An example of a sign about advisory shoulders. See Farrar Road illustrations below.

Painted advisory shoulders will appear next month on Farrar Road as a one-year pilot project aimed at improving safety on certain roads in Lincoln.

Advisory shoulders are lanes marked with white dashed lines on either side of a road to indicate where bikes and pedestrians have the right of way. Vehicles can cross the lines to avoid traffic coming from the opposite direction but must yield to oncoming traffic if there are “vulnerable users” (bicyclists, pedestrians, or any other non-vehicle) ahead or alongside.

In November 2020, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) presented a proposal for trying advisory shoulders on Baker Bridge Road. “Ultimately, the working group decided, with resident input, that Baker Bridge Road is a complicated road, with sharp corners and hills, and we don’t collectively have enough experience with advisory shoulders in Lincoln yet to make that our pilot installation,” BPAC member Ginger Reiner said on Wednesday. Farrar Road is a walking route for residents that road as well as Oxbow, Route 126, Farrar Pond Village and the Lincoln Ridge condos, as well as being a cycling route. “We had broad support from abutters, the DPW, and police that Farrar was an appropriate location for advisory shoulders.”

Advisory shoulders have been proven to reduce vehicle speed, lower stress for those on foot or bike, and increase safety for all road users, according to the BPAC, adding that a recent study showed that advisory shoulders reduce vehicular crashes by 40%.

“It doesn’t change the way folks should use the road — it’s not like a stop sign or speed limit. It just advises about what’s safe,” BPAC member Bob Wolf told the Select Board in June 2021.

The measure has been implemented in cities and towns across the nation as well as in Canada. Click here to see a video of how it works, or click here or an illustration. The photo gallery below shows how Farrar Road will look.

The Farrar Road design has been approved by the Federal Highway Administration (FHA). A crosswalk to the Route 126 roadside path will be installed at a later date. BPAC members will reach out in August to collect feedback on the Farrar Road treatment from all roadway users.

The pilot is a collaboration of BPAC, Roadway & Traffic Committee, Department of Public Works, Police Department, Select Board, and the FHA. Anyone with questions or comments, please email lincoln-bpac@googlegroups.com.

Click on images for closeups views of each segment of Farrar Road: