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Health & Fitness

Bike Sharrows are Messages to all Road Users


What is a Bike  Sharrow?   

While biking The Farmington River Trail Loop last weekend I was excited to finally see about a dozen bike sharrows painted on the road in Canton, just past the new CVS, as we traveled up Dry Bridge Road. There had been discussions at the Simsbury Bike Advisory Committee meeting about a planned collaboration between Canton and Simsbury Public Works Departments to paint sharrows on the section of road that connects the bike trail between Canton and Simsbury....and here they were...bright, newly painted messages to cyclists and motorists!  

But how many cyclists or motorists really know how a bike sharrow protects cyclists and what it signifies to a motorist?  Bike sharrows have been seen in Simsbury for a few years now since our Department of Public Works stencilled sharrows on a 14 mile loop through Simsbury but not all residents or visitors to Simsbury understand their significance. 

According to the US Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, shared-lane markings are used to:

  • Reduce the chance of bicyclists impacting open doors of parked vehicles on a shared roadway with on-street parallel parking.
  • Alert road users within a narrow traveled way of the lateral location where bicyclists ride.
  • Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists
  • Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling
What do Sharrows mean for motorists and bicyclists?

Motorists:

  • Remember to give bicyclists spacewhen passing. (The 3 foot rule is CT law)
  • Expect to see bicyclists on the street. Share the road. 
  • 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.
Do they Really Change Behavior and Improve Safety?

According to the LA DOT:
Sharrows improve the interactions between drivers and bicyclists in a number of ways: drivers pass bicyclists at greater distances, drivers allow a greater tailing distance when following behind a bicyclist, tailgate a bicyclist far less often, take fewer aggressive actions, and are less abusive towards bicyclists.

Let's hope to see the same behaviors here in Simsbury!

Sharrows provide cyclists with a sense of belonging. As we cycled over the new sharrows, my biking partner said, "I just feel better knowing that they are there, I feel like we really belong on the road." 

A safe network of streets and road is the hallmark of a Bike Friendly Community. The appearance of bike sharrows between Canton and Simsbury signals the importance these towns place on creating safe roads for both motorists and cyclists in the Farmington Valley. Share what you've learned about sharrows with family members, particularly young children and teen and help create a bike friendly culture in Simsbury! 
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