The city is considering a proposal to eliminate the bike lanes on 77th Avenue, to add parking spaces in place of the bike lanes, and to add sharrows to the street. (A “sharrow” is the picture of a bike rider with two arrows facing in the direction of traffic, painted on a road in the same lane with the cars. Bikes are expected to travel in the same lane with cars — to share the road: share + arrow = sharrow.)

Sharrows obviously put bikers at risk because instead of riding in separate lanes from cars, bikes and cars travel in the same lane.

Bike/car collisions increase when sharrows are used instead of separate bike lanes, and increased traffic on 77th caused by the center lane closures on Interstate-90 will put bicyclists at even more risk.

With the recent increase in pedestrian-crosswalk accidents in Town Center, why is a plan being considered that would put our citizens even more at risk?

Rather, we should vigorously defend and protect the dedicated bike lanes on 77th Avenue.

Sharrows do not protect bicyclists. Bike lanes do.

Meg Lippert

Mercer Island