Local TV Station Attempts to Create Controversy Over New Sharrows

We reported last week about the new Sharrows going down on Riverside Ave. and even provided a how to guide in a previous post. Frankly, despite the substantial readership Bike Jax enjoys, we in no way come close to having the ability reach the majority of Jacksonville's drivers or I'm sad to say, cyclists. We also have a number of readers compliments of the Times-Union website that links to what is posted here. The Jacksonville Bicycle Coalition also created a sharrow awareness poster and a number of Facebook postings which leave us preaching to choir for the most part and still leaves us woefully short on reaching a majority of locals. So what else can we do to get the word out to about these weird sharrow things? Oh, I know, lets send press releases to the mainstream media outlets. They have way more reach than this site does and we can provide all the information they need to properly inform the public about these new lane markings. While I'm fully aware that there is no way of educating every driver and/or cyclist overnight of what sharrows mean and how to use them and that lack of understanding will change with time as more sharrows are put into use on Jacksonville and surrounding counties roads.


As things stand now most drivers don't have any idea if laws provide for cyclists to be on the road let alone have the ability to take a full lane. The majority of cyclists on the other hand know they have rights to be on the road, but believe those rights end just left of the gutter. These unknowing bicyclists can somehow live their entire cycling life never knowing that cyclists have always had the rights and the far safer practice to take and control the lanes of "substandard width" roads in the state of Florida. So what more perfect an opportunity for local media to actually inform and educated its viewers? One can hope, right? Only one local TV station, WJXT bothered to do any coverage of the new sharrows, and despite a surplus of resources and information via this website, press release, FDOT and JSO, not to mention that our websites logs showing that someone from WJXT visited and spent time on the how to post they still  presented this drivel to the unknowing public.

(click picture below to view video)

I have grown accustomed to any and all media finding someway to place blame on the cyclist in reporting a accident or death. I am now numb to the the phrases, "suddenly veered", was or was not "wearing a helmet" and "wearing dark clothing" coming from media outlets. Never once have I read or heard a reporter question how fast a vehicle would have be traveling to knock a human being 600 feet from point of impact. But this segment is so badly presented and misinforming it is beyond my comprehension as to how anyone involved with this continues to hold onto a job within the news industry.

• Ok First, "Debate", what debate? Who's debating? What are they debating? Was there a town hall where this debate took place? 
• "Sharrows give cyclists too much freedom on the road" The Sharrows are new and have been down for a week. The State of Florida gives bicyclists the "freedom" to use the whole lane (*see below), not the sharrows. The sharrows simply point out to unknowing drivers and cyclists where they (the cyclists) should be positioned in the travel lane. I along with many others have been using & taking the lane along that stretch of Riverside Ave. since 1995, long before anyone ever heard of a sharrow.
• The bike shop partner: I don't really know this Scott (1) well, but his partner also Scott (2) is one of only two local bike shop owners that are in attendance and active in all things related to bicycle planning. I don't know why Scott (2) was not the default of the two since he is fully aware and versed of the whys and how to's of sharrows. I'm going skip his responses and simple say that they just confuse the whole issue.
• The reporter talked with 2 "drivers", neither of which was in or near a car and I'm actually not totally certain was of driving age. The 1st of which stated, "I personally wouldn't like it if I had a bike riding right in front of my car and I couldn't go around it." and then followed with, "I like it when they stay to the side, but I guess pedestrians have the right of way." So my question is how do you handle it when you have other slow moving traffic in front of you? I.E. tractors, other heavy road equipment or street sweepers. On the second of his statements he is correct that in certain situations pedestrians do have the right of way. Too bad that that isn't the topic. Driver number 2 states, "I personally think it might be a little too big because there a lot more cars than bikers, Giving them what looks like a whole lane, I don't necessarily think that's a good idea. You've got people texting and driving." I can't help but wondering how these two "drivers" might have responded had they had a proper explanation of what and how the sharrow work and how cyclist have always had rights to the full lane. If you watched the video above then we already know that explanation didn't happen do to the reporter having no idea what the sharrows are, how to use them, or even what Florida law stipulates.

I'm not a journalist, hell I barely have a basic understanding of the english language and I'm sure regular follows of Bike Jax are acutely aware of my grammatical shortcomings. I also struggle mightily with writing posts, putting what I have lodged in my warped little brain into written word is a difficult thing for me. I do have a secret weapon at my beckon call to help me out before and while I'm writing post. It's called Google, and with it I have the capability to research what it is I'm writing about which also includes the definition of "news." There are a wide variety of online dictionaries and  each of them had slightly different interpretation of "news." But the one thing everyone of them had in common was the phrase "to inform." While I am and will always be a grammar teachers worst nightmare, I have taken the time to learn what the basics of journalism which is; who, what, where, when and why. Channel 4 failed on every one of these points and should be ashamed of this segment. They have not only done a disservice to the cycling community, but to the community as a whole.

*316.2065

(5)(a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride in the lane marked for bicycle use or, if no lane is marked for bicycle use, as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:

3. When reasonably necessary to avoid any condition, including, but not limited to, a fixed or moving object, parked or moving vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, animal, surface hazard, or substandard-width lane, that makes it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge. For the purposes of this subsection, a “substandard-width lane” is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.

Sharrows on Riverside Ave. Going Down

A couple of days ago I posted about Sharrows being placed along Riverside Ave. Today FDOT laid down the east bound lane and I'm assuming tomorrow the west bound will go down. Thanks to Bike Jax Board Member Abhishek for grabbing a few pictures.

