Sharing the road: ‘Sharrow’ markers added for bicycle safety

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Sports

April 30, 2014 - 12:00 AM

The City of Iola recently painted images of bicycles with arrows, “sharrows,” on about 1.5 miles of roadways in Iola.
The term “sharrows,” means, “shared lane arrow.” These were painted on roadways to make not only riding bicycles safer, but driving as well.
The Vision Iola group thought of the idea. The purpose of the plan is to improve health through the community through changes in Iola’s framework.
“It makes it easier for people riding bikes to feel confident on the streets,” Randy Rasa, 51, said.
Rasa has been riding his bike for the past 10 years and it is his preferred mode of transportation when possible. He has used the sharrows once since they’ve been installed and thinks they will help drivers.
“The sharrows are more there as an awareness tool than as an actual piece of infrastructure,” Rasa said. “It brings interest to people driving cars.”
The sharrows help remind drivers to share the road with bicyclists. For bicyclists, the sharrows help guide them to a safe place to ride on the street.
“It’s very rare, but occasionally you get drivers that want to force you off the road,” Rasa said.
Sharrows on the roadways doesn’t change the law. They’ve been placed down as a reminder that the road is to be shared. Drivers need to be cautious passing cyclists and cyclists still need to give enough room for cars to pass.
These same rules still apply to streets that do not have sharrows painted on the roadway. They have been placed on Washington Avenue, from Lincoln to Vine; on West Street, from the Prairie Spirit Trail to Washington; and on Vine Street, from the Southwind Rail Trail to Washington.
These streets are all central in bringing bikers on the Mo-Pac Trail into downtown Iola, and residents to the bike trail.

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