Sharrows on NW 195th Street

Sharrow on NW 195th
Photo by Chris F.

The City of Shoreline is close to completion of the Bike Plan Implementation Project, painting lane markers to indicate bicycle pathways on city streets.

Some streets are getting major changes, such as 5th NE and 1st NE, as vehicle parking is eliminated to create dedicated bicycle lanes.

Others, like NW 195th, are not being "rechannelized" but are being painted with "sharrows."

A sharrow is a painted symbol with two chevrons and a bicycle. It is painted in the middle of a street used by vehicles to indicate that bicyclists will also being traveling this route.

They are placed in the center of the road as that is the location on the roadway that is outside of the vehicle wheel path and is visible to the driver.

Keeping the sharrow markings in the center of the road and outside of the wheel paths of vehicles lengthens their life as they are less likely to be worn off by vehicle tires.

NW 195th received sharrow markings and a refresh to the existing paint lines along with some wayfinding signage.

According to Capital Projects Manager John Ricardi, a sharrow:

• Alerts motor vehicle drivers to the potential presence of bicyclists.
• Advertises the presence of bikeway routes to all users.
• Provides a wayfinding element along bike routes
• Requires no additional street space
• Reduces the incidence of wrong-way bicycling