Baton Rouge cyclists are receiving more attention as residents notice new bike paintings on the streets around the University.”Share the road arrows” — or “sharrows” — were painted on roads such as Highland and Burbank and throughout Baton Rouge as part of East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Kip Holden’s Healthy City Initiative.Sharrows are stenciled symbols placed on the road to indicate proper positioning for cyclists and to remind motorists and cyclists of travelers’ rights.Sharrows are located on bicycle-friendly paths with minimal traffic, low speed limits and narrow roads.Tiger Cycling Foundation board member Darron Leach created the proposal to implement the 3-Feet Law with the sharrows, which went into effect Aug. 15.The 3-Feet Law states whenever motorists overtake a cyclist, the motorist is required to give at least 3 feet clearance or wait to pass.This law helps protect cyclists from accidents caused by “buzzing,” or when motorist drive too close to cyclists, Leach said.Motorists who don’t abide by the 3-Feet Law can receive a $250 fine if caught, Leach said.Sharrows also serve as an awareness campaign for cyclists to abide by traffic laws, he said.Painting sharrows on the road is costing the city around $900,000, said Baton Rouge Urban Transportation Coordinator Melissa Guilbeau.Many people have a skewed perception of bicycles as a vehicle for transportation, said Mark Martin, University associate librarian and chairman of Baton Rouge Advocates for Safe Streets.When it comes to bike awareness, Baton Rouge is “woefully behind,” Martin said.Leach said many cycling accidents happen when cyclists don’t abide by proper traffic laws.”Cyclists have to realize that with the rights comes responsibility,” he said.Leach said many cyclists are unaware of the city ordinance against riding on sidewalks.As a vehicle, bicycles are only allowed to ride on roads or designated bike paths, he said.But cyclists on the road create tension for motorists, Leach said.”We get complaints that cyclists take over the road; you can’t get around them … it causes traffic congestion,” Leach said. “A lot of people complain that cyclists are on the road, not realizing that [cyclists] have the right to be there.”When cyclists disobey the law, motorist get mad, and passing transportation laws becomes more difficult, he said.Moshe Cohen, mathematics graduate student, hopes the sharrows will encourage more students to bike to campus and create a safer environment for transportation.”If we can help make the road safer for bikes, then we can make the sidewalks safer for pedestrians,” he said.To create awareness for sharrows, Holden is producing a 30-second ad spot for local TV stations, Cohen said.”Really the biggest educational tool is to get bicyclists riding on the road correctly, and drivers can understand how to interact with them,” Cohen said.The University is also attempting to create safer streets with Easy Streets II, which is considering creating bike lanes, shutting down streets and making one-way streets where necessary, said Gary Graham, Parking, Traffic and Transportation director.”We will work with the city, [and] if we can’t create dedicated bike lanes, we will do sharrows,” he said.—-Contact Kristen M’lissa Rowlett  at [email protected]