The new (2012) version of the California MUTCD has been released, and has the provision for Sharrows in it. I cannot claim to have fully read and understood the entire manual, but I was wondering what others experience with Sharrows has been.
I am a bicycle commuter, and most days, my commute takes me home on Bowers Ave, from Kifer to Cabrillo in Santa CLara. Between Chromite and Cabrillo, Bowers is equipped with sharrows. There is on street parking, and the sharrows are positioned to encourage cyclists to ride in the door zone, but beyond this, I find that I have more close passes in the section of road with Sharrows than on any other part of my commute. An example of a close pass (actually brushed by the car) can be seen in this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyf3nRhOUtg . Have there been any studies done comparing the safety of roads with Sharrows vs those with no 'improvements' at all? Are there others who have had more positive experiences on roads with Sharrows?
Mark
Cor van de Water
January 20, 2012 - 10:57am
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Hi Mark,I know that part of
Hi Mark,
I know that part of Bowers and it is ugly. Especially in the evening rush hour, which you apparently were, there are many North-South streets that get their fill of Freeway-leaving commuters who care for just one thing: how to get home as soon as possible.
What struck me in your video was that after the car driver cut you off with contact, he/she realized something was wrong and stopped, only to immediately repeat the same procedure, this time barely not touching your handlebars, but the movement was the same: a rash passing, followed by a swerve back to the right. Either he/she did want to make "a statement" that not they, but you should change behavior, or they do not know how to drive safely and have not learned anything from the accident (which it was, only without damage). I presume that the honking was also from the same driver who wanted you to get out of the way, after already brushing you the first time.
To be safe, it appears that the only place to ride is further to the left, even though that may lead to more annoyed responses. But then it won't be possible to squeeze by you and brush you aside. There is no remedy against deliberate cutting off, which this came very close to - except noting the license and reporting to the police - that is why there are new (proposed?) laws about harassing a bicyclist. Typically police do follow up with drivers reported this way (they can't write a ticket, but they do talk to the driver about their unsafe conduct). Another way is to avoid these streets at times like this.
BTW, it does not matter whether there are sharrows or not - Mary from Evelyn to El Camino does not have sharrows and is equally bad.
mark_s
January 20, 2012 - 12:12pm
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Cor Agree with your statement
Cor
Agree with your statement that moving further to the left, which I sometimes do - but the purpose of the Sharrow is to give a cyclist guidance as to lateral position - in this case, with the sharrows placed as they are, they are giving poor guidance, and in my opinion, are worse than had they not been placed there. More appropriate treatment for this section of Bowers would be sinage stating that 'Bicyclists May Use Full Lane'.
In the video, when contact was made, I yelled 'Watch It' at the driver, which I think startled him, causing him to brake - he was the one honking after that - clearly with the idea that I should get out of his way.
I also agree that Bowers is not great there - but my commute requires that I cross the Caltrain tracks, and my options are Lawrence, Bowers and San Tomas.
If I were in charge - I would eliminate the sharrows on that section of Bowers, Eliminate the on-street parking, and drop the speed limit. Motorists who are in a hurry have San Tomas and Lawrence as higher speed alternatives to them.
Mark
Ed M.
April 2, 2012 - 9:16am
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fixing the problem of sharrows
This is a frightening video, and documents a situation we all have experienced, and for myself I can't say that I've noticed it being more prevalent where there are sharrows. Important bike commute roads like Bowers need to have these dangerous segments improved, and a way to kick start it is to be sure the city's engineering dept. knows of the hazard. In Santa Clara, City engineering is always represented at the BAC meetings, and you could email them or show up at a meeting to express your concern (http://santaclaraca.gov/index.aspx?page=1201).
Sharrows should be 11-12 ft off the curb (VTA guidelines), which should give space around the door zone, and if this area falls short of that maybe sharrows are inappropriate. Of course, the driver of the car in the video seems unaware of basic driving rules, so I don't know that different placement of a lack of sharrows would have helped in this specific case...
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