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Public meetings coming for the Shared Lane Marking (SLM) - aka "Sharrows" (April 26th & May 2nd)

Good day to all,

 

Many Pikes Peak Sports members might have seen information on this site, in the Gazette, West Side Pioneer and other media outlets regarding the cities upcoming implementation of Shared Lane Markings on a few selected corridors on the west side of Colorado Springs. The slang term for the SLM's are "Sharrows" and I encourage everyone to Google the term. The markings have a history that began just north of us in Denver over a decade ago and are now widely used throughout the US, positively enhancing the safety of roadways in many locales ranging from small towns to densely populated urban centers.

 

Some of the information that has been disseminated to date has not been correct or has been interpreted poorly, even going as far to referring to this effort as being a misguided push by bicycling advocates attempting to push their agenda on an unsuspecting public. I won't go down that road and ask that everyone that has a stake in the safe, courteous and efficient use of our cities roadways to plan on attending the two meetings that I will include links to below. Originally it was planned to roll out the public meeting and education campaign prior to the implementation but due to recent developments outside of our control, the timeline has been modified.

 

Shared Lane Markings (aka sharrows) are not new and they are an approved roadway marking found in the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). Section 9 covers Traffic Control For Bicycle Facilities and the details of and specs for use can be found here: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009/part9.pdf

 

I have also attached a FAQ document prepared by the city pertaining to Shared Lane Markings. In it you will find very useful information about their purpose, intended use and how all roadway users should respond while traveling on roadways with Shared Lane Markings.

 

I would also encourage cyclists and drivers alike to visit the Bicycle Colorado web page and check out the information on Colorado cycling rules and bicycling statutes:

 

Colorado Cycling Rules: http://bicyclecolo.org/articles/colorado-cycling-rules-pg27.htm

 

Colorado Bicycle Statutes: http://bicyclecolo.org/articles/colorado-statute-42-4-1412-pg45.htm

 

Below my message is an email from Nick Kittle, the City of Colorado Springs Public Works Team Leader with a follow on email from the Council of Neighbors and Organizations (CONO) encouraging everyone to attend the public meetings. While these are "new" roadways markings for our city, they are not some odd design that was picked to be trendy or to push a particular agenda. They are used to increase the safety for vulnerable roadway users and to better express the intention of "sharing of the roadway" by graphically illustrating proper, safe lane positioning for bicyclists to use on roadways too narrow for bike lanes.

 

Regards,

 

Allen Beauchamp

Colorado Springs Cycling Club, Outreach Chair

www.bikesprings.org 

Medicine Wheel Trail Advocates, Community Outreach

www.medwheel.org

League Certified Bicycle Safety Instructor #1311

 

 

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Email from Nick Kittle - below

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from: Kittle, Nick <Nkittle@springsgov.com>


Subject: Community Sharrows Discussion

 

 

 

I want to make you aware of an important meeting for the public coming soon which will have significant implications for the cycling community and the transportation infrastructure in Colorado Springs.  The meeting is Monday, May 2nd at 5:30 pm in City Council Chambers in City Hall. 

 

The City is introducing the Shared Lane Marking (known as “Share The Road Arrows” or “Sharrows”) to the streets of Colorado Springs through a grant opportunity, bike tax funding and private fundraising by Tim Leigh.  The Sharrow is a traffic control device used to designate the proper location of where cyclists should ride when in the roadway, connect bike corridors and encourage safer interactions between vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists alike.  The Sharrows are proven to encourage more consistent and safer cycling behavior on routes where cyclists are choosing to ride. 

 

There are two pilot corridors being proposed right now, including 30th Street from Colorado to Centennial (made possible by grant and bike tax funding), and from the velodrome, through the downtown to West Colorado Springs past Old Colorado City along Hancock, Pikes Peak and Colorado (made possible by private fundraising by Tim Leigh and in-kind donation of City equipment and employee installation time). 

 

This meeting is incredibly important and we need a good representation of the entire community present for this meeting to learn and engage in thoughtful community dialogue about “Sharrows”.  CONO has engaged in outreach (below) and so has the Organization of West Side Neighbors.  There have recently been negative interpretations of shared lane markings by the West Side Pioneer because of some misinterpretations about the markings and a perceived lack of public outreach—which is why this meeting is so important.  Education and outreach was always a critical part of our roll-out of Sharrows, and this meeting is the first of many educational and outreach efforts planned over the coming months.

