Neighbor Andrew reports that work is underway to paint in the new sharrows on E. Boston between 15th Ave and 10th Ave E:
I was just biking up E Boston a few minutes ago and saw a couple of SDOT crews out putting down the sharrows along the E Boston stretch of the E Boston / 15th connector to 10th. Hooray! Traffic is a little crimped due to the work (it’s also, ironically, not the best place to bike at the moment) so use caution going through there.
It’s the second of two big stretches of sharrows added to Capitol Hill this summer. Here’s the current SDOT project map. That big green line is the E. Boston work. The pink rectangle is a note about traffic re-routes due to the AIDS Walk in Volunteer Park on September 26.
Why are we painting sharrows on a stretch of road that more than anything needs to be repaved? In its current state, 15th E to E Boston to 10th E, is barely safe for automotive traffic let alone bike traffic. This isn’t the only stretch of road in town I’ve noticed where sharrows are being painted on pot-hole pocked streets.
Why can’t the city do things in a responsible manner? It would seem prudent to make sure the road is safe (ie: resurfacing) for all kinds of traffic before encouraging all kinds of traffic.
I’m not against bikes and cars sharing the same space, I just want it to be as safe as possible for them to do so.