TheWashCycle

CaBi with a repair tag

CaBi with a repair tag, originally uploaded by volcrano.

I saw 3 bikes in this docking station with repair tags (out of 5). By the next day they were gone - and hopefully have been nursed back to health.

Sunday afternoon links

So many interesting stories, so little time

• Bike snob puts cyclists into their groups. I feel like their must be at least one missing group. The practical cyclist?
• Long Beach police do not care for critical mass. They ticketed riders and confiscated bikes.

  The group was stopped in the area of Anaheim Road and Palo Verde Avenue when they "blew through a stop sign," said Lisa Massacani, spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department.

  "They were cited for violating other rules of the road as well as safety issues," she added.

  "We obeyed all laws and stopped at all stop signs," said Jerome Podgajski, organizer of the event. "They (cops) didn't even cite for the same things, and some got cited for things they didn't even do. It was really bad. I couldn't believe everything."

  "The group known as Critical Mass travels from city to city and as a matter of practice engages in dangerous conduct, violating every rule of the road and endangering the public." said Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
• Fugitive convicted of killing a cyclist while driving under the influence is captured after 6 months. Faces up to 33 years in prison.
• Been there. Done that.
  

The group was stopped in the area of Anaheim Road and Palo Verde Avenue when they "blew through a stop sign," said Lisa Massacani, spokeswoman for the Long Beach Police Department.

"They were cited for violating other rules of the road as well as safety issues," she added.

"We obeyed all laws and stopped at all stop signs," said Jerome Podgajski, organizer of the event. "They (cops) didn't even cite for the same things, and some got cited for things they didn't even do. It was really bad. I couldn't believe everything."

ThinkBike Workshops

The Royal Netherlands Embassy, in cooperation with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), will host a 2-day event – the ThinkBike Workshops – on Monday, November 15 and Tuesday, November 16, 2010.

There is no cost, but advance registration is required.  To register click a link below, or contact Megan Kanagy megan.kanagy@dc.gov, Transportation Planner at DDOT, at 202-671-5111.

Opening Session: Monday, November 15th, 9 to 11 a.m. COG Board Room 777 North Capitol Street NE, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20002

Closing Session and Reception: Tuesday, November 16th, 5 to 7 p.m. Columbus Club at Union Station  50 Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20002

The opening session will be kicked off by the Dutch Ambassador Mrs. Renée Jones-Bos.  City staff, local decision makers, and bicyclists are invited to learn more about Dutch cycling infrastructure and policy best practices.

More information here.

Tour de Links - Armstrongs in the night

Maillot Jaune: Olympic bronze medal cyclist Lance Armstrong's last international race will be this January in Australia. Meanwhile, Olympic gold medal cyclist Kristin Armstrong will be coming out of postpartum retirement to try to make the 2012 Olympic team. I've heard that women cyclists actually do better after motherhood, but I'm not sure if that's true.

Podium: Continued discussion of how unfair it would be to make cyclist pay an additional tax for the roads, and an analysis of road funding in Seattle (gas tax pays for 4%).

Podium: Rep Gabrielle Giffords bike commutes here in DC and yells at drivers who cut her off. She also supports bicycle safety legislation.

Maillot Vert: San Francisco's Metropolitan Transportation Commission approved funding for a 1000-unit bike sharing system that they are billing as the "nation's first regional bike-sharing program". I'm sorry, but is Arlington/DC not a regional system? It's not a city system. It's not even in the same state. And since the system is 12-18 months away, it may not come online before another round of CaBi expansion (perhaps into Maryland). They hope to expand the system to 13,000 bikes. The NYT covers it, but mostly as an excuse to tweak other commuter rail users about the lack of bike cars on their trains.

Maillot a Pois Rouge: A Wisoconsin cyclist was paralyzed when his tire got stuck in a gap on a bridge sending him over his handlebars. He sued and settled for $8M. Turns out, another cyclist was injured in the same place back in 1999, a fact they tried to hide until a judge forced them to disclose this. "WSDOT has since filled the gap with an epoxy to prevent more accidents"

Maillot Blanc: Hours after apparently stealing a bike in Minneapolis, the thief was hit while riding that bike and killed. In Detroit, they just arrest them.

Lanterne Rouge: Babies act like they own the road. And speaking of NYC bike lanes, a NYC cop parked in one and then ticketed cyclists who rode around him for not using the bike lane (not using a bike lane where one is available is illegal in NYC).

Alexandria Pedestrian and Bicycle Citizen's group agenda

Date: MONDAY, November 1, 2010, 7pm

Location: DURANT CENTER, 1605 Cameron Street

1.     Welcome & Introduction

2.     Existing Projects

       a) Pedestrian: Safe Routes to School Projects
       b) Bicycle: On-Street Facilities & FHWA Experiment
       c) Trails: Holmes Run Tunnel
       d) Other City Projects & Plans

3.     Events
a)  “Got Lights?” Campaign
b)   Street Smart Campaign
    
4.     Public Input/Q&A

NEXT MEETING: MONDAY, January 10, 2010

CaBi at the Rally

CaBi at the Rally, originally uploaded by volcrano.

These two guys brought their Capital Bikeshare bikes with them to the mall at 3 hours, that will start to add up.

Bike Parking at Rally for Sanity/Fear

Bike Parking at Rally for Sanity/Fear, originally uploaded by volcrano.

This is just a sampling of the many bikes I saw locked up around the rally.

