As I reported a few weeks ago, sharrows are coming soon to Portland streets. If you’d like to know more about them, head over to Sam Adams’ blog where someone from his staff just posted a good explanation and several links to more information.
I’m excited about sharrows and I believe they will make our streets safer, but sharrows and other infrastructure improvements can never match the safety that comes with being a skilled, confident, and defensive cyclist. Yes, it feels good to look down and know you’ve got some fancy lane markings on your side in the battle of the concrete jungle…but you will only truly be safe once you improve your riding skills.
On that note, I urge everyone to take advantage of the upcoming bike safety workshops coming soon to a neighborhood near you. If you can’t attend those, my advice is to just ride your bike as much as possible. The sixth sense you need to be safe in traffic can really only be honed through time on the saddle.
If you’re new to riding in the city, come down to the North Park Blocks (near Burnside) tonight at 5:45 and take a ride through downtown with a few hundred fellow cyclists. I’ll be there with Eleni in the trailer…come over and say hi!
Tags: sharrows
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Aalta planning has a great site explaning ‘sharrows’ as well.
[…] Jonathan Maus of BikePortland.org wisely reminds us, “Sharrows and other infrastructure improvements can never match the safety […]