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Seven Corners Bridge not popular with cyclists

This from GGW.

Here are the statistics I gathered on two different dates, Thursday, May 21 from 10:05 to 11:05 AM and Tuesday, June 16 from 1:30 to 2:30 PM. Both days were excellent weather with temperatures in the 70s.

See the end of the post for some caveats about these statistics.

In both cases there were more users at the Patrick Henry crossing than on the bridge itself, underscoring the continuing need to make that intersection safe and pleasant for pedestrians. I was surprised that no cyclists used the bridge. Perhaps they simply aren't yet aware of the new option.


Video of "Unsafe" Cyclists in Montgomery County

I was alerted to this video on the BikeWashington listserv. What it purports to be is a video of unsafe cyclists at an intersection in the Darnestown and Seneca areas. What it is, is a video of some cyclists, though not all, breaking the law - only a few of which are unsafe. Near the end is a peloton. If they were to line up, stop, look both ways and cross one at at time and ride no more than two abreast, drivers would be going absolutely insane, but that would be legal. At the end, the maker - our good friend Reardon Sullivan who stood up against speed cameras -  makes the false assertion that "Currently, if there is an accident the driver of the car is automatically assumed to be at fault." That has not been my experience (nor is it really how our criminal justice system works). If there were to be an accident, the cyclist would probably be dead or seriously injured. That's a little more significant that being falsely accused. Reardon call for stepped up enforcement at this sleepy intersection and the impoundment of bikes for egregious violations. Wow. He's actually calling out for enforcement on cyclists to protect drivers (while opposing enforcing speeding against drivers - despite what the facts tell us about the risks of each). Who hurt you Reardon? I'm just...befuddled.
 

Bike Polo Article and Photos

Bike polo The Post has a photo gallery of photos from the bike polo court on Capitol Hill (one block from my house).

(After I wrote the above I found the article that goes with it)

Bicycle polo takes the traditional sport and swaps the horses and preppy associations for battle-scarred bikes and hockey's rough-and-tumble mentality. Helmets and pads are optional; trash-talking is encouraged. Premack had a camera with him, so he started shooting, trying to stay out of their way. "It can get pretty intense. One guy must have gone down five or six times," he says. The teams are coed, and everyone on the court is fair game. "No one was saying, 'Go easy on her, she's a girl,' " Premack says.

Photo by Jay Premack

Cyclist looking for Witnesses

Here's his description

I was returning home from a ride last Wednesday (June 24th) around 6:30PM when I was struck by a taxi at 15th and Madison in front of the Washington Monument. I was taken to GW for my injuries - bruised chest wall, hairline fracture in my ribs and nose, multiple cuts and abrasions on my legs and face. I was traveling northbound, toward Constitution, and the taxi was traveling southbound. The taxi attempted to turn left onto Madison against traffic, it's a one way street, and I was struck by the taxi as I crossed the intersection with the light. One of the problems I have is the accident report issued by the Park Police is not accurate or is ambiguous in some instances. There were also no witness statements taken by the police even though I was helped by several people and there were multiple bystanders that stayed with me until I was taken away by ambulance.

If anyone reading this saw that accident, please contact me at dcwashcycle@gmail.com and I'll forward you on to this person.

4th of July 2009

As in years past, WABA will have a free bike valet.

Locations

-south west corner of 15th St. NW and Independence Ave SW

-south east corner of the Lincoln Memorial

Click here to view a map of the valet locations>>


Date and Time
Saturday July 4    2:00pm-10:30pm

And, as in years past, full sized bikes are not allowed on Metro all day.

College Park bicycle crash spurs safety discussion

Back in 2007, College Park Trolley Trail users pushed to have the crossing of Paint Branch Parkway improved. Some wanted a pedestrian activated red light or to move the crossing to the fire station area where a traffic light exists, but instead:
The plan is to create an island.  Unfortunately this island will only be 4ft. wide.  A biker will have to hold his/her bike sideways while standing on it.  It's something but obviously not enough.
In May a cyclist was hit and severely injured while using the crossing.
He was struck by a car, sustaining broken bones in his arms and pelvis as well as numerous cuts and bruises.
County Councilman Eric Olson (D–Dist. 3) of College Park and College Park City Councilwoman Stephanie Stullich (Dist. 3) favor installing a red light at the crossing. "They claim the flashing yellow can be ambiguous to drivers, and doesn't give them a clear indication to stop for pedestrians."

Susan Hubbard, a spokeswoman for the Prince George's Department of Public Works and Transportation, said the crossing does not have sufficient traffic volume to warrant a light.

"We've installed a crossway, a median, a beacon and additional signage — we've made it as safe as possible," Hubbard said. "At this time a red light will not be considered."

Olson said he will lobby for adding a speeding camera in the section around the crossing to ensure drivers use safe speeds around the pedestrian and biker area.

"I'd still like to see improvements made — that's my quest," Olson said. "It's going to be one of my top priorities. I'll be pushing very hard for it, and I imagine the city will as well."

