TheWashCycle

Thursday Morning Commute - Let there be light

Good morning

• According to DDOT, the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail lights that have been non-operational since opening due to a theft of the wiring are now working. They replaced all the stolen cable, installed 5 new poles, and removed and replaced a damaged foundation. The exception is that there are two lateral conduits that were found to be blocked and will require some coordination with utilities. Hooray. 
• DDOT has scheduled a public meeting on its Innovative Bicycle Facility Research Project and on a proposed protected bike lane for L Street between 25th and 12th streets. The meeting is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. next Thursday at the Reeves Center, second floor community room, 2000 14th St. NW.
• The Alexandria BPAC was awarded the 2012 Ellen Pickering Environmental Excellence Award.
• Despite hearing from over 300 cyclists who asked for some funding for the Bicycle Program, the Fairfax County Board refused to allocate any operating funds to the program. The program received $375,000 in FY 2009, $204,544 in FY 2010, and $0 in FY 2011 and 2012. 
• "Police in Montgomery County plan to simulate collisions of bicyclists and pedestrians as part of a training exercise."

The Rebalancer

Secret Identity by M.V. Jantzen

Part of the Mount Pleasant Cruiser Ride. 

3rd Tour de DCPL Saturday May 19th

The Tour de DCPL is a library-themed bicycle ride of DC, stopping at five DC Public Libraries. Bicycle-riding library staff and volunteers organize the ride each year as a way to promote environmentally friendly transportation and explore how DC's neighborhood libraries connect with their communities.

This year's ride begins at the Southwest Neighborhood Library - 900 Wesley Place S.W. (Metro: Waterfront)

Arrive at 9 AM for registration, snacks, library card sign up, and more. - The ride will start by 9:30 AM.

        The proposed route for this year: 

        Begin -   Southwest Neighborhood Library 
        Stop -     Anacostia Neighborhood Library 
        Stop -     Francis Gregory Interim Library + Ride by site of the new library: Designed by "starchitect" David Adjaye 
        Stop -     Benning Neighborhood Library 
        End  -     Southeast Neighborhood Library (Metro: Eastern Market)

 

Note  - The proposed route is subject to modification.  Please visit our Facebook page for more details.

"Like" our Facebook Event Page to stay in touch: https://www.facebook.com/events/236504619789726/

Email Contact: bikedcpl@gmail.com for more information 
Please register in advance online: http://bit.ly/JvKdlY

R4-11 signs coming soon to Maryland State Highways

Three different people at SHA have told me that staff have examined more than a dozen state highways for the initial batch of R4-11 (Bicycles may use full lane) signs for Prince Georges and Montgomery counties.  In response to a letter from the Prince Georges County Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BTAG) , the efforts will focus on highways leading out of the District of Columbia, although portions of MD-193 and a few segments that connect trails to Metro are also under consideration. (The BTAG list is indicative but SHA is looking at similar highways in Montgomery County.)  Funding for the signs appears to be available for this year.  SHA is not sure whether any of the signs will be up before Bike to Work Day, but they plan to try,

(Jim Titus is on the board of directors of WABA from Prince Georges County,  The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of WABA.)

 

Wednesday Morning Commute - Prince George's County Innovates

Good morning

• Ballston will get its first CaBi station sometime next week. "The station will have 19 docks, and will be set up on N. Stuart Street at 9th Street, in front of Welburn Square. The station is scheduled to be installed from noon to 2:00 p.m. next Monday, with a ribbon cutting event to follow."
• Images of the new ART bridge. 
• Legislation approved yesterday in Prince George's County "would require most new developments in the county to calculate not only the amount of car traffic they would generate but also whether the projects are safe for cyclists and walkers. For those that are not, the developer would be asked to improve the area within a half mile of the project."
• NYC floats some of the possible locations for its future bike share stations. "Jonathan Schnipper, co-owner of Schnipper Restaurant Group, said he hoped the kiosk in front of his restaurant, in the Times Building, would draw even more business to his restaurant, which he said did not benefit fully from the traffic one block north."

