At the very least, bike advocates say, the green sharrows on Second Street in Belmont Shore are not contributing to traffic problems.

Installed in June 2009, the markings that line the right lanes on both sides of Second Street from Bay Shore Avenue to Livingston Drive were part of a federal pilot initiative. Bike Long Beach recently released traffic accident statistics for the stretch between 2007 and 2013 with the hopes of getting a complete idea of the sharrows’ impact.

Total crashes (car, bike and pedestrian) have fallen each year from 2009-2012. The number of accidents reported to police show a high of 43 in 2009 versus 12 total in 2012. After four months of collected data, 2013 is projected to reach 24.

Especially interesting, officials said, was the drop in vehicle accidents.

“I wouldn’t want to say it’s due to the green sharrows, but what we can say is that the sharrows have not caused an increase in accidents,” said Allan Crawford, city bicycle coordinator. “Whether they have contributed to this decrease, I don’t know. There is no way to prove the causality.”

Bicycle accidents reached a seven-year high of six in 2011 on Second Street. There have been no reported bicycle accidents since then, according to city statistics. There has been one pedestrian accident since the beginning of 2012.

“We really wanted to go in and see what the data showed us,” Crawford said. “Having six full years has given us confidence that the sharrows are working as intended.”

Anecdotally, at the very least, officials said that there has been a significant drop in bicycle riding on the sidewalks — one of the primary intents of the program. The sharrows also were intended to keep people out of the “door zone” to prevent accidents with parked cars.

Lisa Genshock, co-owner of Second Street’s Jones Bicycles, said she quizzed her staff a little bit on the sharrows and came back with a variety of feedback.

She said that one of the sharpest complaints is that some riders do not go fast enough to appease natural traffic movement (traffic speed is marked 25 mph).

“There can be a mind-set, they say, of ‘I’m in the green and I ride at my own pace,’” she said. “I think, it seems, that that causes some friction between motorists and cyclists.”

She said there also likely needs to be a continued educational mission regarding the sharrows and making sure drivers are aware of what they stand for. She agreed that there has been a notable increase of riders, and that those riders are generally avoiding riding on the sidewalks.

Dede Rossi, executive director of the Belmont Shore Business Association, said the green sharrows haven’t come up recently in association meetings, and that a lot of initial animosity has subsided, at least publicly.

“I just think it’s gotten quiet,” she said. “People might realize this is what it is.”

She said that she often sees bicycle riders still riding in the “door zone” and that she still hears concerns about the green paint creating a slippery surface. Has traffic slowed down some? Maybe, she said, which could be good for the area.

Crawford said the city is aware of the slickness concerns.

“We get reports of that,” he said. “We are working to address that. Next time we paint it, we will try to make that grippier. We are taking that seriously.”

Still, he said, he believes the behavior of both drivers and cyclists are changing for the better.

Read the full report at www.bikelongbeach.org.

Jonathan Van Dyke can be reached at jvandyke@gazettes.com

Year Total crashes Vehicle Bike Pedestrian

2007 36 32 3 1

2008 35 30 4 1

2009 43 39 4 0

2010 33 29 4 0

2011 27 18 6 3

2012 12 12 0 0

2013 24* 20* 0 1

* Estimate based on first 4 months