Bike/Car Sharing Lanes on Alki Avenue

[Curiousmindz]

Someone, most likely a biker, please explain this to me… completely out of curiosity.

First off, I understand, comply and am completely fine with sharing the road with bikers. I never needed marks on the road to do so, but obviously some do, so that is fine too. What I don’t get however is how on Alki Avenue there is a huge wonderful big bike lane with no cars exhaust, a beautiful view and a lot safer, yet there are still the marks saying to share the road (as of recently). I know Harbor avenue has them, and Admiral, and that completely understandable, there is no bike lane.

What I am getting at is why, as a biker, would you choose to ride on narrow, busy Alki Avenue when there is a bike lane?

Just for peace of mind, thanks all!

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[JEM]

I think many people choose to ride on the road because the bike path is often very crowded with joggers, rollerbladers, strollers etc. I stay on the path but know many bike riders find it too slow. I think the “sharrows” markings are put on any road that is a popular biking route to just remind drivers to share the road.

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[roundthesound]

I think this topic has come up so many times on this forum that the city took notice and decided to paint the ‘sharrows’ to remind people that they do indeed need to share the road with bikes. At times the bike lane becomes like a game of frogger, dodging obstacles such as walkers, strollers, rollerbladers, etc. They painted them from the bridge all the way around the point onto Alki this weekend, they also painted a parking line, apparently people park their cars too far into the road. This is all a waste of paint, and time.

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[WSB]

Actually, this is part of the city’s Bicycle Master Plan, first presented last year. Driving along Alki earlier today, we noticed a bit more painting is ahead for the inland side of the street, mostly around the business district, with another “no-parking zone” marked there for 5 am-3 pm tomorrow (Wed) – TR

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[Al]

http://www.seattle.gov/Transportation/sharrows.htm

Shared Lane Pavement Marking a.k.a Sharrows

Shared lane pavement markings (or “sharrows”) are bicycle symbols that are placed in the roadway lane indicating that motorists should expect to see and share the lane with bicycles. Unlike bicycle lanes, they do not designate a particular part of the roadway for the use of bicyclists.

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

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[Al]

The above stated, note that it’s in itself contradictory. Sharrows do NOT let a bicyclist know where to ride in the lane – they are to let users of the road know that bicyclists may be on the roadway. Bikes do not have to ride over the Sharrow marking, we can take the lane if needed, or ride the slower path if chosen.

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[Author]

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