Judging by how the Sharrows seem to be all over the place, it appears that FDOT (like the COJ did with the Lorretto Rd.) road crews kept to the "lanes without parking, 4 foot from curb face" guidelines suggested by the MUTCD.

I do love how the FDOT did use the Bikes My Use Full Lane signs. That is all the education a driver or cyclist that is unaware of what these new markings indicate will need.

New Lane Markings - Sharrows, the Down & Dirty Guide

This week the FDOT will place a new lane marking on Riverside Ave. as a test project. These new markings are called Sharrows and since these new markings aren't exactly intuitive as to their meaning or purpose for either cyclist or driver, I thought it would be helpful to have a quick little guide on what they are, where they come from and how to use them. Please share the link to this and lets get the word out on these new markings to as many cyclists and drivers as possible.

What is a Sharrow?

A Sharrow is a shared lane marking consisting of a bicycle symbol with two chevron markings above the bicycle.

What Does it Mean?

A sharrow is used indicate a cyclist's lateral position on lanes of substandard width that will not allow an automobile and bicycle to safely travel within the same lane and also have a maximum speed limits of 35 MPH.

Note: Florida Law already gives a cyclist the rights to control the lane of substandard width. Unfortunately most cyclists and virtually no drivers are aware of this. This is the real benefit of a Sharrow.

316.2065

(5)(a) Any person operating a bicycle upon a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place and under the conditions then existing shall ride in the lane marked for bicycle use or, if no lane is marked for bicycle use, as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway except under any of the following situations:

3. When reasonably necessary to avoid any condition, including, but not limited to, a fixed or moving object, parked or moving vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian, animal, surface hazard, or substandard-width lane, that makes it unsafe to continue along the right-hand curb or edge. For the purposes of this subsection, a “substandard-width lane” is a lane that is too narrow for a bicycle and another vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane.

How Do I Use Them?

As explained above, Sharrows mark the lateral positioning of a cyclist, moving you into the lane of travel and forcing following traffic to change lanes to pass or wait until they can safely do so. If you look at the image below you'll see that you should be positioned  somewhere between the center of the lane and where the right tire of a vehicle would be.

Where Are These New Sharrows Going to Be?

FDOT will placing the new Shared lane markings On Riverside Ave. from Gilmore St. to Post St. It's a short test area yes, but it helps cyclists on that narrow section of Riverside Ave. in front of the Cummer Museum and Riverside Arts Market. 

Are These the First Sharrows in Jacksonville?

Short answer, no. The city did their own test last year on Loretto Rd. between Old St. Augustine Rd. and San Jose Blvd. I never posted about them because as usual with the COJ they didn't quite get them right the first time.

A COJ spokesperson told me that Sharrows have two meanings, 1 to indicate that it is shared lane 2 to show lane position for the cyclist.  They are correct in the statement, but not in the principal in which they are applied. First of all, all road markings and road signage have only one defining purpose. Period. If markings and signage had more than one meaning, how would anyone know which of meanings the markings or signage was telling you?

Second issue; Here are the exact guidelines for Sharrows as laid out by the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD).

Section 9C.07 Shared Lane Marking

Option:

The Shared Lane Marking shown in Figure 9C-9 may be used to:

A. Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking in order to reduce the chance of a bicyclist’s impacting the open door of a parked vehicle,

B. Assist bicyclists with lateral positioning in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane,

C. Alert road users of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way,

D. Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists, and

E. Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling.

Guidance:
The Shared Lane Marking should not be placed on roadways that have a speed limit above 35 mph.
Standard:
Shared Lane Markings shall not be used on shoulders or in designated bicycle lanes.
Guidance:
If used in a shared lane with on-street parallel parking, Shared Lane Markings should be placed so that the centers of the markings are at least 11 feet from the face of the curb, or from the edge of the pavement where there is no curb.
If used on a street without on-street parking that has an outside travel lane that is less than 14 feet wide, the centers of the Shared Lane Markings should be at least 4 feet from the face of the curb, or from the edge of the pavement where there is no curb.
If used, the Shared Lane Marking should be placed immediately after an intersection and spaced at intervals not greater than 250 feet thereafter.
Option:
Section 9B.06 describes a Bicycles May Use Full Lane sign that may be used in addition to or instead of the Shared Lane Marking to inform road users that bicyclists might occupy the travel lane. 


Notice the position of the Sharrow in the picture above. Now read the first bolded passage under Guidance. "Markings shall not be used on shoulders or in designated bicycle lanes"

Now in fairness to COJ the MUTCD Guidelines do suggest a placement of "at least 4 feet from the face of the curb, or from the edge of the pavement where there is no curb." of which the center of the placed Sharrows are exactly 4 feet from the face of the curb. I know because I measured. But the problem is the MUTCD uses a word planners and engineers don't know, "Guidance." Seeing as how planners and engineers are used to things being "Mandated", and not suggested, thinking on their own and commonsense tends to be lacking within these two communities. I'm not saying that I think planners or engineers are stupid, I'm saying that they are so used to working within very strict perimeters and  thinking outside of them will tend to get said planner or engineer in massive hot water. 

There you have it. You are fully informed on what and how to use Sharrows. Again, please share the link to this and lets get the word out on these new markings to as many people as possible.

Emerald City Spin