TheWashCycle

Protective eyewear recommended

Photo by PedroGringo

Friday Afternoon Commute - user fee

Good afternoon

• Oregon toys with the idea of bicycle user fees, even though they've been tried before and the cost to administer it is greater than the revenue generated. And they discourage cycling. 
• Bike theft in DC has been dropping since 2007 and moving from NW to Capitol Hill.
• Free bike clinic on how to buy a bike.  
• The Green Lane project kicks off. "In Washington, D.C., a city survey found bicycling on 15th Street more than doubled since a two-way green lane opened there in 2010. The survey said more cycling crashes occurred, but with ridership up, the accident rate held steady."

Opposition to Alexandria bike share is misinformed

Townsend Van Fleet of the Alexandria Waterfront Commission wrote a letter to the Alexandria Gazette Packet recently criticizing the introduction of Capital Bikeshare to old town. 

In an historic venue like Old Town Alexandria with its narrow streets already crowded with pedestrians, tour buses, metro buses, dash buses, delivery trucks, trolleys, garbage trucks, skate boarders, joggers, and cyclists, putting more bikes on our narrow streets is just an another impediment and not one that we would consider in our best traffic practices.

He's also critical of the method of funding (with local dollars instead of FHWA money) and with outreach ["Believe it or not the Old Town Civic Association has not even been briefed on the proposed implementation of the bike share program"].

Jonathan Krall of the Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee wrote a response pointing out that bike share would at best add only a trivial number of bikes to the road

about 2,000 bicyclists per day visit the Alexandria waterfront. Capital Bikeshare, by contrast, will roll out this summer with only 70 bicycles in the entirely of Old Town. Next to those already present, an additional 70 bicycles constitutes a very small molehill indeed.

He also points out that those cyclists represent an opportunity. 

Studies show that for a store front business bicycle traffic is like foot traffic — it is easy for a cyclist to stop and shop. People who shop by bicycle shop locally and shop often. They are important to our community and to our finances.

I would add that bike share should help to REDUCE congestion. This is because ti will get some people out of their cars or taxis and onto bikes. Since much of traffic congestion is caused by people circling the block looking for parking, that results in a benefit. And cyclists often travel in the empty spaces between pulses of traffic, or on trails, or in bike lanes or on quiet side streets or in other places where cars are not. In fact a recent report on creating a bike network in Alexandria recommends this.

it is difficult to find room for dedicated facilities on King Street. Instead, dedicated facilities are proposed for Prince and Cameron Streets.

If you're concerned with congestion, then you want more biking, not less. 

Friday Morning Commute - Milestones

Because the railroad tracks were removed, and the underpasses are so large, I think the 11th Street Bridges project might inadvertently create a clando rail trail from Good Hope Road SE to 13th Street SE. Maybe they could "accidentally" spill some asphalt on the ROW?

• The Anacostia Waterfront has a new website, which features the trail prominently. It also has information on some upcoming milestones. Namely (1) Osprey Bridge opening this summer (2) Kenilworth trail section design completed this summer (3) Construction begins on Kenilworth section this year.
• Jim Sebastian and Terry Bellamy of DDOT were in Chicago for kick off of the Green Lanes Project.
• What might help with promoting registration is if you pointed to success stories. Anyone can TAKE a registration.
• Spartan Road in Olney to get bike lanes. 
• All we are saying...is give peace a chance.
• "The Charles County commissioners authorized the Washington, D.C., chapter of the nonprofit Urban Land Institute to conduct a study of the [Indian Head Rail] trail as part of its Technical Assistance Panels program. The panel made recommendations for the town and the growth of the trail during a meeting in Indian Head last week."

Trail amenity

Mmm... Ice Cream by btjones

Thursday Afternoon Commute - Gravel

Good afternoon

• BAC testimony at Wednesday's hearing.
• VDOT has new biking maps. Some static and a dynamic one. 
• Gravel on Lee Drive inside Fredericksburg National Battlefield Park is none too popular with cyclists. 

