Mentor is proud to be a Bicycle Friendly Community. Over the years, the city has worked to incorporate bike lanes and multi-purpose paths in road construction projects whenever feasible and financially possible. With over 19 miles of bike lanes and paths, biking is a great way to get from one place to another in our City. But safety comes first and one of the latest innovations that has made its way around the country and now to Mentor, are sharrows.
A sharrow is a marking on the roadway that indicates that vehicles and bicycles share the lane.
Roads in Mentor that have been designated sharrows include:
- Bellflower Road
- Corduroy Road
- Center Street (between Hendricks and Hopkins)
- Hopkins Road (portion)
- Chillicothe Road
- Hoose Road
- Market Street
- Little Mountain Road
- Jackson Street
Motorists on these routes will notice sharrow markings painted on the roadway. Most of the roads selected have no berm, so the cyclist has no place to move over if cars come up behind them. The markings are a reminder to motorists to be aware of bike traffic, and to only pass when the opposite lane is clear of oncoming traffic.
Sharrow routes connect areas in Mentor that already have bike lanes or paths to allow access throughout the City. One of the main reasons to add road markings is to promote safety. Whether you’re riding a bike or driving a car in Mentor, traffic safety is a priority and the sharrow markings are just one way more way to remind everyone to safely share the road.