Have Sharrows been FHWA approved in "the manual"?
 

I'm from a densely populated inner ring suburb of Cleveland and got two calls today to attend a meeting with respect to one of our "minor arterials." Not a 35MPH ODOT street but a pretty heavily traveled city street nonetheless. Apparently city officials are discussing re-marking this particular road, which is busy with motorists, parked cars, and cyclists.

Generally I'm favorable to sharrows as segregated lanes will not be a reality on this route but the past administration didn't want to hear about sharrows because they weren't formally included in the MUTCD.

My understanding from past reading was this was supposed to be the year. But I've not read that such has been the case. Searched this forum and not found the answer, so I am asking......

Has the "sharrow" marking been approved for general use by the FHWA and not just as experimental?

Didn't see Sharrows in the latest MUTCD. Dec 2007 revision 1&2

http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2003r1r2/html_index.htm

They are not in the MUTCD yet. General info is at http://www.trafficsign.us The proposed MUTCD draft is at http://www.trafficsign.us/npa/part09compl.pdf

[edited out my speculation on what is holding the draft up]

It looks to me like the sharrow is in fact incorporated in the Dec 2007 proposed MUTCD. It is figure 9C-9 and when approved, can be used under a variety of circumstances (where there is on-street parking, where traffic lanes are narrow, etc.).

It also looks like the "bikes may use full lane" sign is also slated for adoption. See sign R4-11 in Figure 9B-2.

Seems odd that it is only a meter wide (about the same as a bike lane symbol). I would have expected them to cover half the lane as a minimum. Right and left turn arrows are pretty wide, why not sharrows?

We have sharrows in Northern VA - I've seen them/ ridden on them in Crystal City & Alexandria.

comprehensive revisions proposed for incorporation into the next edition of the MUTCD was published in the Federal Register on January 2, 2008 for public review and comments. A 7-month period was provided for comments to the docket, which closed on July 31, 2008. The FHWA is currently reviewing and analyzing the comments received. Final Rule for the next edition of the MUTCD is anticipated during 2009.


http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/