 

We are actively trying to get the word out to everyone to ensure a successful launch on this program. We hope that there will be the voices of our entire community represented in the room as this is a new traffic control device for Colorado Springs.  I will be presenting on this topic on this Monday to our newly elected council to (hopefully) gain support and bring them up to speed.  I have attached an FAQ on Sharrows and if you know someone who drives, cycles or lives in Colorado Springs—or may just be interested in what these markings are, and the opportunities they can create for a more connected community, please pass this FAQ along to them.  The hope is through an educational outreach and with support from our community, we can begin connecting other key cycling corridors around Colorado Springs soon, similar to other cities up and down the front range and across the country. 

 

Please consider joining us for this very important meeting and encouraging others to join the discussion as well.  We want a robust education process as we go forward and we need your support to spread the word.  Thank you and I hope this finds you well on a Saturday!

 

Nick Kittle

Public Works Team Leader

City of Colorado Springs

 

From: Contact CONO [mailto:contact@cscono.org
Sent: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 10:49 AM
To: info@cscono.org
Subject: Correction Community Sharrows Meeting

 

CORRECTION: The May 2nd meeting is at 5:30 p.m. not 6:00 p.m.

On 4/19/2011 9:56 AM, Contact CONO wrote:

CONO 

OWN, CONO, and City staff will be hosting a meeting on the City's plan to implement shared lane marking projects (sharrows) for the Pikes Peak/Colorado Avenue and the 30th Street corridors. The meeting will be on May 2nd in the City Council Chambers in City Hall at 6:00 p.m. This will be an open forum in which City staff will make a presentation on sharrows and then we will have a Question and Answer session. Everyone is encouraged to attend, learn about sharrows, consider and discuss their possible neighborhood impact, and express your opinions. OWN's neighborhoods are planned for a pilot implementation and then the plan is to go citywide. 

This meeting is in response to OWN's concern about lack of neighborhood input (echoed by CONO) and the desire of City staff, the Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC) and the CDOT Share the Road Task Force for Colorado Springs to conduct a public education campaign. 

Also, there will be a Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting on April 26th in which an update of the Share the Road project (30th Street Sharrow installation) will be provided to the committee.  This is an open meeting in which anyone may attend. The meeting begins at 5:30 and will be held at the Parks and Recreation Board meeting room. 

John

 


 

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Great information Allen. Thanks so much!

No worries Brian, I enjoy having such a wonderful forum as Pikes Peak Sports to get the word out with.

 

As stated in my note, the plan to implement Shared Lane Markings has been in the works for quite a while now. Many new systems and improvements take time to implement and while that may seem slow to some, it's how the process works the best in a community.

 

Unfortunately with the press the "sharrows" have received in the past month or so, it was improperly understood to be something that overnight was going to happen and that there had not been the input of citizens from around the city. That is definitely not the case as the Bicycle Advisory Committee, started back in 2009 is comprised of citizen volunteers from every type of background and representative of many areas/neighborhoods from our fine city.

 

There was a CDOT Share the Road Task Force ongoing for a few months prior to that, both in Ft Collins and in Colorado Springs. A very diverse group of people representing all roadway users were present and dedicated themselves to developing a strategy that would enhance safety on all of our cities roadways and the Shared Lane Marking was found to be the most effective way of doing that in a cost effective manner. A sub-group was formed from the Task Force with the expressed goal of developing a CDOT grant funded public awareness and education campaign and the Bicycle Advisory Committee was tasked with developing an initial corridor recommendation to forward to the Citizens Transportation Advisory Board and city Engineering.

 

That process is ongoing and I look forward to working with our community to bring safer roadways to all that choose to utilize them, be it driving (which I do a lot of), riding a bicycle or electing to walk to my destination if possible. It really is about having choices and the Shared Lane Markings just make the roadways safer for people transiting through.

 

Safe traveling to all,

 

Allen

And the most important thing to remember is that the "Share the Road" message goes out to ALL of the roadway users. I can't stress that enough.

 

It is not a mandate to automobile drivers to "give way" to cyclists, it's a message of shared responsibility for the legal use of the regions roadways at all times. 

 

Know the law. Follow the law. And above all, respect each other as we all travel down the road, regardless of chosen mode of travel. 

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