Sharrow the Road

      In another effort to make downtown bike-friendly, Annapolis is turning to sharrows, painted bike lane indicators.

      “It’s a great visual cue,” said Jon Korin, chairman of Bicycle Advocates for Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.

      Sponsoring the signage at the cost of $20,000 is the Downtown Annapolis Partnership, through a grant from McKee Foods’ Outdoor Happiness Movement program.

     “Receiving this funding will help us to extend the network for bicycle friendly places to ride in the city — something that requires no money from the city,” said Mayor Gavin Buckley, an avid rider along city streets.

     New sharrows — including markings on the East Coast Greenway route on King George Street, a common route to downtown and Eastport — join existing ones on Admiral Drive and portions of Bay Ridge Road. Some roadways will receive Share the Road signage in lieu of sharrows.

     “Making downtown Annapolis bike-friendly improves the life of our residents and visitors by giving them another healthy option to travel around this historic city and helps us to reduce the number of cars in our city center,” said Erik Evans, executive director of the Downtown Annapolis Partnership.