06-11-2018, 09:56 AM
(06-11-2018, 09:37 AM)panamaniac Wrote:(06-11-2018, 09:28 AM)Pheidippides Wrote: Oh, it has been flagged to them.
I was hoping to avoid re-sharing the link to avoid perpetuating the mis-information because the positioning advice is so horrible, but here it is:
https://twitter.com/WRPSToday/status/100...0730141696
What was said:
"ride as far to the right shoulder as possible" while the video shows the officer riding literally on the curb side-by-side with a car in a sharrow lane.
Also, cycling is characterized as a seasonal recreation activity instead of a legitimate year-round mode of transport.
The incorrect positioning was re-iterated in the Record:
"in some areas in the core of Kitchener and Waterloo where there are sharrows, the roadway is "simply too narrow" and cyclists need to get to the right of the road, he said."
Isn't that why it says "single file" on all the streets with sharrows? To avoid motorists trying to squeeze by people cycling?
What is the official line on local sharrows? Are cars and bikes expected to proceed in a single row, or are cars expected to look for opportunities to safely get around bikes? I always assumed it was the latter, recognizing that in certain narrow spots with oncoming traffic, the result could be trailing behind a bicycle for some distance (which I have done with no concern on my part). I have on occasion had the experience of a bicyclist pulling over to the curb in such spots to allow cars to pass, but that always struck me as a courtesy rather than anything a motorist should expect. One thing I would never expect as a motorist is that cyclist should move so close to the curb as to put themselves at risk.
The local advice on sharrows (from both Kitchener, and Cambridge, Waterloo makes no specific advice) is that they indicate to cyclists where they should ride and to drivers to expect cyclists to be riding there. This matches MTO design guidance. Now this makes good sense on our roads, where sharrows are almost always in the middle, many towns place the sharrows to the right of lanes that are too narrow for bike lanes, but "wide enough" to "share", which frankly, always bugs me.
As for driver behaviour, I believe drivers are generally permitted to overtake any vehicle when safe to do so, but where sharrows are, there may not be an opportunity for some time--but the cities make no specific statement on this. The location of the filming of the WRPS segment has an additional restriction where there is a "single file" sign indicating that drivers should drive single file with cyclists. I don't know if this is intended to stop overtaking, but it clearly restricts the car who has pulled up beside the officer on the bike in the video. Frankly, they should have stopped filming and ticketed the driver for failure to obey signage.
Ugh...so frustrating.