#208 It's a sharrow

This picture is part of our torrential downpour series but also here to educate you about Sharrows. "Sharrow" is a terrible word for a questionable traffic improvement measure. Here's an email exchange I had with the City of Ithaca folks:

Dear Department of Public Works Superintendent,

I am a resident of North Cayuga Street which was recently refurbished under the supervision of you department. First of all thank you to whoever was in charge of making this decision, this was a badly needed repair! However, one of latest improvements confuses me.

Last night a symbol showing a bicycle and two arrow shapes has been painted onto the new road surface in various locations including right in front of my house. In discussions with friends and neighbors I was not able to figure out, what the meaning of this symbol is. Clearly the road is also open to cars, so why paint a bicycle only and no car? And why the arrows? 

I would be grateful if you could enlighten me and the people who share my ignorance about the meaning of this new street decor.

Sincerely,
Jonas Neubert

And the reply:

Hi Jonas,

Thanks for your email. The markings are an experimental "sharrow." Attached is a frequently asked questions sheet with (hopefully) some answers to your questions. We are looking for feedback about this marking over the summer. If you would be willing to write us back in a month or two or so with your observations, it would be useful to us.

Glad to hear the repaving is well received.

Sincerely,
Tim

Here is the attached FAQ. So far I resort to calling this "interesting". One funny thing is that the first thing I saw in the morning was a woman cycling down the street on the wrong side -despite all the "sharrows" showing her how to do it right.