Sharrow
ELM-SHR-39 Avoid Element
Sharrow
A shared-lane marking, a painted symbol combining a bicycle icon and chevron arrows, placed within a shared vehicle travel lane to indicate that cyclists may use the full lane and to suggest proper positioning within it.
Why this pattern exists
On a roadway too narrow to provide any dedicated bike space, a sharrow at least communicates that cyclists are expected users of the lane and suggests where they should position themselves relative to parked cars and the travel lane’s edge; this pattern exists to document this lowest tier of bike accommodation and its real limitations.
Key considerations
- Provides no physical or even painted separation from vehicle traffic, and research has generally found it does little to improve comfort or safety for cyclists1
- Should be treated as a last-resort or interim treatment rather than a target outcome; a corridor relying on sharrows is a candidate for future upgrade to a dedicated facility
- May still hold value narrowly for wayfinding continuity between two stronger-facility segments where a short interruption cannot otherwise be avoided
Related patterns
Conventional Bike Lane (ELM-CBL-34), Advisory Bike Lane (ELM-ABL-36) (facilities this pattern should generally be upgraded toward); Stroad (ART-STD-05) (the explicit Avoid-status pattern this shares status logic with)