Fact sheet on bike lane sharrows released by city engineer

Decorah City Engineer Lindsay Erdman has released a fact sheet about the bike lane sharrows that will be painted on several local streets this spring:
 
DECORAH BICYCLE ROUTE MARKINGS
 
For the past several years a group has been working in conjunction with the City to develop a bicycle routing network by identifying bicycle transportation routes and trail links within the City street system.  The culmination of this has been the review of these routes for feasibility as well as how and where to identify them.  The result of this review is a phased plan to mark the routes where necessary.  The marking of the routes will include some fairly new concepts and markings.  To help understand and appreciate these, the City is providing the following basic information regarding the program.
 
1. First, a reminder that bicycles are legally allowed on all City streets unless specifically prohibited (at the present time the only prohibited bicycle traffic in Decorah is on the downtown Water Street sidewalks).
 
2. Marking of these on-street routes does NOT mean that bicycles are not also still allowed on Decorah's traditionally recognized bike paths (College Drive, Montgomery Street, etc.).  Many riders may and will continue to use these as they have in the past.
 
3. Newly emphasized routes are being marked to aid both bicyclists and motorists.  There will be markings painted on the street paving (and in some cases signage) to remind both that bicycle traffic is allowed and expected on these streets.
 
4. The type and use of markings is related to the traffic volumes expected on the respective streets.  The majority of the markings placed this spring/summer are called Sharrows.  These are standardized symbols called out by the Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) for use where bicycles and vehicles are expected to share all or a portion of the driving lane.  They represent shared lane arrows for joint use; not bicycle lanes.
 
5. Bicycle lanes are actually a different type of marking that includes a lane separation stripe (like a turning lane stripe).  There are locations in Decorah that will eventually utilize these, but not in this years marking program.
 
6. Both bicycle and motorized vehicle users are asked to respect the other's shared use of the driving lane through the marking of these routes.
 
FAQs
 
1. Why don't the bicyclists use the new trails instead of the streets?

Bicycle traffic is being recognized and encouraged locally and nationally as not just a recreational activity, but also as a transportation activity.  This marking program is provided to facilitate and improve the ways in which this can be done locally.

2. Why don't the bicycles use the bike paths along the streets?  Isn't that why they were built?

The initial concept for the bike paths was to separate bicycle traffic from vehicular traffic.  For younger riders and those uncomfortable with riding in higher traffic streets this is still allowed, encouraged, and acceptable.  However, highly developed commercial areas pose conflict issues for more advanced riders such as driveways, curb crossings, and pedestrian congestion among others.  Providing recognized on-street space for these riders has proved to be safer both for riders and pedestrians.

3. Why are bicycles using Water Street?  

Again, bicycles are actually allowed to use any street in town.  This means that those interested in the downtown area will be riding and seeking ways to get to the downtown destinations.  Recognizing this with the marking program is intended to help all those traveling to and thru the downtown.  It is not intended, however, to suggest that other routes are not acceptable and / or available.  It is expected that there will be those that will still choose the quieter side street routes to reach the same destinations.  For in town and out of town riders it is anticipated that acknowledging and safely facilitating this will be more successful than trying to force cyclist traffic into unintuitive and circuitous routes avoiding their intended destination.