Curse of the "sharrow": Charles River Dam Road

[David Z Maze]

One of the recent "innovations" in bicycle infrastructure has been the
"sharrow", the on-pavement equivalent of the equally meaningless "share
the road" signs that inform you that, in fact, bicycles have equal right
(and responsibilities) to use public roadways.

This morning I noticed "sharrows" painted on Charles River Dam Road, in
front of the Museum of Science, headed into Leverett Circle. This is
particularly notable for them being painted in the rightmost lane, which
in turn is notable because it suggests that it's reasonable for bicycles
to go straight in what's otherwise a right-turn-only lane. This is
*also* notable because it would be reasonable, maybe even a good idea,
to paint the "sharrow" in the middle lane, which is otherwise the
rightmost through lane.

(I wouldn't bike through that area in any case; using either Charlestown
or the Longfellow as an alternate route to the North Station/West End
area feels, shall we say, less potentially lethal.)

--dzm

[Jimmy]

David Z Maze <dm...@mit.edu> wrote:
> This morning I noticed "sharrows" painted on Charles River Dam Road, in
> front of the Museum of Science, headed into Leverett Circle. This is
> particularly notable for them being painted in the rightmost lane, which
> in turn is notable because it suggests that it's reasonable for bicycles
> to go straight in what's otherwise a right-turn-only lane. This is
> *also* notable because it would be reasonable, maybe even a good idea,
> to paint the "sharrow" in the middle lane, which is otherwise the
> rightmost through lane.

As long as there's only one lane from which right turns are allowed, I
don't see the problem with biking straight from the right turn lane,
*if* you bike in the center or the left side of the lane so you don't
get right-hooked.

I'd prefer to have right-turning cars directly behind me, rather than
being squeezed by fast-moving cars on my right and left.

Jimmy

[Charlie Denison]

I usually bike as far as I can in the right lane along that stretch
then merge over into the center lane before I get to Leverett Circle.
In the morning, the right lane usually backs up more than the center
lane, so I just keep an eye ahead to judge when I need to move over.
So for most of that stretch, the sharrows are quite useful in the
right lane.

Charlie

[Jass]

Dont worry, theyre temporary. The bridge is going to get a dedicated
bike path in each direction next year.

This presentation talks about the changes and shows that the sharrows
are part of construction

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/news/publicmeetings/materials/cragie6-11-09.pdf