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City plans to expand use of lane sharrow
By Bob Dyer
Beacon Journal columnist
Published on Friday, Nov 07, 2008
There might be more opinions about where to ride a bicycle in this city than there are bicycles in this city.
Last week, I wrote about ''sharrows,'' those mysterious white symbols newly painted on the surfaces of major streets in and around downtown Akron — 15 miles of them, placed right in the middle of the lanes.
If you haven't seen them, they consist of an oblong bicycle below two chevrons.
City officials say those symbols indicate that bicyclists have just as much right to city streets as cars, and that riders should ride right over top of the symbols — in other words, in the middle of the lane, not on the right edge.
I have since heard from a slew of experienced riders who say they wouldn't be caught dead riding in the center of an urban lane — or, more accurately, they probably would be caught dead in the center of an urban lane.
Bicyclists and motorists already have a shaky truce. Imagine the potential for road rage if area bicyclists suddenly start riding at, say, 20 mph in the middle of a 35-mph lane with a double-yellow line.
Now, 20 mph is a pretty healthy clip on a bicycle. But it's slow-motion in a car. The contrast would not be pretty.
Most folks don't realize that a 2006 state law made it legal to cross a double-yellow line to pass a bike or other slow-moving vehicle — but only if that vehicle is ''proceeding at less than half of the posted speed.''
Wonderful. Imagine the conversations between cop and motorist.
''Hey, buddy, that was an illegal pass. The bike was going 18 mph in that 35 mph zone.''
''No, officer, I swear! I clocked him at 17! That's only 49 percent of the speed limit!''
Some of the other new laws that arrived in the ''Better Bicycling Bill'' are a bit fuzzy, too.
In stark contrast to Akron's sharrows, Ohio declares that bicyclists ''shall ride as near to the right side of the roadway as practicable.'' But the law goes on to say that riding on the edge is not required ''when the lane is too narrow for the bicycle and an overtaking vehicle to travel safely side by side.''
Is Market Street too narrow? Exchange? Who knows? The lanes of East Exchange In front of the Beacon Journal are 13 feet wide. Is that too narrow? The city apparently thinks so.
This is only part of what seems to be mass bicycling confusion. Try to find the answer to the question, ''Do you need a license to ride a bike in Akron?'' and you'd better pack a lunch.
The first person I talked to at the Akron Police Department said she didn't know. The second person said yes, but he didn't know where to get one. The person who answered the phone in the office where you get one said you don't have to get one. That person said the only reason to get one is that getting one may boost the odds of recovering a stolen bike.
But then somebody else pointed me to City Ordinance No. 75.12:
''No person shall operate or use a bicycle on any street, sidewalk, driveway, playground or any other city-owned property without first obtaining from the City License Clerk a tag.''
But the plot thickens: State law says a city can't require a license if the bicyclist doesn't live inside the city limits.
So I'm guessing we're safe in saying the bike-licensing law is not being rigorously enforced.
But if you're an Akron resident and the kind of person who likes to fully complete his or her I's and T's, you can get a license for $1 at the Ocasek building on Broadway (Suite 200), or for $1.25 at Swan Hardware on South Arlington or $2 from West Hill Hardware on West Market.
Those token payments don't do much to assuage the feelings of people like Rick Jones of Akron.
''If bike riders have just as much right to the streets as cars and trucks [which they do, by state law], why don't they pay the same license fees as vehicle owners?'' demands Jones. ''Maybe that would help pay for the $30,000 [spent on sharrows].
''Another waste of taxpayer money. I hope the paint peels like it did on [the interstate decals on] Route 8.''
Well, Rick, you ain't seen nuthin' yet. The city plans to pour another $50,000 into this project next year and eventually end up with 50 miles of these things, one every 250 feet.
If you're scoring at home, that will add up to $65,000 in taxpayer money and $15,000 in private money (from the University Park Alliance).
