—Charles Ellis, "Cyclists learn how to pedal in traffic," Ventura County Star, October 19, 2008
Sharrows are supposed to be intuitive educational devices, but perhaps a little introduction is necessary. The idea is that on narrow urban streets, particularly roadways less than 13 feet wide or with heavy streetside parking, the safest place for bicycles is in the traffic lane with the flow of other vehicles.
This is the safest position for maximum visibility and predictability. By taking the lane, cyclists avoid dangerous hazards such as storm drains and open car doors. Additionally, sharrows serve as a reminder to motorists that by state law cyclists are entitled to use the full lane whenever and wherever they judge it to be "practicable."
—Dan Baker, "Share the road; it's bike weather," The Santa Fe New Mexican, May 18, 2008
—"Meeting Minutes," Sunnyvale Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, July 17, 2003
![]() Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition |
The word sharrow is a shortening of the phrase shared-lane arrow (or sometimes shared use arrow). They're also called shared-lane markings. |
competitive commuting
complete street
door
doorer
ghost bike
gutter bunny
fixie
Idaho stop
naked street
salmon
sport utility bike



