Sharrows in Glendale..
Thread started by
digablesoul at 12.16.09 - 11:30 pm
First sharrows to appear in Glendale! Maybe this can kick start sharrows in Burbank too? Sorry if repost.
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2009/12/16/publicsafety/gnp-sharrows121709.txt
Avenue becomes bike-friendly
Street markings called sharrows indicate where bicyclists should travel on roads.
By Veronica Rocha
The newly painted sharrows on Grandview Avenue just north of Glenwood Road in Glendale on Wednesday. (Raul Roa/News-Press)
Street markings called sharrows indicate where bicyclists should travel on roads.
By Veronica Rocha
Published: Last Updated Wednesday, December 16, 2009 8:58 PM PST
NORTH GLENDALE — Grandview Avenue just got a little safer for cyclists with the recent addition of street markings designating a shared roadway with motorists.
The street markings, known as sharrows, indicate where cyclists should travel on the road to avoid being hit by opening car doors and to be seen by motorists, officials said.
The symbols were stamped onto Grandview Avenue more than a week ago as part of Glendale’s Bikeway Master Plan, said Colin Bogart, a liaison with the nonprofit Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition.
“Sharrows are very popular among cyclists,” he said.
Grandview Avenue was the first city street to be outfitted with the new markings, which extend from Glenoaks Boulevard to Brand Park, with another batch planned for Stocker Street from Pacific Avenue to Louise Street, Bogart said.
Now that the sharrows have been added to Grandview, Bogart said cyclists will have a bicycle path that they can identify and follow.
Doug Jackson, owner of Glendale Cyclery on West Glenoaks Boulevard, said he services many northwest Glendale residents who ride on Grandview. The narrow street was under construction for months, making it challenging to navigate, he said. The addition of sharrows should make the avenue more easily passable, he added.
“It will make it a lot safer,” Jackson said.
Glendale is one of a handful of Los Angeles County cities that have added the symbols to major thoroughfares, Bogart said. Pasadena, Hermosa Beach and Long Beach have all painted sharrows on their streets.
Grandview Avenue was painted with the markings because it was identified as one of the roads that cyclists ride most frequently, Councilwoman Laura Friedman said.
Volunteers with the city’s Safe and Healthy Streets plan performed pedestrian and cyclists counts in September to determine how many people walked or rode bicycles in Glendale.
The counts allowed city officials to identify streets most frequented by pedestrians and bicyclists to prioritize improvements, said Friedman, who as a cyclist has promoted the mode of transportation since being elected to office.
“Glendale has really ignored the need of cyclists and has never done anything to [accommodate] them or promote them in the city,” she said.
Adding sharrows to city streets, she said, was an easier way to make streets safer without repaving the entire road.
“We all have to learn how to share the road,” she said.
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Ridazz Roulette!
