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Politics & Government

Traffic Safety Innovations: The Sharrows

The shared lanes, designed to accommodate cyclists and motorists, could someday become part of a master bike plan for the area.

Editor’s Note: This is the second and final installment in a two-part Patch report called “Traffic Safety Innovations.” In Part 1, Patch looked at how . Now in Part 2, Patch looks at sharrows.

Part 2: The Sharrow

Those white arrows that line Hermosa Avenue  since the street signage was completed in January 2010.

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The “sharrow” lanes (a combination of the words "shared" and "arrow") legally allow bicyclists to take up the right-hand lane of the road.

They were implemented to give cyclists who use their bikes for transportation a safe pathway through the city, according to Hermosa Beach police Chief Greg Savelli. 

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Opinions vary on whether the sharrows are serving that purpose successfully.

Savelli told Patch that police officers sometimes see competitive cyclists speeding down Hermosa Avenue in the sharrow lane. 

“They don’t stop at stop signs,” Savelli said. “They don’t obey the rules of the road while using the sharrows. In that respect, I don’t know if it’s successful.”

The other problem with the sharrows in Hermosa Beach, Savelli noted, is that they only run north to south and aren't part of an integrated bicycle-traffic strategy plan.

“I think it would be wise [for the sharrows] to connect to a major west-to-east [corridor],” he said. This interconnectivity has been proposed in the , which hopes to connect seven participating cities with bike routes.

The city is still waiting to see how the sharrows work overall for both bicyclists and motorists this summer during peak traffic times, Savelli said. 

“If we get through a busy summer with no issues, then obviously it was a success,” he said.

Some city officials, such as City Councilman Kit Bobko, have already identified the sharrows as a successful street initiative.

“The idea is to make people comfortable with riding their bikes, to give them a place to ride. I think it helps that,” he said. “We’re still working on the sharrows. We’re learning and trying to keep improving…. overall I think it’s been a great success.” 

Some locals agree that the sharrows have been an improvement.

“I’m just hoping they do it on Pier,” said Hermosa resident Dan Brumett. “I ride my bike, normally. I feel very nervous riding down Pier Avenue because a car is going to back out and you’re going to hit it. I’m afraid someone’s going to get hurt without the sharrow on Pier. Overall for the town, it’s a tremendous improvement.”

Other locals, such as Brian Holm, said an initial lack of information from city officials for residents on how to use the sharrows could have caused some problems in the past.

"It wasn’t until recently that I saw…that bikes are allowed to use the whole lane,” Holm said. “Now, I’m not an aggressive driver, but if I was…and there were some kids in front of me on their bikes taking up the whole lane, that would have ticked me off.”

The Public Works Commission  to educate residents about bike sharrows and how they're used to improve traffic safety.

“I think it’s a communications issue in the community,” Holm said. “That’s my biggest thing about Hermosa. They don’t tell people what the plan is. They just kind of do it, and we all wake up in the morning going, ‘What is this?’ ”

As the city becomes more comfortable with its sharrows and the scramble, more changes to local roadways might be on their way with the South Bay Bike Master Plan. As that develops, Patch will report it.

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