Tuesday Evening Ride - There's a little black spot on the sun today

Good evening

• The American Planning Association is hosting a presentation on Cycle Tracks and Other Improvements to Accomodate Increased Levels of Bicycling in Urban Areas next Tuesday at 5:30pm. "This presentation will highlight trends and innovations in bicycle-friendly communities throughout the U.S. It will include a discussion of design and safety considerations for cycle track facilities, which are bikeways that are physically separated from motor traffic and distinct from the sidewalk. The presentation will conclude with lessons learned in designing and implementing cycle tracks as well as observations on the role of bicycling, and more broadly complete streets, in creating sustaining places."
• Perhaps bike shops can sell used bikes as long as they are "rebuilt or refurbished merchandise"?
• A movie about DC's bicycle couriers will be shown at the New York's Bicycle Film Festival. 
• Even when rail trails don't connect cities, they can still generate economic benefits. "The trails attracted an estimated 125,244 people in 2011 and pumped $875,320 into the local economy, according to the study." This is from an article about trails in Lancaster, PA which is not a long drive from here. This also caught my eye "Last year, Amtrak built a 16-foot-wide crushed stone trail surface the length of the corridor, making it more amenable for bicycle riding." Amtrak's building bike trails now. 
• Sarah Goodyear argues that when more people get on bikes - as will happen with bikesharing, cyclists should start to behave better. I think that's inevitable. She also argues that if the police are going to crack down on cyclists, then they have to crack down on drivers too. 
• DC needs more of this. 

Comments

[charlie]

In terms of more bikes, better behavior, right night we're in the uncanny valley. The amount of entirely stupid behavior (two bikeshare girls, riding the wrong way down the Wilson Blvd hill into Rosslyn this evening -- with heavy traffic) is getting incredible.

In the long term, yes, if we start killing stupid people then behavior will improve. Since that isn't really a solution, I think it will get worse. The lack of education -- and the lack of anything resembling a coherent message from WABA besides "arrest the driver" doesn't help.

[washcycle]

charlie, the numbers trump your observations.

[Eric_W.]

I witnessed a car taking a right turn from Southbound Washington Street into Prince Street on Monday. Two problems: There is a no turn sign at that intersection and Prince Street is a one-way street Eastbound. You can imagine the excitement on the street until the driver finally figured out what was happening. (Should I go on with more examples "of entirely stupid behavior"?)

"The lack of education -- and the lack of anything resembling a coherent message from [insert your favorite motorized traffic promoter] besides 'get cyclists off the street' doesn't help."

[Mike]

Last night I saw a guy in a car make a right turn on red without stopping in violation of a no-right-turn-on-red sign. These drivers with their obnoxious/selfish/arrogant/"entitlement" attitudes need to get off the road. My general fund tax dollars are subsidizing those roads, so they should be reserved exclusively for me, and these other people should be banned.

[oboe]

charlie, the numbers trump your observations.

Yup.

Also, if anyone needs proof that drivers and cyclists can both be irresponsible douchebags, all you need to do is ride the Custis on a weekday morning.

That no one has been kiled in a bike-bike or bike-ped collision so far is pretty amazing.

[Jonathan Krall]

@ charlie FWIW, I think "arrest the driver" is a pretty coherent message. Motor vehicles are the number one killers of children over age 1 and, yet, drivers rarely suffer penalties unless they leave the scene of the "accident."

"Arresting the driver" much more often would be, perhaps, the single most effective thing we could do to reduce the traffic fatalities.

[Michael Roy]

I do get tired of the anti-cyclist sentiment,and motorists are more dangerous IMHO that cyclists, but oboe is right that cyclists are guilty of bad behavior, and we can't just point the finger at drivers. Case in point: bike to work day, a cyclist passes me on the Custis trail on the downhill into Rosslyn where there a blind curve on the left and it is impossible to see whether anyone is coming from the other direction. When I caught him at the light (he did stop for the light sat Oak St.)I said that if anyone had been coming there would have been a head-on collision. I mean, I wouldn't mind if this guy hurt himself, but what about the innocent guy he hits? Betcha he's done the same thing again since our little chat.

[washcycle]

I don't think there is anyone arguing that cyclists AREN'T guilty of bad behavior.

[oboe]

I'd print out t-shirts that say "People Are Inconsiderate Jerks" but that seems too obvious.

In any case, I wish WABA and other advocates would spend more time wagging their finger at people who ride dangerously on MUTs than those who jay-bike, etc...

I think cyclist misbehavior on trails is vastly underrated as a source of bad bike PR.

The most dangerous part of my commute to Tysons is not Gallows Road, but the Custis Trail. And that's pretty sad.