TheWashCycle

NYC Puts Brakes on Unregulated Pedicabs

Bloomberg stood up for the pedi-cabbies, but his veto was overridden.

"This legislation is designed to make pedicabs safer for passengers and drivers, and less disruptive to small businesses, pedestrians, and other vehicles," City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said.

The regulations would limit the number of pedicabs allowed on city streets to 325, which many drivers said would cause them to lose their jobs. The city estimates 300 to 400 pedicabs are operating.

Quinn added that the limit will "allow the industry to thrive, while alleviating congestion in the parts of the city most frequented by pedicabs."

Opponents said in a statement that the cap will discourage the "health growth" of the pedicab industry.

The law also includes licensing and insurance requirements, and calls on that each pedicab must post its formula for calculating fares.

Torontoist on Bike Lanes

Sure this is about Toronto, but much of it could apply here.

It is absolutely illegal for courier trucks, taxis, delivery vans or anyone else to stop or park in a bike lane, but any avid cyclist can tell you how selectively this law is enforced, and how useless reporting it is.

Most filling of existing roadway is done with a dry, ready-to-use form of asphalt called Cold Patch, which is actually harder than the surrounding road top and compacts almost immediately when applied correctly. The weak points are at the seams, where the Cold Patch must be applied flush to the existing pavement. Road crews don't necessarily seem to consider the additional importance this carries when repairing a bike lane. What may be a little dip for a car might mean serious injury or death for a cyclist.

Probably the most staggeringly stupid allowance is how contractors tearing-up the road surface aren't required to return it to its original state, but only to an alleged "good condition"—read: for cars.

I often find myself riding on sub-standard road repairs and though I've avoided it, I've heard some bad stories about crashes that resulted from bad pavement (I have had a flat or two that I attributed to unrepaired roads). When thinking about widening I-66 I'm reminded of what my Mom used to say to me when I'd leave toys in the yard, to paraphrase "if you can't take care of the roads you have, then maybe you don't need any more." Toronto is planning to up the number of people working on their bike plan from one temporary person to four full time. DC is at about 1.3 people and falling behind on their plan.

Lyon Bike Rentals

Most of this has been reported on before, but this is new:

The first half hour is free, then $1.30 for the next 30 minutes, $2.60 the next, and $5.20 every half-hour thereafter, encouraging more frequent usage.

95% of the 20,000 daily bike rentals (that's not a typo) in Lyon are free based on this pricing structure. The impact is even more surprising: Vehicle traffic dropped 4% and overall bicycle use tripled. "It has completely transformed the landscape of Lyon - everywhere you see people on the bikes," said the city's deputy mayor. Paris expects 250,000 trips a day, or 91 million trips a year.

Stadium Transportation Plan

DDOT had a Stadium Transportation and Parking Plan meeting. I was on my way when I was invited to go drink Many beers with friends. Beers won out, but luckily JDLand's only other offer was hydrochloric acid and so she went. She mentioned that new lighting and pedestrian rails will be added to the South Capital Street bridge as part of the work this summer and

there will be the streetscape improvements to South Capitol, Potomac, N, 1st, and I Streets, SE, all before Opening Day 2008, with resurfacing, new streetlights, curbs, etc. There will also be some small changes to the South Capitol and I intersection to try to improve the flow

They estimate that for a sellout crowd 19,000 people will come via transit (16,000 through the Navy Yard station), 750 will arrive by charter buses, 400 by taxi, 3,400 on foot or bike, and 13,600 by car (in 4,700 vehicles)

There was also a link to the slides from the presentation. Bikes were unfortunately listed as "Other" and so didn't get much mention (which means they aren't pushing valet bike parking). The FAQ on the Douglas Bridge doesn't mention how bike commuters are supposed to deal with the closure (they can't just hop on Metro rail at the Anacostia station), nor does this presentation, but it does have cool pictures and maps nonetheless.

Dr. Gridlock also managed to make it out without being called for beers.

The beer, by the way, was delicious, but karma being what it is - I got a flat on the way home.

A&A Community Bike Ride 2007

What was once the Arlington CBR is now the Arlington & Alexandria Community Bike Ride. And even though the number of communities is doubling, the price remains the same. Registration is now open for the June 3, 2007 event. Since someone will ask, here's what you get for $15

• A first-hand view of some of the best trails, bike routes and facilities Arlington  & Alexandria have to offer!
• A bike safety rodeo for  kids - Children will love this fun set of courses designed to improve their bike-handling skills. The Rodeo will take place from 10 am to noon at the starting area. It’s free and open to all kids up to 12.
• full service rest stops (refreshments)
• valet bike parking
• prizes -     Lucky winners will be chosen at random after the Ride for  additional bike and gear prizes
• Live music from Schizophonic, a chance to ride the Kinetic Bike Sculpture, and check-out the Traveling Bike Museum which has a history of bikes on display

And, if that isn't enough every rider will get a free bike bell. (well, freeish).

