Bicyclists get more room to ride in BR

• By ASHLEY M. BAILEY
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Jul 16, 2009 - Page: 1B

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White road signs painted onto the surface of some roads in Baton Rouge are meant to alert motorists that bicycle riders could be sharing the lanes.

It’s all part of making Baton Rouge a more bicycle-friendly city by designating some roadways around the city as shared lanes.

Shared bicycle lanes, or “sharrows,” are lanes of traffic that are designated for use by bicycles and motor vehicles.

Mike Futrell, chief administrative officer for Mayor Kip Holden, said the sharrows designations are part of a $2.5 million project to provide safe bicycle routes that connect neighborhoods near downtown Baton Rouge, the Garden District and the LSU area.

The shared lanes are marked with a symbol painted on the roadway that depicts a bicyclist and the direction of travel. Work to paint signs on more than 20 proposed roadways around the city began about a month ago.

Ingolf Partenheimer, chief traffic engineer with the Department of Public Works, said areas of Fairfields Avenue, Terrace Street, Glenmore Avenue, Bawell Street, East Lakeshore Drive, and Goodwood Boulevard have already been painted with the symbol.

Partenheimer said the department is waiting on approval from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to paint the symbol on at least six other streets.

Mark Martin, president of Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets, said the move has pleased many bicyclists who have calling for better bike facilities for years.

He called the sharrows “a terrific first step in raising awareness to everyone who uses the road.”

Martin said he rode his bicycle along the sharrows on Terrace Street and East Lakeshore Drive.

“Knowing that they’re there … it’s a terrific positive,” Martin said.

Mike Futrell said the areas chosen for the sharrows were selected because they have low traffic counts and low speed limits. 

“Safety is the most important issue,” he said.