Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Transit More bike lanes, sharrows coming to downtown
Posted by George Weidman on Wed, Oct 19, 2011 at 9:01 AM
Another week, another round of bike news.
First up: Concerns within the Atlanta cycling community that the downtown streetcar would stamp out the popular existing bike lanes appear to be unfounded, according to statements by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and city officials. In fact, the streetcars are planned to bring with them more accommodations for cyclists, not less.
Edgewood's existing bike lane — which currently begins where the future streetcar line ends — is scheduled to extend a half-mile west all the way to Park Place Avenue, with additional "contra-flow" bike lanes cropping up on Jackson Street and Auburn Avenue. According to a spokeswoman with the city's department of public works, the lanes are scheduled to be completed by spring of 2013. There are already bike lane-esque markings on Edgewood as part of the utility survey.
Secondly, Marietta Street is currently being repaved. Upon completion, sharrows — the white bike-flanked chevrons — will line the road, inching the busy downtown street slightly further towards a bicycle-friendly future.
Concerned bicycle commuter Douglas Ollerenshaw contacted CL and Mayor Kasim Reed about the future of his Marietta Street commute.
Ollerenshaw thinks it seems like the city is using sharrows as a half-measure instead of making real efforts to improve conditions for cyclists. He thinks sharrows are only useful for helping drivers know that cyclists have the right to be in a lane. ("Some people don't even realize that much," he said.)
"Having moved here from Portland, I saw firsthand that the only way to encourage people that bike commuting is safe is to provide dedicated bike lanes, especially on important thoroughfares like Marietta Street," he said. "Sometimes that means sacrificing lane width, or maybe even reducing the number of motor vehicle lanes."
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