SHARROWs in Arlington County (Virginia - DC)
Bruce Kulik
Original blog post here:
Bruce
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 6:22 AM
Subject: Re: [BikeWashingtonDC] Re: SHARROWs in Arlington County
Delaware requires drivers to change lanes to pass a bike on a 4-lane road, and early R4-11 signs in DC included the message “change
lanes to pass.” Advocates in Maryland have various views, with WABA favoring an explicit requirement to change lanes to pass, and
Bike Maryland viewing the 3-foot passing distance as more important, should we have to pick one over the other.
These issues also arose in the adoption of the R4-11 (use full lane) signs. SHA staff and advocates in Maryland informally agreed
that the cutoff for side-by-side sharing would be lanes narrower than 14 feet (excluding gutter). I think its 11 feet in DC.
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2012 11:41 PM
Subject: Re: [BikeWashingtonDC] Re: SHARROWs in Arlington County
I want the sharrows in the center of the lane. If you stay too far to the right, drivers will pass closely without crossing into the
left lane. If you take the lane, drivers figure they need to cross the line anyway in order to pass so they go allow more space and
pass more safely.
Except for that one crazy chick on N Quincy who pulled her SUV within a foot of me while I was at a red light and yelled at me for
being rude, because she rides a bike so she knows I'm really supposed to stay over to the right.
But I'd rather be alive and considered rude than dead and well-behaved.
-----Original Message-----
Sent: Mon, Jan 30, 2012 3:49 pm
Subject: [BikeWashingtonDC] Re: SHARROWs in Arlington County
> Interesting that the sharrows appear to be centered in the lane. Hard to tell from the video, exactly how wide the lane is. Of
> course, there's no traffic, and that's the acid test. Will drivers fully change lanes to pass when traffic conditions force them
> to wait behind a bike? In my experience, as roads become congested and passing becomes more difficult, motorists are more likely
> to take a "squeeze-by" opportunity to pass, rather than waiting for traffic conditions to allow them to change lanes completely.
The lane varies in width. Especially near the Lee Highway intersection. But based on past experience, lane width is pretty
ordinary which suggests something like 12 feet. I'd argue that you really want the SHARROW in the center of the lane.
Generally, you can go pretty fast heading south on George Mason since it doesn't flatten out until the hospital. It's a rare
opportunity to use the big chainring all the way baby! (And I have a relatively quick cadence) So cars don't slow down much if they
do wait.
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Wayne Pein
new insights and graphics.
http://bicyclingmatters.wordpress.com/infrastructure/critique-of-the-share-the-road-sign/
--
Wayne
www.bicyclingmatters.wordpress.com
www.humantransport.org
www.bicyclinglife.com