3-foot passing ordinance and texting ban PASS! Also, we're getting Sharrows today!

What a great day for cyclists in Austin! First up, I just got word from Alonzo that the texting ban AND the 3-foot passing ordinance have PASSED in today's City Council session. FUCK YES! Also of note is the installation of SHARROWS on Lavaca and Guadalupe (from 20th St. to Caesar Chavez), as well as 51st Street from Airport to I-35. WOAH! If you want more info on the Sharrows, here's the press release that the League of Bicycle Voters' Rob D'Amico sent out yesterday:

Sharrows? What the heck is a sharrow?

City to install special bicycle facilities on Guadalupe/Lavaca and throughout Austin to encourage cycling, make it safer

The City of Austin Thursday will install shared lane markings—known as "sharrows"—on selected streets throughout Austin to study how the markings can make bicycling safer and encourage more riders.

Sharrows are white stencils—usually carrot top arrows and a bicyclist—laid into the street with thermoplastic to inform motorists and bicyclists that they are encouraged to share the lane, rather than having the bicyclist ride to the far right of the lane.

"Sharrows were originally designed to get bicyclists out of the door zone, the area along parked cars where bicyclists can strike or be struck by doors, often with devastating results," said Tom Wald, League of Bicycling Voters Executive Director. "But they've also been used lately more as a way to get bikes integrated safely with auto traffic, and in areas of high bicycle use that are too narrow for a separate bike lane."

Austin's first sharrows will be part of a pilot project through the Federal Highway Administration to study their effectiveness. The most prominent placement in Austin will be lanes on both Guadalupe and Lavaca, from 20th Street to Cesar Chavez.

The other location is E. 51st Street from Airport Boulevard to IH-35.

"Cities across the country have been using sharrows for several years, and their experience has shown that they are an easy and cost effective way to make cycling safer," Wald said. However, he stressed that sharrows (and bike lanes) don't preclude cyclists from using the other lanes as well. "Cyclists have full rights to the streets as needed, and in many instances they should use other traffic lanes outside the sharrows and bike lanes to stay safe."

"Sharrows are a great way to increase awareness of cyclists in traffic lanes, but we encourage motorists to also realize that in many instance cyclists need to ride outside of a bike lane or sharrow to get to where they're going safely," Wald added.

Also included in Austin's pilot project are bike boxes, colored bike lanes and "Bikes May Use Full Lane " signs. The bike boxes are striped on the pavement at intersections and are intended to provide a buffer between bicyclists and auto traffic waiting at signals. Colored bicycle lanes have been used to increase visibility so that motorists are more aware of their intended use. And the "Bikes May Use Full Lane" signs recently have been used to convey the "share the road message."

Note: Please call Annick Beaudet, City of Austin Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator, at 974-6505 to verify sharrow installation times, which may be delayed by weather.

The League of Bicycling Voters is Austin's voice for bicyclists. LOBV is an advocacy organization promoting better transportation policy decisions, justice for bicyclists, and more resources to increase the number of bicyclists in the Austin area.

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I love this town. Big thanks to all the City folks involved in making this happen, as well as the citizens who have been so politically active and pushing for change over the past several years. You people have officially made my day.