Anacostia Riverwalk Trail Bridge Ribbon Cutting

Riverwalk trail bridge + Sustainable DC Vision presser by Payton Chung

In Maryland, the 3-foot passing law confuses everybody

Maryland’s 3-foot passing law is unusual. Like the DC law, the general rule is that cars must leave a 3-foot clearance when passing a bike, §21-1209(a)(2). But unlike the DC law, there are several exceptions. And in some situations, bicycles are also subject to the 3-foot rule.

The statute explicitly lists four situations when drivers do not have to leave a 3-foot clearance

1. If the cyclist is failing to maintain a steady course.
2. If there is an adjacent bike lane and the cyclist is violating the legal requirement to be in the bike lane. The requirement to be in a bike lane has so many exceptions that only a well-versed cyclist who happens to be driving will know whether a cyclist has the legal right to be outside of the bike lane. Nor does anyone know what it means to be outside the bike lane. Does it mean that the car needs to be 3 feet to the left of the bike lane, and if the cyclist’s shoulder intrudes a foot into the bike lane, then the buffer is only two feet. Or maybe it means that as long as the bike’s tire is in the bike lane, one must give the cyclist three feet. 
3. If the cyclist is violating the legal requirement to ride as far to the right as practicable and safe. This requirement has even more exceptions, so a driver is very unlikely to know if the requirement is met.
4. If the highway is too narrow for the driver to legally pass with the required clearance. This probably only applies to narrow highways, such as one-lane bridges and narrow roads where cars must slow and pull partly off the road to pass in opposite directions. But Bike Maryland believes that it also applies to no-passing zones (double yellow lines) on standard 2-lane roadways , because it thinks that the legislature inserted the word “highway” when it meant “lane”.  This assumption prompted Bike Maryland to sponsor HB 1397 which would have allowed cars to cross the double yellow line to pass bikes.  That way, our Baltimore allies reasoned, the exception to the 3-foot rule will no longer apply because it will be legal to pass with the required clearance.  Previous posts on this blog have discussed why many cyclists did not support that bill. MDOT also opposed the bill, albeit for different reasons. After the session, some of the advocates had an email colloquy with MDOT on whether the three-foot bill does or does not apply to the typical 2-lane road.    I asked MDOT for its position on that question, but so far, MDOT has not responded,

These four exceptions have been widely publicized, though few drivers probably undestand what they mean and no one knows what the final one means. But the statute also imposes two requirements on cyclists. First, §21-1209(a)(2)(ii) applies to any vehicle passing a bike, so a bike passing another bike is required to leave a 3-foot clearance.

The law also prohibits bikes from overtaking cars on the right within a standard travel lane on a 2-lane road, although they may pass on the left within such a lane. § 21-304 prohibits overtaking on the right if the highway is not wide enough for two or more lines of traffic moving lawfully in a given direction. Given the 3-foot passing law, there has to be room for the cyclist and 3 feet of clearance, for two lines of traffic to move lawfully. Therefore, if the lane is too narrow for cars and bikes to travel side-by-side with a 3-foot clearance, bikes may not pass on the right. This is not an issue for 4-lane (and wider) roads which have room for two lines of traffic. So a cyclist can legally squeeze between the curb and cars slowing for a traffic light on US-1 or Georgia Avenue, but not along the typical 2-lane road unless it is wide enough for side-by-side sharing (i.e. at least 13-14 feet) or has a shoulder into which the cyclist can pass.

Between the ambiguous exceptions, and the exceptions to(the (bike lane and keep right) exceptions, Maryland has a law that is too confusing to explain to student drivers.  Fortunately, the Motor Vehicle Administration appears to be sticking to the simplest approach:  Drivers should pass cyclists with at least three feet.  This was always MVA's recommended best practice, and the fact that a court can not convict a driver for passing with less clearance in some situations does not change the clearance with which a reasonable driver will pass.

