Coast Highway 101 Update

If you have not ridden Coastal Highway 101 recently through Encinitas, please do!  You're in for a treat!  Most of it is now marked with sharrows and "Bikes May Use Full Lane" signs.  That means traffic engineers have determined the outside lane is "too narrow for a bicycle and a vehicle to travel safely side by side within the lane", per CVC 21202(a)(3), and so bicyclists have the right to control the lane.  Controlling the lane, rather than riding near the right edge, makes it easier for motorists to realize sooner that they need to change lanes to pass safely.   

Further, northbound, just north of Leucadia Blvd, there has been "lane diet", reducing the number of travel lanes from two to one, to make room for an eight foot wide bike lane.  And the pavement is all smooth now - goodbye Vulcan Ave detour!  Check it out!

Serge  Issakov

SDBC/SDCBC liaison


See full release below:

­February 20, 2013

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:  Andy Hanshaw, San Diego Bicycle Coalition, 858-487-6063

New Bike Lane, Sharrows Welcomed by North County Bicyclists

New roadway markings remind cyclists, motorists to share the road

SAN DIEGO, February 20, 2013 – Drivers and bicyclists traveling through Encinitas along Coast Hi­ghway 101 have seen a change to the roadway in recent weeks. In an effort to better accommodate the growing number of bicyclists in the area, the City of Encinitas added a new bike lane to northbound Coast Highway 101 from Leucadia Boulevard to La Costa Avenue. Crews also added a total of 140 sharrows and 28 “Bicycles May Use Full Lane” signage in both directions from K Street to La Costa Avenue to remind motorists that cyclists may ride in the center of the lane for increased safety and visibility.

San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, an organization that advocates for and protects the rights of all people who ride bicycles, reminds cyclists and motorists to follow guidelines for the new bike lane and sharrows, which now adorn streets across the county.

“For the thousands of people who ride Coast Highway 101 every week for recreation and transportation, the bike lane and sharrows are a welcome sight,” said Andy Hanshaw, executive director of the Bicycle Coalition. “They’re also markings of a more bike-friendly community, which we’re seeing in mass across San Diego County.” 

Supported by the Bicycle Coalition, sharrows are a newer tool in the bike-friendly community toolbox. Adopted by Caltrans in 2005 as a statewide universal marking for sharing the road, sharrows mark travel lanes that bicyclists and motorists share. When a lane is too narrow for a dedicated bike lane, a sharrow has been proven to be an effective tool in increasing safety and awareness for all road users. These four-foot wide bicycles with two arrows on top are painted on streets in neighborhoods and along thoroughfares in San Diego County that agencies have already designated as bicycle routes. Road users can see sharrowns in Oceanside in North County as well as the communities of Ocean Beach, Point Loma, Normal Heights and downtown San Diego.

Sharrows help bicyclists position themselves away from parked cars, to avoid being struck by suddenly opened car doors, and to alert other road users that bicyclists may occupy travel lanes. To aid the effectiveness of the sharrows, the City of Encinitas also installed several “Bicycles May Use Full Lane” signs to reinforce that cyclists have the right to be in the travel lane.

To celebrate the new bicycle lane and roadway markings, the Encinitas Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, along with Leucadia 101 Main Street Association and Downtown Encinitas Main Street Association have organized a casual ride on the new and improved Coast Highway 101. The “Joyride” will take place on March 23. The organizers encourage all community members to save the date and join them for a cruise up and down the coast with stops at local bike shops and restaurants. Please visit www.bikewalkencinitas.org for more details.

For additional information on sharrows and other bike-friendly infrastructure projects, contact the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition at execdir@sdcbc.org or 858-487-6063.

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San Diego County Bicycle Coalition (SDCBC) is a nonprofit organization that advocates for and protects the rights of all people who ride bicycles. They promote bicycling as a mainstream, safe and enjoyable form of transportation and recreation.  For more information, go to www.sdcbc.org.