Through the LADOT Bike Blog, we've gotten some answers as to what the heck happened on Westholme Boulevard, where a large portion of Sharrows were covered up last week. Basically, there was a communication breakdown between the Bureau of Street Services, the same government body that physically installed the Sharrows in the first place, and the LADOT. Further compounding the confusion, the Sharrows don't yet appear on the Street Plan for Westholme because the Sharrows are part of a study. The Bike Blog explains the significance:
The problem on Westholme is that Sharrows aren’t on the street plan yet. And no, Sharrows not being on the street plan is not part of a grand LADOT conspiracy to make sure Sharrows fail.
Sharrows aren’t yet on the street plan because they’re part of a test study. When you get a marking put onto a street plan, it’s pretty serious. Once it’s on the plan, it can take months to get that plan changed. Since the recommended placement of Sharrows may change depending on the results of the test study, it would not make very much sense to put Sharrows on the street plan at 11 feet if LADOT Bikeways ends up recommending they be placed at 12 feet.
The Bike Blog has a big post on the subject of what happened on Westholme, and it's also the place to go if you are looking for a comparison of a "repaving" vs a "slurry seal."
But as for a timeline on when the Sharrows are coming back? A nebulous "as soon as possible." Anyone want to place a bet on when that is?
