We’re excited to announce that LADOT crews will be installing approximately 20 miles of new shared-lane markings — or “sharrows” — in neighborhoods across the city. Sharrows are intended to supplement the bicycle lane network in Los Angeles by:

Providing gap closures in the Class II (Bike Lane) network



Enhancing Class III (Bike Route) Bikeways- This includes future BFS facilities



Improving bicycling conditions on two-lane roadways with dashed centerlines



Click here to access or download the original spreadsheet

Sharrows are a standardized road marking established in the California Manual for Uniform Traffic Control Devices. This book defines many familiar roadway features such as stop signs and traffic lights and outlines how they may be used. A sharrow has five main goals:

Assist bicyclists in positioning themselves outside the “door zone” of parked cars.









Assist bicyclists in positioning themselves within narrow lanes so that they may ride safely next to passing automobiles.









Assist drivers with a safe passing distance for bicycles.









Indicate the shared-use nature of the road so that motorists are aware of the presence of cyclists and drive accordingly.









Encourage bicyclists to ride with traffic, as opposed to against it.

As you can see, sharrows are a safety asset for both cars and bikes; drivers will know where to expect cyclists and can judge a safe passing distance, while cyclists can judge their distance outside of the “door zone” and also know to ride in the direction of traffic. Finally, sharrows do not affect the operation of the roadway, remove travel lanes, or displace parking. So motorists may continue to use the road as they always have, except with a more cautious eye towards cyclists. For more information on sharrows, check out our Sharrows 101 post.

Over the course of the next year, LADOT will install about 20 miles of new sharrows throughout Los Angeles. Check the list above of upcoming sharrows to see if any are coming to your area! If so, you may see some preliminary markings on the road in spray paint to indicate to our crews where to install the actual sharrow.