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Bicycles May Use Full Lane, SLM; MUTCD updates
Posted on January 7th, 2010 3 comments
Apparently I’m a little behind the times, a new version of the MUTCD was released in Dec 2009 and includes a couple of new items for cyclists:Section 9B.06 Bicycles May Use Full Lane Sign (R4-11) and
Section 9C.07 Shared Lane Marking.
The last time I wrote about Shared Lane Markings, see Sharrow / Shared lane marking (SLM), they were “experimental”.
The
SLM seems like a really good idea that is practically useless in the vast majority of the hundreds of square miles of Phoenix because they are not allowed on roads with speed limits above 35mph — that’s practically all of them where sharing is an issue.3 responses to “Bicycles May Use Full Lane, SLM; MUTCD updates”
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I posted today about the “helmeted bicyclist symbol” from the 2009 MUTCD that is replacing the diamond symbols on bike lanes that I have ridden on recently. I just noticed it this morning, but couldn’t find a reference online for exactly when they started doing that in Phoenix. I’m with you regarding the sharrows; most of the Valley would not appear to be suited for them. Perhaps downtown streets?
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Yes but 75 percent of Phoenix is residential roads.
I wonder why the 35 mph limit is there?
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The 35 MPH wording was inserted during final debate at the January 2007 meeting of the National Committee on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Approval would have been unlikely without this provision (it had already been voted down in June 2005).
Note that the 35 MPH wording is a Guidance condition; i.e. recommended but not mandatory. An agency can install SLMs on roadways with higher speed limits, as long as engineering judgment or an engineering study indicates that it is appropriate.
rcm
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John Romeo Alpha January 7th, 2010 at 21:47