CITY OF PORTLAND, OREGON

OFFICE OF PUBLIC UTILITIES
Sam Adams, Commissioner
1221 S.W. Fourth Avenue, Rm. 220
Portland, Oregon 97204-1994
(503);823-3008
FAX (503) 823-3017
Email: samadams@ci.portland.or.us
www.portlandonline.com/adams

Commissioner Sam Adams
Portland City Council
Portland Department of Transportation
Office of Public Utilities

August 25, 2005

Federal Highway Administration
Office of Transportation Operations
400 Seventh Street SW, HOTO
Washington, DC 20590

To: Federal Highway Administration From: Commissioner Sam, Adams, City if Portland

RE: City of Portland's Request to Experiment with "Sharrows"

Attached please find the City of Portland's request to experiment with shared lane pavement markings, or "sharrows." I hope you view the potential for these markings as we do here: enthusiastically. They hold the potential to better manage conditions on city streets and encourage bicyclists and motorists to share our streets in a manner that will be more comfortable and safer for everyone.

We have long been seeking a tool that would allow us to address what happens when one of our bicycle lanes ends because of-constraints that we have neither the space nor finances to address with conventional roadway markings. Tested initially in this country in San Francisco, sharrows seem to make the roadways safer for cycling by getting cyclists out of the "door zone" of parked cars, and encouraging passing motorists to give bicyclists a wider berth when passing. Given our commitment to promote bicycling, we are encouraged by San Francisco's experience and believe sharrows will be a significant addition to Portland's efforts to further increase bicycling, in our city.

The City of Portland strongly supports-the testing and pilot use of these markings and encourage the Federal Highways Administration to approve this request expeditiously.

Sincerely,
Commissioner Sam Adams