TheWashCycle

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - Taft

Good afternoon

• The Nationals Presidents rode CaBi again. George won. 
• DCBAC on the NCPC Pennsylvania Avenue Meeting. A couple of highlights:
  • NPS acknowledgse that there is no bicycle parking along Pennsylvania Avenue and will use the upcoming process to both add bike parking
  • The National Historic Preservation Act Consultation Update to the Consulting Parties document supports the installation of Capital Bikeshare stations along the Avenue.
• WABA's East of the River Associate Kim Davis will lead the Oxon Run Ride in Oxon Run Park this Saturday, June 8, at 10 a.m.
• Tour de Fat showcased the new Anacostia River Front
• Bicycle dogsled
• Bike lanes don't reduce the severity of crashes, but do reduce their frequency. "The data show that other factors may be more important in reducing the severity of cyclists' injuries, including the speed of motor vehicles traveling near them and how much light there is." Other factors, including alcohol use, riding in darkness (even with streetlights) and a road's posted speed limit.
• The social cost of carbon rasied from $22 per ton to $36. Or: biking gets cheaper.
• In a program sponsored by AAA, Ohio police officers will issue helmet-clad children riding bikes a safety citation that that can be redeemed for a free child's cone at Dairy Queen and a free goodie bag with a coloring book, crayons, water bottle and bike safety book. 
• "All of the major candidates to replace Bloomberg as mayor expressed support for bicycling at a recent forum, notes Paul Steely White, executive director of the local group Transportation Alternatives."

Boston bike crash study shows drivers mostly to blame. Solution: helmet law

Boston released a study of bike crashes in the city. 

The study showed that drivers were most often to blame for crashes.

Twenty-two percent of collisions between cars and cyclists occurred when a vehicle door opened unexpectedly on a ­cyclist. Eighteen percent ­occurred when a motorist did not see a cyclist, and 12 percent occurred when a cyclist rode ­into oncoming traffic.

Of the 891 crashes in which causes were listed, cyclists ran a red light or rode through a stop sign before colliding with a car just 12 percent of the time.

The soultion

In an effort to make the city safer for cyclists, police will ­begin to hand out $20 citations to cyclists who run red lights; and the mayor’s office may push for a law requiring helmet use by bike riders of all ages.

Among cyclists who were ­injured and who required medical assistance, about half were not wearing a helmet, almost twice the percentage of total riders who do not wear helmets.

the city planned to install side guards on some public works trucks and that it would encourage private truck companies to do the same. 

 

Tuesday Morning Commute - Hand

Good morning (or maybe not)

• Rough out there for our nation's leaders. On the same weekend that Justice Breyer was released from the hospital following shoulder surgery resulting from a bicycle crash, now Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan broke his hand in a bicycling accident. And both were only months after Army Secretary John McHugh fractured his pelvis in a bike crash. Maybe Obama was wise to ban Denis McDonough from biking. 
• A bicyclist found a missing man's body in the Potomac, and the body of Victoria Kong was found 30 feet from the Mount Vernon Trail near Gravelly Point. 

Pedestrian hit by cyclist on Penn Ave

Just heard the report on WAMU. A pedestrian was crossing Penn near 12th. Penn is closed for the parade, but a cyclist was riding down it anyway. The cyclist called out to the pedestrian, but nonetheless was unable to avoid hitting her. According to the eyewitness, the cyclist never slowed her bike down. The pedestrian hit her head and was being taken to the hospital.

Be careful out there. 

Wednesday Evening Commute - Roof Access

I went to see Donald and Ivanka Trump talk at the Washington Post today. He's exactly the same in person (all superlatives, arrogant etc..) but less crazy and more charming. Ivanka might have a future in politics if she wants one. She's very good at staying on message.

• CaBi set a new one-day record - 9854 trips - yesterday. 
• Matt Johnson at GGW was almost hit by an unapologetic driver near the Greenbelt Metro. If only they had seen a street smart poster. 
• The hiker-biker trail at Huntley Meadows Park in Virginia will be closed soon and remain closed for the rest of the year to allow for construction. 
• Frederick has released the design for the East Street Rail with Trails
  • The proposed path would be begin at the Frederick MARC station, where bikes would share the road with cars. It is possible that the bikes on the road could be a traffic concern, Gammon said; however, traffic is so slow in that area that he did not think the shared lane would affect drivers.
  • The path would connect to secondary pedestrian trails at Fifth and Seventh streets, giving bikers an alternate route if they wanted to avoid biking with cars downtown.
  • At Fifth Street, where there is more space along the road, the trail will become a dedicated bike lane.
  • The design had several safety features including raised crosswalks and "bike boxes," which help bikers make left turns by putting them ahead of traffic at intersections.
  • The biggest safety feature would be a new bridge over Md. 26 at Clemson Corner.
• Preliminary results of the National Family Biking survey are in. 
• NYC Bike sharing installation ruffles feathers 
  • “Yeah, he’s really pissed off,” says Escobar. “The docks block our access to the roof that we need access to for our AC unit. We don’t have access to the roof from the inside, so we have to use a ladder, which is now going to have to go over the docking stations.”
  • “My main concern is garbage,” says Kolesnyk. “With more people comes more garbage. But I am green-oriented, so at the same time I think the bikes are a big advantage for New York City.” 

Two cyclists injured this morning

NBC4 Reports

The first crash happened some time before 9 a.m. near the Polo Fields south of the National Mall, in the 1900 block of Ohio Drive SW.

