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Midtown Mystery


 

I was driving to a doctor’s appointment Wednesday when I noticed what appeared to me to be a relatively new broken yellow line. (I don’t get out much; it may have been there several years for all I know.) While it’s true that we see broken yellow lines all the time, this one caught my eye.

It was on the sidewalk.

Hmm, let me review what a broken yellow line means:

A broken yellow centerline means that a driver may cross the centerline to pass another vehicle on the left as long as there is no oncoming traffic. Drivers should never cross a solid yellow centerline in order to pass.

What does it mean on the sidewalk?

Is it to keep pedestrians traveling in opposite directions from hogging too much of the sidewalk? Is it there to permit pedestrians to pass one another on the sidewalk? (Perhaps there are speedy walkers in that neighborhood.)

Does it have something to do with bicycles? The only bicycles I’m used to seeing on sidewalks are ones with kids on them. Is this a way to help pedestrians and kids on bikes “share the road” safely? I’m not trying to be cute. I really have no idea.

I noticed that Howard County passed funding for pedestrian and and bicycle infrastructure projects recently in the 2022 budget. I wonder if divided sidewalks are a part of that. Will I be seeing more of them? Will I ever learn what they are for?

As my readers know just about everything, I expect several of you to bring me up to speed on this shortly.


 

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