Some riders say dedicated bike lanes would make a lot more sense. The huge Regional Transit Authority project on Euclid Avenue in downtown Cleveland added bike lanes, and has drawn praise.
But many other riders — including an advocacy group called the League of American Bicyclists — insist bike lanes are not the answer, partly because they fill up with junk.
Says Philip Caskey of Mount Gilead, ''From my own experience, dedicated bike lanes accumulate debris, small gravel, bits of glass and any number of other hazards that tend to make the lanes utterly unusable by bicycles.
''The far better solution is simply wider travel lanes.''
Well, that's just not going to happen when you're talking about 50 miles of city streets. So we're going to have to figure out something else.
Maybe we should all just go back to riding chariots.
Bob Dyer's Streets column appears each Friday. He can be reached at 330-996-3580 or bdyer@thebeaconjournal.com.
There might be more opinions about where to ride a bicycle in this city than there are bicycles in this city.
Get the full article here.
Comments
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Akron, Oh
Posted 06:55 AM, 11/07/2008
Says Philip Caskey of Mount Gilead, ''From my own experience, dedicated bike lanes accumulate debris, small gravel, bits of glass and any number of other hazards that tend to make the lanes utterly unusable by bicycles.
Funny, that sounds just like the roads the bike riders want to share.
I drive through a park every day in Solon where there is a bike,hike trail right next to the road and the bike riders insist on riding on the road and making it dangerous for cars to pass because of the curves.
Akron, OH
Posted 08:11 AM, 11/07/2008
This is why y'all are an award winnin' traffic reporter Dyer. No-buddy revisits lame stories better than y'all.
Apparently, the tricyclists, the city hall hero, and y'all didn't know about the nice bikin' trails the taxpayers have built for the tricyclists. Mebbe y'all could give the city hall hero the tip, so he doesn't spend more tens of thousands of our tax dollars on yet another senseless project.
Posted 08:45 AM, 11/07/2008
You can't ride a road bike w/ 23 mm tires on the gravel bike trails /tow path. Road bikes are meant to be ridden on pavement......Can't we all just get along?
akron, oh
Posted 10:37 AM, 11/07/2008
Does Dyer EVER write anything that is worth the paper it is printed on. Cant we send him to Youngstown?
Posted 12:57 PM, 11/07/2008
Bob, why is a bicyclist going to "suddenly start riding at 20 mph in the middle of a 35 mph lane?" Probably not just for the sheer hell of it. The only reason he'd do that is if the lane's too narrow to be shared safely by the cyclist and motor traffic. If that's the situation, the safest thing for the cyclist to do, for the sake of everybody on the road, is to take the whole lane. Before taking the lane, the cyclist has to make sure he can move over safely. As soon as it's safe to do so, he moves back over to the right. Motorists can legally cross the double line to get around the cyclist if it's safe for them to do so. If motorists can't pass safely they can wait for a while, just like they already wait for other slow-moving vehicles.
Akron, OH
Posted 01:40 PM, 11/07/2008
Could have provided a whole bunch of "scholarship" money instead. Be sure to call The Don's office & thank him long & loud, Akron Parents.
Posted 03:10 PM, 11/07/2008
I'm tired of you angry motorists who are in such a g-d hurry to get everywhere that you cant handle having to pass a bicycle on your morning commute. I think all you people need to get off your fat butts and ride one yourself... you'd be less angry and in better health like the rest of us who have decided to enhance our physical strength and health by riding.
I will ride on whatever city road I deem fit and you're just going to have to deal with it. Fortunately, I only go in the middle of the road when I need to turn left... And, unlike your bigotry against cyclists suggests, I actually DO follow the rules of the road when on my bike. If you hit me, then you pay the price for my injury and/or death.
akron, oh
Posted 04:21 PM, 11/07/2008
Heidi - spare us YOUR bigotry. And let me know where you are riding so i can make so to wave hello to your self-important self.
