The hierarchy of bike lanes are (from worst to best): none < sharrows (painted "share the road symbols") < in-street bike lane < bike lane along street w/ some

The hierarchy of bike lanes are (from worst to best): none < sharrows (painted "share the road symbols") < in-street bike lane < bike lane along street w/ some buffer in between < bike lane along street with physical barrier < bike path separate from the street. Unfortunately much of US cycle infrastructure is none/sharrows/in-street bike lane.