They’re new and still experimental, but are expected to become formalized signage method by next year.

They’re called “sharrows” and they are pavement markings that help mark bike routes on roads. These are a complement to bike lane pavement markings. The difference is bike lanes are separated facilities (from motor vehicles) where shared lanes have both cars and bikes.

According to draft MUTCD language, the benefit of sharrow pavement markings are they:

• Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking in order to reduce the chance of a bicyclist’s impacting the open door of a parked vehicle,
• Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane,
• Alert road users of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way,
• Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists, and
• Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling.

There are limits to their use.

• They should not be on roads where the speed limits above 35 MPH.
• They should not be on shoulders or in bike lanes

Sharrows may also produce cost and time savings.

Sometimes roadways are simply not wide enough for a bike lane.   Sometimes road diets (converting an exising lane of travel into bike lanes) are not practical or possible.  And even when a road diet might be the solution, some cities require traffic studies in advance.  These studies can cost $10K to $30K.  The value of a separated bike lane facility may not justify these costs when a shared lane would work equally well.  And sharrows provide a new and improved means for marking them.

An article ran in this week’s Free Press, “Engineer pushes for biking, walking paths”

[Scott] Clein, an associate with Giffels-Webster Engineers in Detroit, helped chart out nearly 400 miles of potential routes ideal for walking and biking — with a few changes implemented by city officials.

Though his recommendations were adopted in the city’s Master Plan in 2007, Detroit’s movers and shakers have been sluggish in making the necessary changes to encourage more foot and pedal traffic, he said.

With few government officials willing to take the plunge, community groups and individuals will have to take charge if they want to see more bike and walking lanes, he said.

Clein also was a Metromode guest blogger last fall where he’s covered more details on road diets, zoning, planning, and more.  Scott’s entry below clearly represents the struggle cycle advocates face in Royal Oak and other nearby communities:

Many traffic engineers are stuck in old-school thinking. The old-school way of thought, for those of you not tuned in to the inner workings of transportation planning, can be summed up as follows:   more is better. The more vehicles we can get through a road segment, the better off we are. And a larger number of travel lanes mean more vehicles per hour.

We tip our collective m-bike helmet to Scott and look forward to working with him down the reduced-width road.

From the Michigan Land Use Institute: “It’s not that Mr. Burden dislikes cars. It’s just that he is certain that the quality of life improves if people don’t spend so much time sitting in them. And, like everybody else, he can’t stand congestion. He’s come up with some unexpected solutions. The answer to traffic congestion in most towns isn’t making roads wider, says Mr. Burden. Just the opposite: Roads need to be put on a “diet.” Taking lanes away slows traffic but, surprisingly, the road then actually carries more vehicles more efficiently. Mr. Burden has other traffic remedies, such as shrinking intersections, constructing roundabouts, building boulevards with divided medians, and designing places where people can walk, bike, and ride public transit.”

Today we gave a public comment to the City of Royal Oak regarding Washington Avenue from Catalpa south to Woodward. The DDA is suggesting the removal of two travel lanes and the installation of angled parking. Instead we’re proposing three-travel lanes and two bike lanes. A brief overview of our proposal is on-line.