FDA cyclists’ commute, lifestyle powered by pedals

Here.

[I know posting a link is lazy blogging, but I might have to do more of this in the future]

Bike helmet findings

This from another report on the results of helmet use

They found five studies that met their inclusion criteria. In each case the studies looked at situations where legislation had only covered children.

There was a clear indication that areas that introduced helmet legislation saw a decrease in head injury associated with increased use of helmets.

Which isn't really true as I read it, only that after the law, there were fewer head injuries. I say that because of this line:

"What is not clear, however, is whether the legislation caused fewer children to go out on their bikes. It may be that the reductions in injuries were a result of children using bikes less, however, there have been no high quality studies that have tested this scenario," says lead author Anneliese Spinks

So we don't know if more cyclists wore helmets (or if those helmets reduced injuries) or if there were just fewer cyclists. It'd be nice to see it compared to other cycling injuries. If head injuries went down, but shoulder injuries remained constant that would be more indicative of a helmet benefit.

CCT closures, openings

The CCT closed the Air Rights Tunnel for a few days

The tunnel under Wisconsin Avenue had been closed for several days starting April 18 so a fence could be erected to stop graffiti.

and the DPWT has closed a portion of the Georgetown Branch Interim Trail for drainage repairs

a temporary detour beginning on approximately April 24th. "

"The detour will follow the Freyman Drive, to the Rock Creek Trail to Susanna Lane and Jones Mill Road. Temporary signs will be installed for the detour. All efforts will be made to maximize safety and minimize the duration of time for the detour.

"Construction began on April 17th and may extend into June."

"Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. If you have any questions about the work, please contact the Highway Maintenance Customer Service Section at 240-777-6000."

The good news is (if you're an optimist at least)

If the DPWT work to repair the drainage facilities is successful, then the storm water washouts that have frequently made this section of the trail unusable over the past 10 years will be history.

Vote on New lane on I-66 postponed

This project, mentioned here, has been held off temporarily

Members of a regional transportation board voted yesterday to delay action on new toll lanes on Interstate 95/395 and an extra lane on Interstate 66, saying there were too many unanswered safety questions. The panel will reconsider the projects May 16.

As for the Custis Trail they said this:

On I-66, VDOT officials tried to assure members that the project would not encroach on the Custis bike trail

Metro Working to Become Friendlier to Cyclists

Or so a story on WTOP recently stated,

"We need to look at our stations, and see how we can become more accommodating," says Metro General Manager John Catoe.

Catoe believes Metro has to get crafty with ways to better serve Metro riders. He believes that a good model for their bicycle plan are European cities.

"In every station there are thousands of bicycles," says Catoe. "I can't say we will get to that point, but we need to look at it. We need to be creative and think outside of the box."

No specifics are given, but it sounds like encouraging users to lock their bikes at the station is the main goal.

Catoe feels that they need to make bikers feel more comfortable with leaving their bikes at the stations for long stretches of time.

That's good (assuming it means secure parking out of the elements), but it still doesn't go far enough. Other suggestions:

1. Reevaluate the rush-hour restriction. New York asks cyclists to avoid rush-hour, but does not ban them. "Consideration for others along with reasonable judgment help produce a safer, more comfortable environment for everyone,including bicyclists." I think we have room for more access that is considerate. San Francisco limits the stations and lines (highlighted on the schedule here) bikes can use, but it's not a wholesale ban.
2. Both of the above systems also allow bikes to be carried up and down stairs. It's worth considering and making bicycle troughs mandatory at all new stations (Dulles) or upgrades (Navy Yard)
3. No other system that I could find requires that folded bikes be placed inside a carry on bag.
4. San Francisco clearly states its policy on where a folding bike must be folded "During commute hours, folding bikes must be folded before entering the paid area at the Embarcadero, Montgomery, Powell, and Civic Center San Francisco Stations, and the 12th and 19th Street Oakland Stations. At all other stations, they may be folded on the platform, but must be folded before boarding a train." and allow passengers to roll their bike to the platform at stations where it makes sense. Metro has no policy and when I emailed them to ask what the policy was the response was this: "The rule is any package or item carried onto the Metro that could possible present a safety problem to other passengers would not be allowed on the Metro. Any operations personnel who see or realizes that can ask the customer to remove the item or not use the Metro. If you are transporting your bike on the Metro then you are already aware of the general rules concerning safety and your concern for folding the bike.  You can certainly understand why our staff my ask that your bike is folded for easier and safer transport, whenever you are on Metro property bus or rail safety is our No. 1 priority." Which is basically saying - our policy is that we don't have one.
5. How about a Metro Bicycle Access plan like - again - San Francisco's?
6. On train bike storage would improve safety - which I've been told is their "No. 1 priority"

That's just a short list to which bike parking, bike access routes and bike station plans could be added.