An Ohio city will replace those ineffective “Share the Road” signs with a less ambiguous alternative.

Typically, the worst part of my morning bicycle commute involves a stretch of heavily trafficked street protected by a famously useless combination of signage: painted “sharrows” on the roadway and a bright yellow diamond-shaped plea to “Share the Road.” As CityLab and many bike advocates have observed, these vague and oft-misunderstood directives aren’t worth the paint they consume. If anything, they seem to incite harrowing displays of aggression from drivers who think it gives them license to shove past bicyclists who aren’t doing their share of lane-sharing.    

Now Columbus, Ohio, is joining the ranks of similarly enlightened communities across North America that are mothballing these share-please signs and replacing them with a more assertive variation: “Bikes Can Use Full Lane.” Available since 2009, these signs have proved to be a vastly more effective way to encourage drivers to maintain a safe distance from riders on narrow roads. In an interview with Columbus Underground, the city bicycle coordinator, Scott Ulrich, called the alternative phrasing “the most consistently comprehended” message for motorists. The new signs are also white rectangles (indicating proper lane usage), instead of the typical yellow diamond of warning signs. “We believe it is more appropriate to treat bicyclists less like potential hazards and more like the legal road users that they are, and to remind other road users of that fact,” Ulrich said.

H/t Next City

About the Author

Most Popular

  1. Design

    Why Amsterdam’s Canal Houses Have Endured for 300 Years


  2. A woman stands in front of a house.

    How Housing Wealth Transferred From Families to Corporations

    The Great Housing Reset has led to growing numbers of single-family homes shifting from owner-occupied housing to investment vehicles for large corporations.


    What Happened to Baltimore’s Harborplace?


  4. photo: San Diego's Trolley

    Out of Darkness, Light Rail!


  5. photo: Bernie Sanders

    Bernie Sanders Wins Endorsement From the Internet’s Premier Urbanist Meme-Makers