Akron, OH
Posted 12:21 AM, 11/08/2008
Hey, Greg, you better not mess with Heidi. She sounds like one tough broad to me.
Posted 04:10 PM, 11/09/2008
The argument that cyclist do not contribute to the funding of transportation taxes and thus do not deserve allocation of tax dollars for cycling initiatives such as sharrows is misleading and inaccurate. Funding for road maintenance comes from multiple sources including state/city income tax witholdings, property tax, sales tax, etc. The small amount of fees you pay the state (not the city) for registration/license would never amount to a sufficient pool of money for transportation spending. One could argue that gas taxes, which provide a significant sum of tax revenues, are paid by motorists and not cyclists, however it could also be argued that most maintenance is required due to the damage of the roads caused by vehicles. In addition, many cyclist do own and drive cars (some more than others), which makes them contributing members as well. As a cyclist, I think it is great that Akron of all cities is spending money on bike initiatives. As for Dryers complaint that a small fraction of his tax money is "wasted" on bike initiatives, I would compare it to the money I spend on my ABJ subscription of which a small fraction goes to pay the salaries of poor journalists such as Dryer.
Posted 09:42 PM, 11/09/2008
I apologize for my misspelling: Mr. Dyer not Dryer.
Posted 11:21 AM, 11/10/2008
I’m sorry, but reading this, I lost a little faith in the intelligence of many of the people who read this site.
Firstly, if you are driving and see a symbol of a bike painted on the road and can’t deduce what it is, you’re dumb. I mean really dumb. I mean you’re dumb to the point that if breathing weren’t part of the autonomic nervous system, you’d be dead. Sorry, but this symbolism isn’t hard to deduce.
As for bike lanes, they are useless! Period. Now you might be asking yourself ‘why is that?’ Well here is the answer: first and foremost they are just not safe to ride in, the amount of debris in them makes them nearly unrideable, broken glass thrown from cars is not conducive to bicycle tires, furthermore, automobiles tend to also use them when illegally passing a turning car or move closer to the bike lane as it gives the automobile more room, cyclists be damned. The sad fact is that an automobile needs to give a cyclist enough room to safely operate their bike, even if a cyclist is ‘taking the lane’ as they are entitled to do by law. Too often motorists are in too much of a hurry to give cyclists room, pass cyclists safely, i.e. not up hill or on a blind curve, etcetera, etcetera, because losing a mere second or two from arriving at their destination is far more important than the life and safety of a cyclist.
Are cyclists perfect, no! But reading this, I’m pretty sure that cyclists are not the cause for frustration or anger or intolerance. I’m now certain it’s just the overall stupidity of this society.
I’d love to see what the Einsteineous anti cycling crowd on this site would do in Europe, a very, very bike friendly Continent.
Posted 04:57 PM, 11/10/2008
One last thought....
I love hearing the 'cyclists' don't contribute to the tax base' argument. Do you think the vast majority of cyclists don't own cars and operate them legally with license plates and operator licenses? Do you think they don't pay federal tax dollars, or local tax dollars or state tax dollars? All of which help pay for the roads. I reckon if all it took to get out of paying taxes was riding a bike a whole bunch more people would be doing so.
Posted 10:30 PM, 11/24/2008
Having two friends killed last year by a driver "In a Hurry", I do not take kindly to being threatened by motorists. It's funny that cyclists always seem to know their road rights, and motorists have no idea what "SHARE" means. A cyclist may delay you, yes, for perhaps ten seconds. The reason for the delay usually has something to do with not falling into a six inch deep pothole and ruining another $100 wheel, or worse, falling in front of you while you chat away on your cell phone. Ten seconds.....not a big deal. If ten seconds makes you late for something, take stock of your priorities and perhaps arrange them in a fashion that allows for time to value the lives of others. Sentiments like "Bring the Troops Home" do not hold much validity when the same motorist views a fellow citizen and road user as a target. United We Stand, but apparently, Divided We Commute.
