Bike lanes and sharrows are bicycle facilities that go on the road.
Montpelier Bikes is working to identify streets on which bike lanes
could be integrated into the current lane and parking configurations.
The Route 2 / Route 302 paving projects
that are happening this summer have space for 1.6 miles of bike lanes. On June 10, the Montpelier City Council endorsed bike lanes for Route 2 / 302, and indicated the City's preliminary support for creating an on-road bicycle network.
Montpelier Bikes is currently in the process of creating a proposal to the City for bicycle facilities on most through-streets.
The map below is JUST A DRAFT but shows some possible streets for bike lanes, sharrows, and other bicycle improvements. We will be refining this over the Summer 2009. Take a further look at the Montpelier Bicycle Network Google Map for some additional detail.
Montpelier Bikes welcomes your input and comment on these routes and the map (add your comments below, or email to pedal@montpelierbikes.org). We plan to present further detail of this network for public comment and input in September 2009.
| Bike lanes • Bike paths • Shoulders • Sharrows
What are they?
Collectively known as bikeways, each of these terms refers to a different type of facility. Bicyclists should educate ourselves about these terms and use them correctly to ask for what we want. They are not interchangeable!
You wouldn't ask for a chocolate chip cookie if you actually want an ice cream cone! (or vice versa) Let's speak carefully, toward a common vocabulary. It is up to us to educate ourselves, traffic engineers, and decision makers. Here's a primer:
- Bike lanes are areas of a roadway, set off by a stripe, that are stenciled with a bicycle image, and signed for preferential use by bicycles. Parking is not permitted in bike lanes. A bike lane is generally not used by pedestrians. Bike lanes striping sto
 ps before an intersection, and continues on the other side, creating the illusion of continuity. Bicyclists are not required to ride in a bicycle lane - you may wish to leave the lane to turn or avoid road debris. This is a photo of a bike lane in Olympia, WA. Note the pavement stencil and sign.
-
- Bike paths are separate tr
ails, usually 8-14
feet wide. Bike
paths
are often shared with walkers, runners, inline skate
rs, and horses -- and thus are more properly called "Shared-Use Paths." The photo shows Montpelier's Winooski River Path, a shared-use path.
-
- Paved shoulders are areas at the edge
of
the roadway, set off by a striped line. While paved shoulders do create space that may be used by bicyclists,
they do not send a message to either bicyclists or motorists that bikes
have a space on the road.
They
are not not stenciled or signed for bicycle use. Parking may be permitted, and the shoulder stripes - unlike bike lanes - bend around the corner at an intersection.
- Sharrows (share + arrow) are more properly called shared lane markings. Sharrows are placed to indicate bicyclists' right to the road where there is not enough space for a bike lane. The arrow indicates t
he d
irection of travel. Sharrows are well-suited to Mont
pelier's na
rrow streets. These are soon to be in
cluded in the
national standards for roadways in the U.S. In the meantime, over 50 local municipalities are already using them -
including Burlington, VT.
|
|
|
