The CCT Speed Limit

In case you aren't up on things, new 15 mph speed limit signs went up on the Capital Crescent Trail recently. The first most people heard of this was a press release in mid-May. It turns out most cyclists were not happy about it. The Post picked up on it for a story at the beginning of June.

Starting this week, the speed limit on the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda will be 15 mph.

People caught violating the limits could face a $50 fine, park police said, although the emphasis will be on educating, not ticketing.

The speed limits in Bethesda are just one of several measures officials are undertaking to improve safety on the trail, which attracts more than 23,000 users a week, according to a 2006 survey by the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail.

I was interviewed for this article, though nothing shows up in it. Almost all the points I made were presented though (emphasis mine).

"It hasn't been thoroughly vetted by the bicycling community," said Eric Gilliland "They've put forward a plan that treats cyclists with a heavy hand and doesn't address other trail users, such as joggers or dog walkers."

How will cyclists without speedometers know if they're going too fast? they ask. They point out the downhill portion of the Capital Crescent Trail heading south. "People will have to ride their brakes all the way down," one rider grumbled.

Peter Gray, chairman of the Coalition, said his group would love to see the trail widened to accommodate the increasing number of users, but park officials and the coalition had to find other strategies because of cost and other factors.

Stephen Kuperberg, 38, a lawyer with the firm Hogan & Hartson who uses the trail to commute from his home in Bethesda to his office downtown, said the issue isn't necessarily how fast people are going but whether they're paying attention.

"A cyclist going 5 miles per hour who's weaving in and out is a greater safety risk than a regular bike commuter traveling at a regular speed," he said.

The other point I made was that a speed limit will serve only to anger people. The limit will be ignored and people will point at the sign, yell, shake their fists and cyclists will yell back and such. No one wins. This was done despite the lack of evidence of the efficacy of posted speed limits - a point others make below. NPS trails, like Rock Creek, the C&O tow path and Mt.Vernon already have 15 mph speed limits as the article points out. I'm not sure if the W&OD has a speed limit, but some think it should.

The Montgomery County Department of Parks has said the speed limit is designed to encourage safety among cyclists and people traveling on foot.

How does the speed limit encourage safety among people traveling on foot?

Other media picked up on the story - DCist, WUSA.  ABC reports that it's not just a posting of the speed limit, it's a change

The changes include, new stripes, rumble strips and a lower speed limit-- from 25 to 15 miles an hour.

And they add without backing it up

The trail is so congested that it can get downright dangerous

Steve Offutt makes some great points

Evidently there have been some anecdotal reports of conflicts with fast-moving cyclists and other users.  The article only mentioned a single reported collision this year, however, and that's with 23,000 weekly users.  It also cited "informal" reports of increased collisions, but I don't know what that means.  Also, do we know if speed is a factor in these collisions or if there is another problem? I find it difficult to believe that Montgomery County would lower the speed limit on any street before gathering actual statistics of some kind, but seemingly they are determining that speed limits are appropriate here without any research.  Better would be to put up signs with a phone number to report accidents, injuries and emergencies. That way they could start to track and determine whether or not there is actually a problem.

If there is a problem with crowding and speeding, it is limited to nice weather weekends and evenings only.  My experience is that the trail serves bike commuters and experienced runners and walkers (who rarely if ever have conflicts with the bikes, because they know how to maintain their space on the trail) for the morning hours, and there is no need for limiting speeds.  Likewise for all the colder months.  In  February, riding home at 7:30 in the evening, I might encounter one or two other human beings along that entire 5-mile stretch--sometimes none at all.  So if speed limits are the solution, limit them to those times when the trail is heavily used, which is probably less than 10% of the time.  Even when there are a lot of users, I never came close to any conflicts with others, even though I ride fast.  It has a lot more to do with paying attention and anticipating what will happen up ahead than with speed.

Also, how was the 15 mph determined?  In school zones you can drive a 3000 pound car 20 mph, which most drivers consider so slow they can't even get down to that speed, and it is considered the safe speed for traveling around children near a school.  Why would 20 not be a reasonable speed for a 30 pound bike and its rider?

Some wrote into the Post on the same points

Really? All it takes for the government to bring its heavy hand down on citizens is unsubstantiated chatter? That there were no hearings or public input just makes the situation worse.

Other (non-cyclists) like the idea

My wife and I walk there five days a week -- but never on Sunday. Why not Sunday? Because the risk of serious injury from the larger number of cyclists on weekends is far too great.

