there motorized cousins in blocking the road. Problem is when I'm on my bike there are few streets in New Haven that are smooth enough to cycle by the curb. There are potholes trash and broken catch basins. Not much else to do but get kamikaze and pull in front of cars.

Its not just making trails and painting bike lanes. WE NEED GOOD SMOOTH ROADS

Posted by: WIMBY! | June 26, 2009 12:12 AM

The standard freeway lane is 14' wide, more than wide enough to fit two cars side-by-side. However, have you ever attempted to drive down the freeway, two-abreast, in a single lane? NOT a good idea!

My point is, yes, you are absolutely right, there is plenty of room in a 12' lane for a car and bicyclist to safely travel side-by-side IF, AND ONLY IF they are traveling under about 15 mph. A typical small car may well be 6.5' wide, but effectively you occupy a much wider width. Think about it. Could you safely drive down Olive Street with your left front tire touching the centerline while a car driving toward you is doing the same thing? No, of course not. What if you are both exactly one foot from the centerline? Well...it depends on your speed. It might be safe if you are both paying extra attention and driving under 10 or 12 mph. 2' from the centerline? Now you can both safely get up to about 25 mph. OK. You are now occupying a MINIMUM of 8.5' of that 12' lane. On your right, you are required to give bicyclists a minimum of 3' of space while passing. Great. That leaves 6 inches of lane width for the bicyclist. That's the width of one of those yellow stripes. How close to the curb did you say you are willing to ride? Attempting to drive allongside a bicyclist in a narrow lane is even worse when parked cars are present. According to national guidance, the door zone extends 3 feet from the side of the parked car. In other words, it is unsafe to ride closer than about 3 or 4 feet from a row of parked cars. Now, if the passing driver gives you the required 3' of space while passing and suppose you take up a width of 2' on your bicycle, the right side of the passing car is now at least 8' out into that 12' lane. While passing, the driver will cross at least 2.5' into oncoming traffic. Safe? As usual, it all depends on speed.

Right now, you're probably thinking "this is rediculous, he's telling me that while bicycling in a lane of 12' or less in width I should always take the lanes, forcing an endless lineup of cars to qeue up behind me?" Well, not exactly. There's another statute which states that slow-moving vehicles must travel as far to the right as practicable. On streets where on-street parking is permitted, there are often relatively long stretches where either parking is prohibitted or where nobody happens to be parked at that particular instant. In such cases, for all practical purposes, the lane essentially widens to about 20' in width. Here, unless you are traveling faster than about 15 to 20 mph, I would recommend shifting sufficiently far over to the right to allow faster-moving traffic to pass. If an "effective widening of the travel lane" does not occur, I'll occasionally find more creative means to create space. My favorite method is to enter an intersection traveling at the center of the travel lane and then moving right, almost to the curb as I cross the intersection. Because parking is theoretically prohibited at the corner, the is often space on the far side of the intersection for me to hold back and wait as I let faster-moving traffic pass. Once the coast is clear, I merge back into the travel lane and continue on my way. I especially like to pull over for buses and other large vehicles.

I hope this was helpful.