Initial Ideas for New Bicycle Lanes and Sharrows

The city has made some exploratory suggestions for having bicycle markings painted on several Somerville streets in 2012, said a planner from the Somerville Transportation and Infrastructur Division at a November meeting with the Somerville Bicycle Advisory Committee.

Sarah Spicer said that the Department of Traffic and Parking has suggested striping the following streets:

• Bow Street, between Somerville Avenue
• The north side of Summer Street (westbound)
• Broadway, from Medford Street to Central Street 

Spicer said that in the spring, the city plans to have lanes painted along Union Square's Bow Street, likely on the right side of the one-way street. At the same time, on-street parking would be changed so that drivers would have to back into a space at an angle. The committee discussed how the city or a contractor might have to move the in front of to make room for the new markings.

A committee member asked Spicer to bring a picture to the December meeting so that he and others could better understand the plan. 

Meanwhile, a company has painted sharrows (arrows that indicate that bicyclists and drivers should share the road) and other markings along Temple Street in the Ten Hills neighborhood. Because there wasn’t enough room for a continuous lane along either side of the street, Spicer said, the company painted a single stripe between the line of traffic and parking spaces for cars. 

For next year, the Department of Traffic and Parking has also proposed sharrows on other streets, including: 

• Willow Avenue, from Broadway to Highland Avenue
• The south side of Summer Street (eastbound)
• Walnut Street
• Pearl Street
• Curtis Street
• Packard Avenue
• Somerville Avenue, from Webster Avenue to Prospect Street