WSMV Channel 4 Cost of Metro cycling markings questioned

Cost of Metro cycling markings questioned

There are some new road markings around Nashville that look like sergeants' stripes surrounding a person on a bike.

They're called sharrows, and the symbols are supposed to let motorists know there could be bicycles sharing the road.

But some people, like Renee McMurray, are saying they're overkill, and question why the city would spend so much when there are so many other needs in the city.

"There's 57 of them from Smith Springs Road to Anderson Road," says McMurray.  

Channel 4 found out the 57 sharrows, which cover a stretch a mile-and-a-half long, cost  taxpayers $28,000.

The emblems aren't cheap. 

"They're about $500 to $600 a symbol, but they're thermo-plastic, not paint," says Don Reid, who is in charge of paving for Metro Public Works.

He says for every person who's against sharrows and bike lanes, there's one who's for them.

This is part of the city's strategic plan to make Nashville's population healthier, and let drivers know that cyclists have the same legal right to use the roads.

"It's the law. They can ride out there anyway. We're telling motorists, 'hey, look out for cyclists,'" Reid says.

McMurray says not many cyclists use Anderson Road, because it's too dangerous, especially since they just raised the speed limit. So to her, this is a waste of tax money that during these hard times could be used for something else.

"It's just wasteful. And it makes me angrier and angrier as I drive across them," McMurray says. "If they want to fix up Nashville and make it something to be proud of, they don't need to be stupid. They need to use a little common sense," she says.

So far, the city has more than eight miles of bike lanes and six miles of sharrows. They cost about $25,000 a mile.

So what's the bottom line for taxpayers? Last year, the project cost $3 million. Next year, public works is asking for $4 million.

To read more about Nashville's bike lanes and shared roads, you read more on the Metro Public Works page: http://www.nashville.gov/pw/projects/Music_City_Bikeway.asp

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