Thursday Morning Commute - Legarde

Good Morning

• From your blog to the Alexandria City Council's ear. "The developers [of a new Harris Teeter and apartment building in Alexandria] are also giving $40,000 toward either a bike-sharing program or local transportation management"
• New IMF Director Christine Lagarde plans to bike to work "Lagarde, once a competitive synchronized swimmer and a member of the French national team, wants to ride her bike to work. She'll bring it with her from Paris." New Bike to Work Day Speaker!
• WABA's mobile bike clinics continue to help cyclists EOTR ""There are hardly any bike lanes. We need them. We need them badly," Not until we're done studying them, you don't.
• Improved bike access could help MARC better utilize the Boyds train station.
• WABA is hosting a discussion on July 19th on what to do if you're in a crash. "Executive Director Shane Farthing and three of the regions top lawyers in representing cyclists in DC, Maryland, and Virginia–Tom Witkop, Bruce Deming, and Peter Baskin–will be available both to assist with the group discussion and to talk one-on-one with cyclists at the end of the program." Farthing, remember, is a lawyer too.
• So much information from the Alexandria BPAC meeting. The city doesn't have a bike parking ordinance, Chamblis Crossing project going out to bid soon and more.
• Jack Evans supports the L&M cycletracks. Question: Who opposes them? Answer: Bears.
• Bicycle Space has identified the cyclist who died this week as Duane Esquivel

Sadly, I'll be at a funeral tomorrow and so may not blog.

Comments

[Jon Renaut]

I was driving (unfortunately) north on 15th last night around 830pm. I stopped at the light at L. Within 15 seconds of my light going red, nine bikes passed through the intersection traveling on L. Anyone who thinks we don't need better bike facilities on L St is delusional. Or a bear.

[Shawn]

R.I.P. Duane. He looked pretty happy on that photo of his newly won bike.

I wonder if Lagarde is a scofflaw cyclist. And if she'll come across any bears in the cycletracks.

[Will]

Just saw this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post_now/post/woman-falls-to-her-death-from-rooftop-of-the-w-hotel/2011/06/29/AGDMibrH_blog.html

Did anyone ride by there? Did MPD close the cycletrack? What about the sidewalk?

[Greenbelt]

Regarding the question in the comments a couple days ago about usage of the Penn. Ave. bike lanes, I took some helmet video of a short section this morning. (I especially like the puddle avoidance move by the cyclist on my left at 1:10!). The Penn. Ave. lanes starts at about 3 minutes in. This seems like a pretty normal level of "traffic" on the lanes to me -- generally typical that 3 or 4 riders are waiting at each light during rush hour.
http://www.vimeo.com/25817302

[JeffB]

Re: Greeenbelt PA Ave video

I'd like to note that there appears to be as many people using bikes as using cars. Where is all that congestion AAA warned us about?

I never use PA Ave in the morning but do occasionally in the afternoons. It it usually fairly empty of vehicles as well.

So why can't we have a true cycletrack again?

[Contrarian]

DDOT has webcams all over the area. See:
http://app.ddot.dc.gov/services_dsf/traffic_cameras/map_15.asp?200156