Hubbard said the locations of speed cameras will be guided by state regulations. A state committee will examine all proposals for speed cameras and decide where the initial set of cameras will be placed. She added Olson has already submitted the Paint Branch Parkway crossing as a possible site, and the committee would consider it.

They don't give any details on the cause of the crash, but clearly it's not "as safe as possible." Maybe the crossing doesn't have sufficient traffic volume BECAUSE it's dangerous. Does a bad crossing first need a sufficient number of daredevils before it will get help? Reminds of Three Kings (paraphrasing)

Archie Gates: The way it works is, you do the thing you're scared of, and you get the safety improvements AFTER you do it, not before you do it.
Conrad Vig: That's a dumb way to work. It should be the other way around.
Archie Gates: I know. That's the way it works.

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July 2009 DC BAC Meeting Notes

Legislative Committee - The legislative committee has deemed Complete Streets legislation their top priority. There are many examples of this available, so they're going to work on pulling together a best practices proposal. There's no update on the change from contributory negligence to comparative negligence. they also want to see a Bicycles in Buildings ordinance similar to the one proposed in NYC. This would do more to guarantee an employee's right to bring a bike into their building (with exceptions).

They discussed the bicycle-mounted DDOT traffic enforcement program. While they're for more enforcement, there is concern that an unarmed, bicycle-mounted force will overly target cyclists and pedestrians (who will be easier to pull over) and under target drivers. They also feel that if traffic enforcement is to be increased, it's the MPD that should do it and that having the MPD enforce more traffic violations will help create more arrests for felonious crimes (many times they catch people with warrants out or who are breaking other laws at the time). They'd like to see the enforcement focus on: for drivers - 3ft. violations, failures to yield right of way, u-turns and speeding; for cyclists - wrong-way riding, riding without lights at night and red-light running.

DDOT has had their first meeting with the Traffic Control Officers (TCO) and several have expressed interest in being part of the bicycle mounted (BM) force. Some laws DDOT sees them enforcing are bike lane violations, blocking crosswalks and blocking the box. They've done 3 hour training sessions with all TCOs as part of StreetSmart. All BMTCO's would need to take the Confident City Cycling course, be issued bikes, etc... so it's still a ways off. They won't have guns.
Shell path

Facilities Committee and News - The facilities committee focused on the South Capitol Street Trail. DDOT has hired Toole Design to study a lane closure along South Capitol and the installation of a bike trail in its place as well as studying the intersection changes needed. The recent opening of the Wilson Bridge has moved this to the foreground (The Post wrote about it this week), with DDOT director Klein asking about it. DDOT, NPS and PG County Parks are discussing how to create better connectivity on the MD/DC side of the bridge.

Some residents and riders who have used the newly opened Woodrow Wilson Bridge Trail, which connects pedestrians and cyclists on both sides of the Potomac River between Prince George's County and Alexandria, say that despite the hype, planners still have a ways to go to fully integrate the bridge trail into other trail networks and sites in the county.
 
"People coming across from Virginia are, like, 'Where do we go?,' " said Mark Holt of Fort Washington, coordinator of the Southern Prince George's Trails Coalition, a group advocating for bike and hiking trail expansion in south county. [WC: If you're looking for someone to talk to about this, this would be a good place to start]

Riders also say they are miffed that the 1.1-mile trail ends when approaching the National Harbor development. The asphalt pavement gives way to a seashell road covering that riders say is difficult to ride, and the path dead-ends. Cyclists are not allowed to ride along the shoreline in the development.

Rocell Viniard, a National Harbor spokeswoman, said the seashell trail was designed for pedestrians, not bikes, because of the residents and hotels on the site. Cyclists are allowed to ride along the streets at National Harbor, Viniard said.

"For a lot of cyclists, it's unpleasant" to ride, said Jim Hudnall of Fort Washington, a member of the Oxon Hill Bicycle and Trail Club. "I'd like to see it have better connections to other trails in the area."

Holt said he and other cyclists hope to see better signage that would direct riders from the bridge to historic sites and parks in Oxon Hill and Fort Washington. The trail points only to National Harbor, he said, leaving visitors crossing the bridge with few options.

The county plans to make a stronger connection between the bridge trail and the Potomac Heritage Trail, the Department of Public Works and Transportation said. The added trail section eventually would include a dedicated bike lane on Oxon Hill Road, but funding for the project has not materialized.

Laura Connelly, a planner for the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, said the newly installed 700-foot-long stone dust path that runs adjacent to National Harbor's portion of the bridge trail would be easier for cyclists to ride.

DDOT also mentioned that they're in talks with NPS about putting bike parking and bike lanes on Pennsylvania Ave NW. The street belongs to NPS and so DDOT can't do it on their own. Also, DDOT believes there will be more artistic bike racks next year.

The Met Branch Trail section between NY Avenue and Franklin is underway and an update to the website is forthcoming.  The preliminary design for the next section of the trail in the queue has been sent to the FHWA for review.