The bicyclist in that crash flown to an area hospital with serious injuries. U.S. Park Police and D.C. Fire and EMS responded to the scene.

The second crash happened shortly before 9 a.m., when a bicyclist was struck in the southbound lanes of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near the exit for Route 197.

There is no word yet on that bicyclist's condition.

Both driver of the striking vehicles remained on the scene.

The BW Parkway is not a good place to ride (and it's illegal). But if you're trying to go north-south in that area, there aren't many good options. 

Update: NBC Adds - An earlier version of this story also referenced a collision between a bicyclist and a driver on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near the exit for Route 197.

However, when police arrived, they found neither the driver or the bicyclist. They then left the scene.

Tuesday Afternoon Commute - Regardless

Good afternoon

• Comparing CaBi to Velib. For one thing, Velib smokes a lot more. 
• And, remember when people complained about CaBi stations coming to their neighborhood, instead of complaining that they weren't. "In TriBeCa, a 25-bike kiosk was moved from Duane Park to the northeast corner of Duane and Greenwich streets after residents said it was a blight on the park. Now it’s drawing the ire of residents of Independence Plaza, who say Duane Street is too narrow for a hulking station." And “This area has a lot of congestion,” said Adam Malitz, a community-board member and plaza resident. “It’s not a good corner to put a lot of bikes."
• Fairfax finalizes its bike crash data. "Twelve crashes were a hit and run where a bicyclist was struck and the motorist fled the scene. None of these crashes involved the death of the bicyclist. In 43% of the crashes, the bicyclist was held at fault. [In 53% of the crashes, the motorist was held at fault." [Note: there actually was one fatality in the county in 2012]
• Shout it from the rooftops: Why it's OK for the government to favor bicycles/cyclists over cars/drivers - "Standing side by side with many state DOT heads, US DOT Secretary Ray La Hood and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced a new public safety campaign to encourage less driving, lower speeds, and encourage more cycling and walking to meet the nation’s transportation needs." Update: Sadly, this was an April Fool's Day post. 
• This article on dropping gasoline use in America is only tangentially related, but I found this surprising (emphasis mine) "the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) requires blending increasing volumes of ethanol into the U.S. gasoline supply, regardless of how much gasoline is needed...The 2013 requirement for 13.8 billion gallons is likely to go beyond the 10% threshold of what can be blended into gasoline and still be used in older vehicles without risking engine damage and voiding warranties." Could the ethanol requirement kill so many cars that it pushes more people to biking? Why does Congress keep using hard numbers instead of percentages or goals or inflation-adjusted values? Sigh...

Friday Morning Commute - GPS-tagged

Good morning.

• There's a must read article in the Hill Rag on bike theft. "The reports of stolen bikes fell marginally from 1835 in 2011 to 1797 in 2012. Arrests for bike theft increased from 65 in 2011 to 98 in 2012. Arrests for receiving stolen bikes, so-called ‘fencing,’ increased from 32 in 2011 to 36 in 2012....The US Attorney is not interested in prosecuting bicycle theft, stated one DC Council source. Very few of the cases that the MPD brings to them are pursued. As a result, the police are reluctant to waste time chasing bike thieves." It's a good read throughout. 
• Mystery Incorporated had new maps. One is of Arlington bike crash locations, which shows them clustered along Columbia Pike, Wilson, Fairfax, Washignton and Glebe; and causes "The action field for vehicle #2 is “No Improper Action” 83% of the time". The other shows bike sharing trips in Montreal. 
• An update on Maryland bike-relevant legislation. Top of the list is the transportation funding and spending bill. 

Thursday Morning Commute - Roy Scheider is the only Seaquester I care about

I hope you're all enjoying the last day of large, bloated government.

• ANC2b to take up a resolution supporting the “Bicycle Safety Amendment Act of 2013”
• Sadie Dingfelder of the City Paper was hit by a car while on (walking?) her bike. "A few days ago, an off-duty police officer ran a red light near Union Station and then changed his mind, backing his car over me and my bike while I was in a crosswalk. "
• How much flexibility will Richmond give NoVa in deciding how to spend the new transportation funds? "Will Richmond let Northern Virginia spend as much as it would like on mass transit, busways and bike lanes rather than pouring concrete? (The answer could depend on whether Ken Cuccinelli wins the governorship in November. A longtime transit skeptic, he opposed building Metro’s Silver Line to Dulles Airport.)...A tug of war also is likely between auto-friendly projects and those favoring rail transit, buses, bicycles and pedestrians. Arlington, in particular, has a long (and successful) history of promoting alternatives to cars. It hopes Richmond grants it lots of flexibility in parceling out money."
• (Warning: Ann Coulter link!) "I don't know why anyone needs to bicycle in a city." Only one reason: to trade your food stamps for weed with your illegal immigrant budies before an occupy wallstreet gay marriage. Or, I suppose, to go to work.

Cyclist in SW DC struck, critically injured

Few details have emerged

An adult male bicyclist was critically injured Monday morning when he was hit by a car on Maryland Avenue a block south of the National Mall in Southwest Washington, according to D.C. police.

Authorities had few details of the accident, which occurred about 6:15 a.m. in the 600 block of Maryland Avenue, between the L’Enfant Plaza Metro and the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum. It also is near the U.S. Department of Education.

Police said the motorist stayed at the scene, though investigators said it was too early to determine who was at fault. Police said the victim appeared to be in his 30s.

Police said the victim was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries.