State Street Shared Lane Markings

Coming soon to State Street

Yes, indeed bicycles may use the full lane on any city street, as always. Shared lane markings punctuate, underline and highlight that fact with a giant exclamation point, in the form of a bicycle symbol on the pavement (see picture at right).  Recently, the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) approved the use of these markings on a portion of State Street, a state-owned road passing through downtown Salt Lake City.  This is a breakthrough of sorts: approval of shared lane markings (SLMs, sometimes known as sharrows) on a state-owned road.

The markings on State Street will extend from 200 South to North Temple, on both sides of the street, in the outside travel lanes.  Until now, UDOT has not approved the use of these markings on the state roads traversing Salt Lake City (including roads such as 700 East, 500 South, Foothill Drive, and others, in addition to State Street).  Now the door has been opened, setting a precedent for further bicycle-friendly cooperation with UDOT on roads throughout the City.

Same idea

Plays well with SLMs

Shared lane markings can currently be found within the green stripes gracing downtown, on streets such as South Temple, Main Street and 200 South.  The next round of shared lane markings will not include the green striping, as the City Division of Transportation is searching for a new, more durable paint (the current material is wearing off rapidly, after just one season). In future projects, the green striping will be reserved for the downtown area only.

Plenty of shared lane markings are planned for Salt Lake's city-owned streets in the near future, certainly within the next three months. In fact, expect to see a few of these bad boys on 1700 South (between 1700 East and 900 East) in the next few days... if not today.  

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