AGENDA #5g
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TO: |
Roger L. Stancil, Town Manager |
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FROM: |
J.B. Culpepper, Planning Director |
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SUBJECT: |
Sharrow Program |
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DATE: |
February 12, 2006 |
This is a status report concerning a proposal to seek experimental authorization from the Federal Highway Administration for a sharrow program.
On September 27, 2006, the Council received a report responding to a petition from the Transportation Board requesting that the Council implement a sharrow program along shared lane roads to educate motorists on the need to accommodate bicyclists.
A sharrow is a road marking to identify the shared use of a travel lane by bicyclists and passing motorists, indicating the legal and appropriate bicyclist line of travel; it cues motorists to pass bicyclists with sufficient clearance.
Sharrow markings are not currently included in the latest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The MUTCD is the national standard for all traffic control devices; it is used by the Town and the State to install and maintain traffic control devices on all streets and highways. The Federal Highway Administration will consider requests from public agencies for authorization to experiment with traffic devices not currently in the MUTCD (Attachment 1).
The September 27, 2006 memorandum recommended that the Council direct the staff to continue discussions with the Federal Highway Administration to determine the full extent of initiating a sharrow evaluation program, also to discuss possible participation in an evaluation program with the North Carolina Department of Transportation.
Staff has held discussions with the North Carolina Department of Transportation Traffic Engineering and Safety Branch and with the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) Traffic Engineering and Safety Branch does not currently have funds available to put towards this effort, but is supportive of the experiment. NCDOT representatives are willing to submit an application at the State level to the Federal Highway Administration to allow the Town of Chapel Hill and other municipalities to experiment with the sharrow marking. NCDOT representatives advise that the Federal Highway Administration usually prefers applications coming from the State.
The University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center (HSRC) currently has funding for and is preparing a research project for various devices for safety improvements that will be studied around the State. We are hopeful that the sharrow marking will be accepted as one of the devices to study and that locations can therefore be studied in Chapel Hill. We are hopeful that we can link the application for experimental evaluation of the sharrow marking to the HSRC study.
Staff will work with the North Carolina Department of Transportation Traffic Engineering and Safety Branch to submit an application for experimental evaluation to the Federal Highway Administration. We will advise the Council of the outcome of this application and what resources will be necessary to complete the evaluation if the application is successful.