A reader posed this question to the Queen Anne View which has been answered by Seattle’s Department of Transportation.

What’s the deal with the new “bike lanes” on Queen Anne Ave. (at the top of the hill)? I noticed them being blow-torched on last night.  Between the back-in parking and all of the wide buses that use the  road, it’s definitely not a true lane. So why have it at all?

According to SDOT, 

Shared lane pavement markings  (or “sharrows”) are being installed on Queen Anne Avenue North between West Galer Street and West Crockett Street.  Sharrows are bicycle symbols that are placed in the roadway lane indicating that motorists should expect to see and share the lane with bicycles.  Unlike bicycle lanes, they do not designate a particular part of the roadway for the use of bicyclists.  Motorists and bicyclists should follow the rules of the road as if there were no sharrows.  The sharrows are being installed as part of a larger effort to implement the Seattle Bicycle Master Plan which calls for over 400 miles of bicycle
facilities.