Do they really do anything? The City of Seattle offers the following guidelines for navigating roadways with sharrows:
“What do sharrows mean for motorists and bicyclists?
Motorists:
• Expect to see bicyclists on the street
• Remember to give bicyclists three feet of space when passing
• Follow the rules of the road as if there were no sharrows
Bicyclists
• Use the sharrow to guide where you ride within the lane
• Remember not to ride too close to parked cars
• Follow the rules of the road as if there were no sharrows”
My reaction is that these sharrows create a false sense of security and offer no clear guidance. Best case, they may give drivers a heads up to be aware of cyclists. I think cyclists ultimately will be the best judges of the effectiveness of this apparent compromise between a full bike lane and nothing at all. I guess we’ll take what we can get.
