LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles City Council President Eric Garcetti today helped install the city’s first “sharrow,” launching a new pilot program aimed at making it safer for cars and bicycles to share the road.

“By making it safer for cars and bicycles to share the road, sharrows encourage biking as a real alternative to driving, reducing traffic and air pollution,” Garcetti said.

Sharrows, also referred to as shared lane pavement markings, are used to increase motorist awareness of cyclists and to move cyclists out of the “door zone.” Sharrows consist of a stencil of a bicycle with two chevrons above it.

The sharrows pilot program was developed in partnership with the Los Angles County Bike Coalition and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, with support from the Southern California Association of Governments and the David Bohnett Foundation. Sharrows are being installed today on Fountain Ave. from Western Ave. to Vermont Ave. This morning, Garcetti helped the installation crew with the first sharrow. Sharrows will also be installed on five other streets across the city over the next several months. LADOT will monitor these routes and use its observations in expanding sharrows to other parts of the city.

Garcetti is a leading proponent of mass transit, bicycle, and other alternatives to driving that can promote better traffic flow and cleaner air. He authored the City Council motion that established this sharrow program.

“We are pleased to be working with Council President Garcetti on this latest initiative to reduce traffic. Bicycles are an important transportation option and we look forward to reviewing the data we collect,” said DOT General Manager Rita Robinson.

“We are happy to see sharrows on our streets. This collaboration with Council President Garcetti has been a fruitful experience that I hope will lead to many more sharrows on the streets of L.A.,” said Bicycle Coalition campaign and community director Aurisha Smolarski.