Bike Warning Signs on Route 35

If you've driven through Bay Head on Rt. 35 in the past couple of weeks, you will have seen these newly painted signs every few feet on the roadway.

So what do these white bike symbols painted on the street mean? Is there a bike lane in the middle of the road? Well, yes. That's the simple answer. Here's what you need to know.

These new painted markings look like a bicycle and arrows that show which direction bike riders should be traveling (WITH traffic, not against it).

The State Department of Transportation calls these symbols 'sharrows', and the purpose of them is to remind those driving a motor vehicle as well as those on bicycles that this is the portion of the roadway that is the safest, statistically, for bike riders to use in order to avoid car doors opening into them from cars parked on the shoulder.

In the case of Rt. 35 in Bay Head, where cars are allowed to be parked on both sides of the highway, there isn't enough space for a dedicated bike lane. That means the bike riders should be pretty much in the middle of the roadway to ride safely. It is also a reminder that bike riders have just as much right to the road as autos do.

That means that if you are driving a car and want to pass a bike rider, you should wait until the adjacent lane is clear and pass the bike rider by going fully around him the way you would pass another car. It doesn't mean you should stay in the bike rider's lane and try to pass NEXT to him without moving over a lane, nor should you expect the bike rider to move over closer to the parked cars on the shoulder, which would be unsafe.

Why so many of the warning signs painted onto the road? So that even drivers pulling out from a side street will have a reminder to look both ways not just for cars, but for bike riders as well.

As a mother, it scares me tremendously that some drivers are so impatient, uninformed, and such bullies on the road when it comes to a bike rider blocking their way. But as a driver, I totally get the frustration that comes with getting stuck behind a bike in the middle of the road that there is no place to pass.

What's a driver to do? SLOW DOWN and RELAX. Eventually you will find a spot to pass or the bike rider will find a section where they can move over safely. Until then, you might just have to deal with being five minutes late to where you are going. It's the law.