With more emphasis on alternative options for getting around town, the city of Fort Thomas has been exploring ways to make its streets friendlier to bicycles, golf carts, scooters and similar vehicles. Space and cost often prohibit adding designated bike lanes to streets, so the city has been exploring other ways to promote safety and harmony on the road.
At the August city council meeting, City Administrator Matt Kremer announced “sharrows” will be added to the outside lanes of the four-lane Fort Thomas Avenue within the next month. Sharrows are white pavement markings showing a bicycle symbol with two chevrons above it.
“The point of it is to try to take vehicular traffic and go towards the center,” Kremer said. “The outer lanes need to be available more for bikes, for golf carts, for scooters, things like that…We do have a large bike community that rides on the Avenue, and it’s just a safer way for all of us.”
He said there is not enough room to have a dedicated lane, but the sharrows will encourage vehicle drivers to leave space on the outside lanes for bicyclists and other slower traffic.
“I’ve been excited about this for the longest time, because I love the idea of people riding bikes in town,” Mayor Eric Haas said. “I’ve been trying to drive on the inside lane; it’s so hard for me, because I’ve been trained to …keep right except passing…People can still drive that lane, it’s not going to prevent it, but it’s going to encourage people to drive the inside lane so the outside lane can be for bikers and others.”
There is a lot of confusion over sharrows, mostly because people mistake them for bike lanes, according to Bicycling magazine. They are not bike lanes and don’t replace the safety that can be provided with dedicated bike lanes. However, experts at the Federal Highway Administration say they can increase the passing distance between drivers and bicyclists, reduce wrong-way riding and get bicyclists off the sidewalks. In other words, sharrows can raise awareness and encourage sharing on the road.
More information on sharrows will be available on the city’s website soon, Kremer said.