(Jim Titus is on the board of directors of WABA from Prince Georges County, The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of WABA.)

Anacostia Riverwalk Trail Bridge and Sustainable DC Vision

Mayor Gray and other dignataries will formally open the new Anacostia Riverwalk Trail Bridge over the CSX railroad tracks on the river's West Bank Trail today at 11:00 am. This will held at the south entrance which is the one closest to the river. In addition to this, he'll be releasing the 20 year Vision for a Sustainable DC. This plan, which is heavy on ambition and low on funding, includes among its goals the construction of

80 miles of bicycle lanes within a few years, about one-fourth more than exist today.

 

Tuesday Morning Commute - Wetlands Bridge Open today

Good morning. Noticed the headline yesterday "Secret Service Scandal Widens". Has there every been a headline "Scandal Narrows"? Probably not. They might as well have used the headline "We're still talking about the Secret Service Scandal, so you know what that means."

• The St. Elizabeths East Campus Transportation Network Environmental Assessment is out. it would remove a barricade east of the river, but not do much more. 

Alternative 1 and Alternative 2 would open the campus’s roadway network to cyclists, providing alternative bicycle connections to Alabama Ave. and Martin Luther King, Jr. Ave. The low-speed nature of the proposed street network on the East Campus would accommodate cyclists with safe and attractive facilities, providing a parallel network to the primary facilities mentioned above. Both of the alternatives provide on street bicycle lanes  along 13th St.Improving bicycle facilities would make cycling a more attractive option and contribute to a mode shift away from single-occupancy vehicles

• VDOT's list of 2012 Tentative Enhancement Allocations includes $190,000 for the Potomac Yard - Four Mile Run Trail Connection which will construct a paved connection between the Four Mile Run Trail and existing bicycle / pedestrian facilities in Potomac Yard and $80,000 for the translation of a statewide pocket safety guide for bicycle/pedestrian/motorist safety into an additional language, create an electronic version, and fund local safety classes.
• It also includes money for part of the following projects
  • bikesharing at the University of Virginia*; the conversion of a ca. 1881 bridge in Bristol for use as a bike trail
  • construction of a bicycle/pedestrian trail system to connect the historic sites of Belmont, Chatham Manor, and Ferry Farm
  • construction of an asphalt, bicycle and pedestrian trail connecting Pierce Elementary School to residential areas in the Town of Remington
  • construction of a multi-use trail from Occoquan Regional Park to the Laurel Hill Greenway
  • Construction of a multi-use trail on abandoned Chesapeake and Ohio right of way from the City of Covington to the Town of Hot Springs
  • Construction of Virginia Creeper trailhead facilities; a connector trail linking the Virginia Creeper Trail and the Overmountain Victory Trail
  • Construction of a multi-use trail along abandoned Norfolk Southern right of way from the Town of Appalachia to the Town of Big Stone Gap
  • Construction of an extension to the New River Trail from its existing northern terminus in the Town of Pulaski to Randolph Park
  • Construction of a multi-use trail through the communities of Roanoke County
  • Construction of a multi-use trail throughout the communities of the City of Roanoke
  • Construction of the Tobaco Heritage Trail, a multi-use trail throughout the communities of the City of Roanoke
• Arlington installed two new CaBi stations yesterday. One at 20th & Vietch and the other at Veitch & Key near Courthouse.
• Park Police are ticketing cyclists at Hains Point, but they're saying things like 'you don't have to unclip or anything, but at least slow down. You just blew right through it and turned right, so I had to stop you." which seems reasonable. 
• Manassas Trail Meeting on Thursday. 
• Fairfax County students to participate in National Bike to School.
• New Bicycling postage stamps coming this summer.  

*I believe this is in Rep. Eric Cantor's district, which is interesting because he opposed and belittled bike sharing in DC. 

Bike And Roll at Union Station

by M.V. Jantzen