The CD is getting some more sharrows. I live on a street with sharrows, and I don’t see a huge benefit to them. But if they’re at least a big honking sign saying “bicycles exist” then they’re probably worthwhile.
Biking in this (or any) city is tough. So few people bike these days that anything that increases the number of bikers and/or bike safety even a bit has to be seen as a success. Fortunately, like urban renewal, it’s subject to feedback loops. The more people who bike the safer biking becomes, which gets more people biking, etc., etc.
I agree with you regarding sharrows. Though some people think sharrows are all that are needed. I am happy that any bike infrastructure gets put in though. Incremental steps are fine with me as long as they continue forward.
I agree. Sharrows are nothing more than paint on the street but it’s cheap, doesn’t hurt, and raises awareness. I just wish the “fog line” would follow the actual shoulder. Maybe car drivers would understand better when their ROW suddenly changed from full width to a half lane a bit better.
While they aren’t the ideal, sharrows have been extensively studied through the FHWA Experimental process.
http://www.sfmta.com/cms/uploadedfiles/dpt/bike/Bike_Plan/Shared%20Lane%20Marking%20Full%20Report-052404.pdf
As for Frank’s claim that few people ride here, that’s somewhat true. However, there has been observable progress. Since 2000, commute mode split has grown from 1.9% to 2.9% or 53%. More regular counts in downtown and the neighborhoods have been increasing 16% per year – so the doubling time is about 4 1/2 years.