Well until I started reading up on it, I wouldn't have known what a sharrow was either, but then I am in the UK.
Over here, chevrons are used to mark the gap that motorists should leave between vehicles. They are not used every where, mainly accident blackspots and mainly motorways.
Our "bike lanes" are either purely cycle lanes or shared with buses, taxis and motorcycles (go figure). That said, those cycle lanes that are A: solely for the use of pedal cycles and B: in the gutter of the road, are clearly marked with the picture of a cycle at start, finish and intersections and with little blue signs. Some even have green tarmac. More to the point, most people know what a cycle lane is over here.