Saturday Afternoon Ride

So many links, so little time

• Ride the City proposes replacing the NYT automobiles section with a bicyles section - at least once a year. Which is significantly more serious than this post.
• A driver who chased down a cyclist after the cyclist flipped him the bird, and then punched him in the face was convicted of recklesly causing serious injury. This was in Australia.
• This proposed shopping center might be hard to get to by bike now, but with it's proximity to the future Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, and some improved cycling facilities elsewhere it needn't be. They should have ample bike parking and a CaBi station. Perhaps they can contribute to bike lanes on South Dakota Ave, V St NE and Fort Lincoln Drive. You can learn more about the project here.
• A bike being stripped of parts = dog bites man. In front of a police station = man bites dog.
• Separated bike lanes may help protect cyclists from more than cars. Like concentrations of ultrafine particles. "understanding roadway and traffic effects on exposure levels can help guide bicycle facility design and pinpoint locations in which mitigation of exposure levels by placement of facilities such as cycle tracks may be most important."
• In light of the likely GOP wave, bicycle friendly funding sources like Transportation Enhancement and TIGER grants may be on the chopping block in the next Transporation bill.
• Another bike friendly GGW endorsement: "We support Brittany Kademian in her challenge to Juan Lopez for 1B07...Kademian herself wants to raise the accessibility of the ANC in the area, tutors local students, bicycles and supports a bike lane on 14th north of U."
• A Post reader looks for advice on where to go in Arlington for an easy, safe bike ride with a meal on one end. Readers reply with the W&OD and Mt.Vernon trail. I would've recommended Ballston Metro to Bluemont Junction trail to W&OD to Shirlington.
• FABB will host a reception to celebrate their Bicycle Advocates Guide - The event will be held from 9 – 10:30 am at the Patrick Henry Library, 101 Maple Avenue, Vienna, VA 22180.
•  A second section of the Tobacco Heritage Trail has opened in Lawrenceville, VA. (thanks in part to the stimulus bill). When done, the trail network will have 160 miles of trail. 
• Yes, a four year old is being sued for racing her bike on the sidewalk in NYC and hitting and injuring a woman. Most Above the law readers blame the parents. But some kids are just bad.

CaBi - ArlCo demand map, more apps and bike sharing in Europe

Arlington County put together a sweet map of CaBi demand based on population, jobs, facilities, transit etc...you can see it here, though I've included a smaller version in the post. Basically, it's Crystal City and the Wilson Blvd corridor.

The growth of Capital Bikeshare in Arlington will be based on government funding and the service's revenues, which include membership, usage, and sponsorship. As these funding sources become available, we will be able to install and operate more stations in more neighborhoods.

You can leave comments on the map at the CPB website.

CPB also has a link to another CaBi app called Layar.

Layar uses a combination of the phone’s camera, compass and GPS data to identify the user’s location, retrieve useful data about the user’s surroundings, and overlay that information over the camera view.

Finally there's this story in Der Spiegel about the more than 100 European cities that have a bike sharing system.

Altogether, 46 percent of Vélib users drive a car less due to their new cycling habit. Meanwhile, 96 percent of Parisians say their home city has become more pleasant thanks to Vélib.

Saturday Morning Ride - Sanity

With or without bike valet, biking will be a great way to get down to the Mall today

• Work to rebuild the interchange between the Fairfax County Parkway and the Fair Lake Parkway will include some trailwork. "Shared-use paths and sidewalks will allow for pedestrian and cyclist access at the interchange and also to the Rocky Run Stream Valley Park trail system."
• Silver Spring to get more bike parking, possibly by winter.
• StreetSmart's latest campaign ups the stakes in its shocking imagary (at right).
• "Every Federal program that is used to support cycling is grossly underutilized in Maryland."
• Last month, work began on 1150 Ripley Street in Silver Spring. The Ripley District project includes a short section of the Met Branch Trail, but it's unclear if that section will be built with this building.
• MPD wants you to write on your bike with an invisible marker to aid bike recovery.
• Beer, trivia, more beer, supporting WABA, more beer...
• Use a CaBi to take your bike to the shop
• Discussing safety on the CCT "I reiterated our concerns regarding the 15mph speed limit that, if enforced, would undermine the usefulness of the trail as a transportation path and raised the point that an across-the-board imposition of a speed limit does not address the myriad of behaviors — on the part of both cyclists and non-cyclists — that lead to conflicts on the trail. I acknowledged, however, that both cyclists and non-cyclists have a responsibility to be considerate of other trail users and to work for solutions that will make the trail safer and more pleasant for everyone."
• If bike sharing were counted as transit - as it should be, it would have access to more money. And the bikes are cheaper than buses per passenger, with cheaper operating costs.
• Metro discusses rules about "wheels on the ground" in stations and that a station manager can waive the rule about not using an escalator when the elevator is out.
• "The Royal Netherlands Embassy, in cooperation with the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG), will host a 2-day event - the ThinkBike Workshops - on Monday, November 15 and Tuesday, November 16, 2010....Opening and closing sessions are open to the general public. There is no cost, but advance registration is required.  Click here for more information and to register."
• DC teacher uses MBT to commute to work (but he has to lock his bike to a chain link fence).
• More on AAA's call to remove defund federal bike programs.
• GGW calls for more bike parking at the East Falls Church metro and I have to say, that if it is filled up as they claim, I agree. Because Metro claims there is no space for more parking, GGW suggests putting parking in the station itself as was done in Chicago. Another option is two-tier parking. Also, taking out a car parking space.
• Good idea for stores that sell children's bikes. As they outgrow them, allow the parents to trade them out for larger bikes. "they often break-even or lose a little money on the trade-in. However, they also have the children’s parents coming back in for service, new bikes, parts, clothing, etc."