[Meanwhile in Montgomery County officials are pushing for funding for the long delayed MoCo section of the Met Branch in next year's budget. The Post article has the Georgetown Branch and Metropolitan Branch Trail confused. The Georgetown Branch is the future CCT.

After preliminary designs for the Metropolitan Branch Trail, also known as the Georgetown Branch Trail, were completed three years ago, transportation officials said the project came to a halt to await a decision on the different proposed alignments for the Purple Line, a planned rapid-transit route between New Carrollton and Bethesda.

Now, with Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) set to decide soon on a Purple Line alignment and Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) taking suggestions through December for the county's Capital Improvements Program for fiscal 2011-12, officials are looking to move forward.

"Now's the time to finish this while all these things are being done," said County Council member Valerie Ervin (D-Silver Spring), who sent a letter to the transportation department in April urging progress on the trail.]

DDOT is looking at 13 miles of possible bike lanes with the goal to get in 5 this year. Some places where lanes are being added include 11th Street NW, Eckington Place and the cycletrack on 15th St NW. WABA submitted a list of gaps in the bike lane network that they'd like to see created. DDOT usually adds bike lanes in conjunction with road repairs, but WABA feels they now need to do more 'retrofits' - adding a bike lane in without any repair. This is more expensive. Sherman Avenue will be dieted from four lanes down to 2 with a turning lane. The outside lanes will be 14 feet wide with sharrows and the sidewalks will be widened. The sharrows wil be placed outside the door zone, but away from the center of the lane.

The Bike Station RFP closes out this week. DDOT had a few parties at the pre-bid meeting (a good sign). The goal is to finish the Station by the end of August and have it occupied by the operator sometime in September. Because the door will be keycard protected, it could open for bike parking before the operator moves in - and of course the outside parking will not need an operator. You can see progress on the station here.

DDOT is still talking to Clear Channel about smartbike expansion. They also sent some of the bike team to Montreal to look at Bixi (and are considering still other options). Bixi has the advantage of being solar powerd (so no PEPCO problems) and not permanently installed. So stations could be moved around if they aren't used enough or if seasonal changes (such as one near the baseball stadium during the baseball season) warranted it, and installation is quicker. On the downside the bikes are heavier and the stations are less streamlined. Arlington is reviewing it's RFP and DDOT could just go with what they choose - saving the time and cost of doing its own. They have some sort of regional agreement on this. Arlington is pursuing $10M in federal money for regional bike share and DC would be entitled to some of that too. DDOT has several years before they need to spend the federal stimulus money they obligated for this.

After shopping around for a summer streets location (K Street, East Capitol, Kansas Avenue) DDOT, with support from NPS, is planning to do it in Fort Dupont Park. Both Fort Dupont Drive and Fort Davis Drive would be closed for one day in August. Think of it as an East of the River Beach Drive. NPS's new lead in the area is eager to find ways to get people into the parks. They'll do more than close the streets, they'll have rental bikes and maybe free pedicabs available too, for example. DDOT is hoping to do more locations next year.

Photo by Leah L. Jones -- The Gazette

Conversation with Gabe Klein

Eisenhower Avenue Connector to be Closed July 6

Also starting next week, the Eisenhower Avenue Connector will be closed. I first heard about this from a reader who saw signs on her commute, but I didn't see anything about it on the Wilson Bridge Site. Then FABB reported about it. Then yesterday I finally got the press release from the Wilson Bridge.

As part of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Project, most of the Eisenhower Avenue Connector will be closed to traffic, bicycles and pedestrians from noon Monday, July 6, through September to allow deck replacement work on the Capital Beltway Interstate 95/495 Bridge above the Connector. Vehicle traffic from Eisenhower Avenue to the Inner Loop of the Beltway will be the only remaining movement allowed.
Signs will alert bicyclists and pedestrians that the Connector is closed to them and that they should use alternative routes. South Van Dorn Street is a possible alternative.

Contact Community Relations Manager Bryon Johnston, at 703-329-3424, with questions or comments about this work.

That's kind of late notice for a 2 month detour that will be at least a mile in length (and seemingly not marked, only suggested). And this project doesn't even benefit cyclists. FABB writes:

Last year we met with Woodrow Wilson Bridge staff to discuss the closing, originally planned for last year. We did not think the detour that was proposed for cyclists was adequate. It used a 4-foot sidewalk along Franconia Road that was overgrown with weeds and crossed many driveway entrances. There has been no discussion about the proposed detour since that time.

The connector is a bike/ped only connection through the sound barrier.


View Larger Map

Also related to the Wilson Bridge, National Harbor has put in some temporary parking of the crowd control type, signs telling bikes (not cyclists) to dismount and some sort of bituminous surface (Froggie reports).

Update on Arlington Trails Work

It will start on July 6th, with two simultaneous trail repair projects.  One on the Custis Trail near where it passes over Spout Run.  The other at the western end of the new Four Mile Run trail extension near the Shirlington Rd. Exxon station.  They will maintain at least one lane open along each, because neither has a good detour option.  Work will not start until after 9am.  Neither project is expected to extend into the following weekend.

My Photo

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