On our walk last night we saw that new spray paint is marking the spot where new bike lanes and sharrows will soon be added to East Jefferson, adjacent to the hospital.
According to SDOT, the improvements will stretch from 9th Avenue in front of Harborview, eastward up to 19th Avenue.
If you’re looking for the least hilly east/west route, Jefferson is probably one of the best options (certainly better than nearby Cherry).
Whenever I see a sharrow, I think of a comment by a New York journalist and bike commuter: (roughly remembered) “What the heck are those supposed supposed to mean, anyway? ‘Good Luck?'”
I know I am in the minority, but I like sharrows. They’re perfect for lower-traffic streets where a complete re-striping is unnecessary. Their purpose is to raise drivers’ awareness of the presence of bikes (by seeing one painted on the road over and over) and to also encourage cyclists to use these roads in greater numbers, which raises driver awareness and hopefully overall safety. They are certainly much better than poorly designed bike lanes; my opinion is that poor bike lane design is the rule rather than the exception.
That said, one place where they are totally inappropriate is on westbound Cherry going over the hill. I specifically avoid that section so I don’t force drivers to move into the opposing lane on a blind hill. On the flip side, the sharrows on 19th are awesome!