NPR: Motorist to Urban Planners: Stay In Your Lane

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Permalink Reply by Gort 12-mile Pinklegneep on July 25, 2012 at 10:52am

Cities and cars share a conflicted relationship these days. Namely, cars cost cities money and make everything a bit shit, while some motorists are upset that some major cities are attempting to redesign themselves for the sake of "living beings."

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on July 25, 2012 at 12:23pm

Interesting article.  Thanks for posting this, spencewine.

Nice to see The Chainlink's own Payton Chung as the most recent poster to the replies, with a very reasoned response. (Chicago cyclists rule, even in DC!)

But the photo at the beginning of the article: I like the location of the bike lanes at the center median, far away from the door zone.  But sharrows in the bike lane?  Are they inviting motorists in with the bikes?  Yikes!  The US DOT MUTCD states: "Shared Lane Markings shall not be used on shoulders or in designated bicycle lanes."  So here, in our nation's capital, we get weird sharrows in bike lanes.  OK, who in Washington is sleeping on the job here?

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on July 25, 2012 at 12:38pm

A right turn here is similar to a left turn from a right edge bike lane  (the most common type we have here in Chicago).  Either merge right through the travel lanes to the right lane for your turn, or go into "ped mode" and use the ped crosswalk to make the right turn.
 
Clint H said:

What is this bicyclist expected to do if she wants to make a right turn here? 

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on July 25, 2012 at 12:47pm

Nope, that double chevron design is very distinctive.  They're sharrows being used in the wrong place.
 
Serge Lubomudrov said:

May be those are not "sharrows," but just direction pointers?
 

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