Who is scrubbing away the sharrows on Adams Avenue?
Posted By Sam Ollinger on December 8, 2011
Yesterday, I received two reports that the sharrows that were put in last May were being scrubbed off of Adams Avenue. A fellow rider rode over to check it out and sure enough, they definitely look like someone is trying to get rid of these sharrows:
Missing Sharrows on Adams Avenue. Photo by San Diego rider, Sigurd.
As far as bicycle facilities go, sharrows are at the very bottom of the barrel only slightly above “Bike Route” signs. Bike Route signs are often placed on the side of the road that essentially serve no real purpose to riders navigating busy and dangerous streets. While sharrows are useful in getting cyclists to ride with the direction of traffic, as a bicycle facility they do very little to actually increase ridership[pdf study].
Still, it is very surprising that some rogue sharrow hater would go to the effort of attempting to scrub away the sharrows and then do a fairly bad job at it.
San Diego’s bicycle coordinator, Tom Landre, has already been alerted. He rode over to check it out and I just got word that he will make sure that they get re-installed as soon as possible. Landre also mentioned that removal was not done by the city.
UPDATE: Tom Landre was able to clarify what was going on. He said that the City is just resurfacing Adams Avenue and that the sharrows will be re-installed as soon as possible.
Limit lines and other pavement markings have also been milled away, most likely by Burchell Pipeline, the contractor completing the group sewer replacement project on Adams Avenue. Aluminum colored paint also marks some of the pavement irregularities that will be corrected before the roadway is resurfaced after completion of the project. Looking forward to a new surface here, free of the subsisting and poorly backfilled utility trenches for the acorn street lights installed several years ago.
Good news on Adams. On a somewhat related topic, do you know who I can contact at the city regarding sharrows installed on Black Mountain Road in Mira Mesa? There were three sharrow signs painted on the street near Caroll Canyon Road. Unfortunately, one of them is on the main exit route from the adjacent mine, which means the road is coated with dust and debris. The street wasn’t scrubbed before painting, and there’s only a fraction of the third sharrow sign remaining. It needs to be repainted before it disappears completely. Those signs have made that section of my commute 100% more pleasant… it would really be a shame if one disappeared so soon after it was installed.
We very badly need sharrows on India Street, North of Laurel.
Bill: I’ve been thinking about this, and I wondered….the speed also needs to be reduced somehow and was wondering do you or anyone else know how speed limits get determined? I believe sharrows are most effective on streets with 15-25 mph speed limits and from my riding on India north of Laurel – the speeds there are much much higher. We could definitely ask for more enforcement of the speed limits but am still curious about how the limits get set and how can they get changed?
I’m not really an expert but as I understand it, they use the “85th percentile rule” to determine speed limits. They do a survey how of how fast people are driving on a given road and set the limit at the maximum speed of the lower 85% of traffic, rounded to the nearest 5mph increment. As I understand it, they do not include bicycles in this 85th percentile though they should even though the relatively smaller numbers of bicycles would only have a minor effect on the outcome.
There are also “prima facie” speed limits which are limits which apply even if not posted and are based upon something about the nature of the road. For example 25mph in a school zone.
http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22352.htm
There is also the basic speed law which applies regardless of posted or prima facie speed limits which says that you can’t go faster than is reasonable and prudent for the conditions at that time. For example, the posted speed limit could be 45 but due to think fog you could get a speeding ticket for doing 35mph due to fog making it unsafe to go that fast.
http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc22350.htm
The posted speed limit on India Street is 35mph. Yes, some drivers drive a lot faster than that. I have many times seen 50+ on the speed display down near the freeway on ramp when they were running it. The 2010 CA MUTCD 9C.103 allows shared lane makers (sharrows) whenever the speed limit is less than 40mph The final draft of the proposed 2011 CA MUTCD 9C.07.02 words it differently but effectively says the same thing (not for roads with limits above 35mph). In any case 35mph is within the standard recommendations.
I see no good reason not to put sharrows on India Street between Laurel and Washington. The right lane is far too narrow for safe sharing and is next to parallel parking. The next best alternate route North is Pacific Highway which has a 55mph limit and a narrow section near the MCRD. There is no possibility of sharrows there.
There are sharrows on San Diego Ave in a 35mph zone South of Old Town Ave (it’s 25mph North of Old Town Ave). I’m sure that there are a few others.
I forgot to mention: I think that putting sharrows on India St. would increase ridership on that road. Even better would be to do green stripe sharrows like they’ve done in some places like Long Beach. Those make it painfully clear to everyone that bicyclists can ride in the middle of the lane.
I’ve already suggested to Tom L’s predecessor putting a tunnel alert lights button on the India St underpass under I-5. It’s dark in there, even when the sun is shining. I think they only turn on the tunnel inside lights at night.
Also along the entire length of 30th St., the “Great Hipster Silk Road,” as well as on University Ave. in Hillcrest and North Park.
No one knows? Bummer.
Sorry, EL. Didn’t mean to ignore your question. Contact the City of San Diego Bicycle Coordinator, Tom Landre. Contact information is in a piece farther down this page.
I have also contacted the Streets Department [Street_Service@sandiego.gov] to ask why they didn’t coordinate with the Bike Coordinator before they put in the sharrows and how they intend to avoid this sort of a costly mistake in the future by incorporating the bike plan as part of their Street Service jobs.
Tom Landre’s email: TLandre@sandiego.gov
Thank you wpstoll and Sam!
That bike lane also does not conform to the minimum width standards in Caltrans Highway Design Manual in Section 1003.2(c) which means that is in violation of California Streets and Highways Code 891. It is dangerously narrow. It also has a high gutter joint which is dangerous.
Since it is in violation of SHC 891, it is therefore not established pursuant to CVC 21207 (specifically paragraph (b)) so CVC 21208 does not require bicyclists to ride in it but good luck convincing a cop of that, much less the aggressive drivers who fly through there like it’s Monaco on grand prix day.