Sharrows and the Power of a Bike Ride

by David Casterson

I invited 2nd District County Supervisor Ellen Pirie to ride with me at the beginning of a school day last August, for the purpose of showing her several of the bicycle safety problem areas we have in Aptos. Although she admitted that she hadn't ridden a bike since she was a kid, she impressed me tremendously by accepting my invitation!

We met in the Aptos Rancho shopping center parking lot and after adjusting the bicycle and helmet I had brought for her, headed south on Soquel for a ride to Valencia Elementary School and back. Along the way I pointed out danger areas. Ellen was able to see—and feel—firsthand, what it is like to be part of traffic as a cyclist here.

After our ride we had a good discussion of the experience and possible solutions to some of the safety problems. This ultimately led to the application of three sharrows in the immediate vicinity of the Aptos Bridge.

The purpose of the sharrow is to alert both cyclists and motorists that a bike rider has the option and the right to move into the center of a lane in an area where the road is too narrow to safely accommodate a motor vehicle and bicycle side-by-side. In addition to the narrowness of the historic (1928) bridge over Aptos Creek, its extra tall 10-inch curb and the speed increase of vehicles approaching it downhill in both directions increase the danger here. Also because all cyclists riding north-south through this part of the county invariably must cross the bridge, it gets more than its share of bike travel by commuter and recreational cyclists. (Someone once told me that responsibility is the ability to respond. With our community now painfully aware of the dangers surrounding motorists and cyclists, it is gratifying to see this concept taken to heart.) Next time you are cycling through Aptos, look for the sharrow, check for vehicles behind you, and "take the lane" as you approach the bridge. You will ride safer, and at the same time help spread the message to motorists that cyclists have the right—and, now, the opportunity—to improve bicycle safety in our county.

Special thanks to Ellen Pirie and Jack Sohriakoff (Santa Cruz County Public Works Department).