Old 07-24-13 | 05:41 PM
  #19  
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bhchdh
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From: Hampton Roads VA

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Originally Posted by paulypro
I saw the comments saying it's the officer that's not informed, and I realize my opinion is unpopular here and on the rest of the 'web. I still think the OP cyclist is abusing the existence of a sharrow, which should mean that it's a shared lane, not a lane available for cyclists to take over. I'm all for blocking a car from passing me in an unsafe situation, but I think this cyclist was running down the middle of the lane without even considering tucking to the right a few feet to allow some cars to pass. As I said, there's plenty of space in the 'getting doored' area (just to the left of the oil slicks and dust strip) where there's no parked cars for the majority of the vid. As a cyclist you should be able to smoothly work the road to use this space and come into the lane when needed which is how I'd interpret the intent of a sharrow, again to increase awareness to motorists that cyclists may be coming into the road. The lane looked plenty wide to let cars pass if the rider had been keeping right.
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Agreed, and from the link you provide in an earlier post:

At 11 feet from the curb, a bicyclist riding through the center of the Sharrows symbol rides clear of any doors that may open. According to the CAMUTCD, Sharrows are intended to do 5 things:
Reduce the chance of bicyclists impacting open doors of parked vehicles on a shared roadway with on-street parallel parking
Assist bicyclists in lanes that are too narrow for a motor vehicle and a bicycle to travel side by side within the same traffic lane
Alert road users of the lateral location bicyclists are likely to occupy within the traveled way
Encourage safe passing of bicyclists by motorists
Reduce the incidence of wrong-way bicycling
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