Sharrows are misused almost everywhere, and until I moved to Portland I would've agreed that they were a stupid idea. Here, there's been a lot of thought put in

Sharrows are misused almost everywhere, and until I moved to Portland I would've agreed that they were a stupid idea. Here, there's been a lot of thought put into their use, and it shows. Specifically, they're not just thrown up to show that the city's "doing something" about bicycle safety. They're used only on certain, designated, low-volume/low-speed corridors designated as "bike boulevards." This works surprisingly well, because it ends up that a sharrow in Portland doesn't mean "get along"--it means "bikes have priority." For the most part, drivers along the bike boulevards seem willing to drive slowly behind a bicyclist puffing up a hill and wait until they have plenty of space to pass. Culture may play a big role here too, but I think sharrows can play a very helpful role if used carefully.