WABA, of course, is opposed and has called for some dialog

While acknowledging that high speed riding on the CCT, and on other trails throughout the DC region, is a problem our official position is that the decision should not have been made without and official public discussion of imposing the speed limits.  In my understanding, the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail was approached on this issue some time ago, but WABA and other bike groups and concerned citizens were not involved in the discussion which needs a thorough airing in public.  We also support and even-even handed approach to improving safety, but the County's official release on the issue makes no mention of what is being done to address the behavior or runners, dog walkers, skaters, etc who also contribute to trail safety.  When I asked the person at Park and Planning who is in charge of the project to see the research he'd done on the effectiveness of trail speed limits on other trails and for crash reports that might shed better light on the nature of the problem, I was told that I would need to file a formal information request with the County. The imposition of speed limits also does not take into account general trail usage characteristics where some sections are more crowded than others, and where weekend use is significant higher than weekday use.  Nor does it address the need to widen the trail in heavy use areas as a way to segregate user types.   

As far as next steps, I encourage you all to write to Mary Bradford, Director of Montgomery County Parks, to express the need for an open public discussion of trail safety on the CCT.  Her email is Mary.Bradford@mncppc-mc.org.  Currently, I am in discussions with the WABA
board on whether or not to pursue legal action.

Eric Gilliland

And people did write

To date over 460 people have sent in letters to the Maryland National Park and Planning Commission (MNCPPC) to call for reopening the discussion on how to properly improve safety on the Capital Crescent Trail.  MNCPPC has recently installed speed limit signs along the trail without the input of the cycling community as a whole and failed to address the need to educate all trail users on how to use the facility properly. 

There is still time to let your voice be heard.  Visit http://www.waba.org/takeaction/CCT.php for more information on the issue, a link to WABA's official position on the speed limits, as well as a Take Action form.

People have also complained about the rumble strips as they don't run the length of the trail encouraging some to swerve to avoid them.

The county can't paint safety warnings cyclists have asked for but will paint warnings to cyclists on the areas most popular trail. This from the same county that cut trail funding this year and cut the Met Branch funding to zero.

All around this has been poorly thought out and serves as a textbook case of how NOT to encourage safety.

Aside: I know "thrown under the bus" is the cliche of the year. But "Lance Armstrong Wannabe" - or any of its derivatives - has to be getting close. -10 points to any journalist who uses it.

Comments

[Pete]

Just brilliant. Just last Friday I was almost thrown off my bike on the W&OD trail by 2 dog walkers taking up the entire trail. One of them had his dog OFF THE LEASH and the dog wandered right in front of me. I'm a former collegiate bike racer so I have pretty good bike handling skills and I suspect others might not have been lucky enough to avoid disaster.

Instead of instituting arbitrary speed limits why don't they educate the public on proper trail etiquette instead of blaming cyclists for everything?

What about the dog walkers who use a 15 foot leash stretched out across the trail, the runners who run in pairs in the same direction on both sides of the trail, the folks who think it's ok to cross the yellow line and stay there even when not passing?

In fact, I'd be happy to pay more taxes and actually go out and help lay down the pavement itself if they'd build parallel bike only lanes on the region's major trails.

[Nancy]

Just a day or two ago they extended the rumble strips to cover the whole width of the trail. As other people have pointed out on other bike lists, rumble strips are never recommended for cycling facilities or on areas of roadways where cyclists generally ride, because rumble strips can cause bikers to lose control. Why doesn't Mary Bradford just post NO BIKES signs instead of using these indirect methods of making bikers unwelcome on one of the areas premier "bike paths"?

[Jack]

There's been a terriric response from cyclists... 500+ letters to the Parks Department over this. My only complaint is that cyclists should get even more upset over trails not being built at all, like the ICC bike path the same county agency wants to kill for environmental reasons (though it's next to a superhighway!) and the Metropolitan Branch Trail which Montgomery County is delaying to the point of absurdity. The list goes on...

[guez]

The comparison between school zones and multi-use paths is pretty weak. In a school zone, pedestrians and cars do not share the same thoroughfare, but rather pedestrians *cross* a motorway. Motorists are obliged to *stop* for pedestrians (as long as the latter is in a crosswalk). Would you prefer that cyclists be allowed to go 20 mph, but be required to stop for all pedestrians on a path?

What I'd really like to see, however, is a ban on headphones (particularly while cycling or roller-blading). That drives me *nuts*.

[guez]

The comparison between school zones and multi-use paths is pretty weak. In a school zone, pedestrians and cars do not share the same thoroughfare, but rather pedestrians *cross* a motorway. Motorists are obliged to *stop* for pedestrians (as long as the latter is in a crosswalk). Would you prefer that cyclists be allowed to go 20 mph, but be required to stop for all pedestrians on a path?

What I'd really like to see, however, is a ban on headphones (particularly while cycling or roller-blading). That drives me *nuts*.

[silverspringtrails]

CCCT will host a public discussion of the recent efforts to improve safety on the trail on July 14, 7-9 p.m. at the Bethesda Library. Mary Bradford, Director of the Montgomery County Parks Dept., will be there to listen to comments. See http://www.cctrail.org/CCT_News_and_Events.htm