Thursday Morning Commute - lost

Good morning

• Not sure if I've linked to this before, but a group has formed that's interested in turning the RFK north parking lot into a youth sports park. That would make the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail which passes along the edge a little more pleasant. Personally, I think they should go a little bit more ambitious and seek to turn the whole RFK area - lots and stadium - into Robert Kennedy National Recreation Area [Sometimes I go with Kennedy Brothers NRA]. Lower, straighten and deck over East Capitol St; add in more sports fields, a separate loop for runners, basketball courts, a playground, and - of course - a velodrome.
• The 50 States & 13 Colonies Rides are on the calendar for Sept 22 and registration ends starts Aug 22. "The Annual 50 States Ride is a rite of passage for bicyclists that starts and ends in Adams Morgan, and takes riders across all 50 State named streets in DC. It's a grueling 64-mile ride in traffic that leaves you feeling a little more intimately connected to our city, and a little more intimate with your bicycle."
• "I am so lost. Where is I-10?"
• DDOT is hosting a public meeting on Thursday, August 9 to present the preliminary design plans for the proposed reconfiguration of the intersection at 37th Street, NW and Tunlaw Road, NW. Not sure if there is a bike element to this, but if you bike through there regularly it might be worth checking out. 
• I got to say I disagree with Mr. Rymer here, who is putting forward the proposition that it is better to ride against traffic in a bike lane than with it in a traffic lane. I love bike lanes, but they aren't magic. He states that "In many cases riding facing traffic is safer for the same reason it is safer when walking," but it isn't. Not safer. Not the same as walking. When walking, it's easy to step to the side and the closing distance is shorter.  He adds that "All bikers killed or seriously injured in Southern Maryland in the last several years were riding with the flow of traffic." But that is some cherry-picked data. Most cyclists go with traffic, so of course that is going to make up most fatalities. And he's got sample size issues. If you go to national data, you see that wrong way cycling does account for an inordinate number of fatal crashes. 
• The Gazette has a story on the US DOT grant awarded to the Rockville Metro station. "The project on South Stonestreet Avenue will add the new bike lanes and sidewalk from Baltimore Road to Park Road, and will narrow that portion of the road from four lanes to two, according to Craig Simoneau, the city’s director of public works."

Comments

[I forgot]

Mr. Rymer demonstrates that major problem we face is not evil drivers, but rather general ignorance.

Of course, this begs the question that if riding the wrong way on bike paths is bad, why do we have two-way cycletracks?

[Surprised]

"The 50 States & 13 Colonies Rides are on the calendar for Sept 22 and registration ends Aug 22."

Note - registration has not as of yet opened

[Still Alive]

What's really dangerous is riding facing traffic in a bike lane AT THE SAME TIME other riders are riding with traffic.

Twice this week while biking the correct way, I have faced oncoming riders on the G Street bike lane where there's been no choice but to quickly swerve out into traffic to avoid a head-on collision.

[Brendan]

Mr. Rymer's pursuit of Rule #2 can quickly and easily violate Rule #1 if another cyclist is using the lane with traffic. Someone is going to be forced into traffic.

#1 Do no harm
#2 Do not get harmed
#3 Laws of physice trumps laws of man

[washcycle]

I forgot, I would say there is a big difference between using a facility in the way that it was designed and using it in a way in which it was not designed. And most 2-way cycletracks that I've seen have been separated from traffic, which makes them technically different as well.

[Bossi]

From the pedestrian side of things: it's not as intuitive to check for wrong-way cyclists when stepping into the road. Been clipped a few times that way (including once by a guy who hit & ran... literally; he left his bike behind).

[Read Scott Martin]

More two-way tracks please. Riding against traffic from within a one-way bike lane is a chronic condition on the D street NE and 13th Street NE bike lanes - just for instance. Particularly loathsome because the bikeshare station location on D practically begs it for riders headed toward Union Station.

[I forgot]

When I have to salmon on one way streets in DC for my convenience, I use my car: It's much safer.

[Brandon]

Per the web site: "Registration ... will open the week of August 22nd." So it starts on the 22nd, not ends.

[contrarian]

I've never seen any evidence that walking facing traffic is safer for pedestrians. My understanding is that it is encouraged for the convenience of motorists: the presumption is that pedestrians will yield to vehicles, and by facing traffic it's easier to judge when you need to yield.