Thursday Morning Commute - “All signs from my case are pointing to the fact you can be assaulted on the road”

Good morning

• CaBi will be having a two-millionth rider celebration on Monday at the Blind Dog Cafe.
• WABA's full testimony at yesterday's hearing.
• Also from the hearing comes news that John W. Diehl, the driver who - in a highly publicized incident - was recorded intentionally hit a cyclist with his car,  has not been prosecuted "because the man has not shown up for court and has not been arrested on the outstanding bench warrant issued in the case. Reached on Wednesday by phone, 56-year-old Mr. Diehl said he had no idea he had been summoned to court and denied being involved in the accident. 'This is all news to me,” he said. “I never hit anyone. If I had a bench warrant, I would turn myself in.'" Put me down for skeptical.
• Last night, DDOT had a pre-construction meeting on the U St. Streetscape project. There are no bike lanes planned, but I also don't see mention of more bike parking. 
• Hurt is now calling CaBi bikes "dirty with disease-spreading handlebars." But when he says "I think it is awesome you want to ride [them]" I don't think he's telling the truth. I don't think he actually thinks it's awesome. Then there is a bunch of "stop spending my money on things I don't want" stuff in there. Look, we could all point to things that government spends money on that we wish our money didn't go towards. [For me it's the American Embassy in Canada. I don't want anything to do with those people.] But that's the price of living in a democracy. Welcome to being a grown-up Mr. Hurt.
• On the US Transportaton bill: "There has been next to no indication of where House leaders like John Boehner or Eric Cantor stand on Cardin-Cochran."
• "Of the four services I tested, Google is the only to offer bicycle directions. It's different from walking directions in that cyclists must respect one-way signs. Bike routes also favor bike lanes and shun steep hills when possible."

New Bollards on the Mt. Vernon Trail

Photo by Rootchopper

Uh-oh, I know at least one person who will be very upset.

Rootchopper adds "After 40+ years of being unprotected from evil doers, the Woodrow Wilson Bridge is now safe, but bicyclists aren't. Here are three new bollards with red lights atop at the bottom of the Mount Vernon Trail ramp leading up to North Washington Street. Immediately behind me is a 90 degree turn in the shade. On the far side of the trail is a messy sidewalk detour with gaps between the street and sidewalk. Remember: the League of American Bicyclists has named Alexandria a bicycle friendly city until 2013."

Be heard in Fairfax County

This is your one week reminder that the following 2 meetings have been scheduled for the Fairfax Countywide Bicycle Transportation Master Plan.

In order to reach as many constituents as possible we have picked two locations centrally located in the northern and southern parts of the county.

We hope you will be able to make one of the days scheduled.

The purpose of these final public meetings is for people to review and comment on the draft plan.

You will be able to review the recommended on and off road improvements as well as programmatic and policy ideas.

Please feel free to pass the announcement on to your neighbors and friends, we hope to have as big of turn out as possible! Click either location title to get a pdf of the meeting announcement.

North County Location:

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

Reston Regional Library

11925 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston, VA 20190

South County Location:

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

6:00 - 8:30 p.m.

George Mason Regional Library

7001 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA 22003

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - Duryea Motor Wagon

Good afternoon. Tulsa is going to make a bid for the Olympics. I don't know if it's winter or summer, but I give either bid about an equal possibility of being successful. 

• At a meeting last night, DDOT formally presented plans for the 1st Street NE cycletrack. "The cycletrack will be 8 feet wide and separated from automobile traffic. Plastic bollards will handle that duty from the circle to K Street. From K to M, a 2-foot-wide precast concrete barrier will keep automobile and bicycle traffic separate. This barrier will be the same height as a standard curb."
• The Hunt opinion piece on CaBi isn't just stupid, it's sexist too.
• The SuperNoVa Survey for northern Virginia transportation is still taking comments. 
• How times change "The first recorded automobile accident involving two vehicles occurred on this date in 1896 in New York City.  Henry Wells of Springfield, Massachusetts, was driving a new Duryea Motor Wagon, the first automobile to be made and sold in the U.S.  Unfortunately, he collided with Evelyn Thomas of New York, riding a bicycle.  Thomas went to the hospital with a broken leg, and Wells spent the night in jail."
• The father of Beto O'Rourke, the new Democratic nominee for Texas' 16th Congressional District, was killed in a bicycle crash and now has a hike and bike trail named for him. Police seemed to blame the sun instead of the driver for driving too fast under dangerous conditions. 
• Ray LaHood "And we’ve put our actions behind those words with grants for complete streets initiatives, better sidewalks, and more bike infrastructure like bike-sharing programs, bike lanes, and off-road paths. The Federal Transit Administration has made it easier for commuters to access transit service by bicycle."