This article supported by Los Angeles Bicycle Attorney as part of a general sponsorship package. All opinions in the article are that of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of LABA. Click on the ad for more information.
This week SBLA noticed that sharrows have reappeared on two stretches of 4th Street where they were missing a month ago.
At two Hancock Park locations (between Norton Avenue and Irving Boulevard, and between McCadden Place and Highland Avenue) sharrows installed in 2010 were missing in August. As of this week, they are back.
Sharrows restored on 4th Street just west of Norton.
Maybe call it a tiny victory for the pulse-pounding power of Streetsblog and/or the all-powerful Bike Lobby, or just the gradual machinery of city street maintenance getting around to things over time.
Through Koreatown, Hancock Park, and Mid-City, Fourth Street is a relatively quiet alternative to much busier parallel streets including Third Street and Wilshire Boulevard. Fourth is a designated bike route that sees a lot of cyclists. Sharrows help make drivers aware that bikes belong on Fourth, and guide bicyclists to a useful route. Sharrows are not the be-all end-all treatment that Fourth deserves. It could still use some upgrades to be safer for everyone and perhaps become a true bicycle boulevard, but, for now, at least it's not getting any worse.
L.A. County needs to embrace physically-protected bikeways, robust traffic calming around schools, and similarly transformative, safety-focused projects
