TheWashCycle

Friday Morning Commute - % on sidewalks

Good morning

• MV Jantzen has another map of biking in DC. This time using bicycle count data. Be sure to play with the picklist on the bottom to see how things differ when you look at helmet use or CaBi use. For example, the statistics tell you that 27% of cyclists counted were on sidewalks, but when you choose "% on sidewalk" you see that almost all the dark red ones are on bridges. Helmet use really goes down east of the river, perhaps lending support to the idea that helmet laws especially hurt the poor.
• Gotta listen to the boss. 
• On Feb 13, the Rockville Planning Commission discussed the final draft of Rockville’s Pike Plan and a set of associated zoning requirements for the area along Rockville Pike from just south of Town Center to the city’s southern border. "The draft plan calls for a boulevard design on Md. 355 with more side streets, low-speed access roads and pedestrian crossings. It also seeks to bring new buildings closer to sidewalks and to break up the area into smaller, more walkable blocks...The new Pike Plan was prompted by concerns about traffic, accommodations for pedestrians and bicyclists, and development interest near the Twinbrook Metro station, which opened in 1984, according to the draft plan."

Friday Afternoon Commute - Bats

Good afternoon. I find myself annoyed by terms like "finding a plan both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue can agree on". Why does anyone need Green Landing Nursery and the Georgetown Wachovia to agree to anything?

• Austin, TX tries to make a better bike map. 

Friday Morning Commute - PAL

Good morning

• Take the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan Survey. 
• Alexandria has a new bike map. 
• Arlington is asking people to commit to sharing the road with a program targeted at cyclists and pedestrians telling them to be Predictable, Alert and Lawful. 
• Scofflaw driver, on his way to talk to God, yells "F*** You" at innocent police officer. I'm sure God approved. 
• Meanwhile, red light cameras actually do reduce red light running.
• WABA unveils it's Women and Bicycles logo
• PG County presents the Southern Green Line Station Area Plan. "The site most likely to see revitalization in the short term is near the Naylor Road station, Gore said, where State Highway Administration officials appear ready to move forward with a “streetscape” plan to improve pedestrian and bicycle access. "
• Assault/abduction on the W&OD trail.

Wednesday Morning Commute - Not Fearing the Turtle

Good morning

• "WABA will not be providing a staffed bike valet this year, as we have done in the past. The 2008[sic] valet was enabled by significant sponsor support and donations of bike racks and equipment that are not available to us this year without substantial cost."
• Bicycle Action Day in Richmond to lobby the state legislature is January 29.
• One person's rides mapped out over four years (it includes a couple of WAGBRADs even)
• As another defenseless road user, I find this a little disturbing "Weaver put a realistic rubber turtle in the middle of a lane on a busy road near campus. Then he got out of the way and watched over the next hour as seven drivers swerved and deliberately ran over the animal. Several more apparently tried to hit it but missed."
• Lance Armstrong will sit down with Oprah for 90 minutes. So, I'm betting this is the confession.

Friday Morning Commute - New, but Old

Good morning. I was down at Canal Park for the first time in a few weeks. They recently added bike parking and I'm not kidding when I say that there is probably parking for 120 bikes at bike racks there. It sounds crazy to say this, but it actually might be too much bike parking. I can't imagine when it would all be used. Still, a nice problem to have.

• New bike parking in Adams Morgan.
• Once again, Metro will be banning bikes on Metrorail all of Inauguration weekend. 
• State and local efforts to improve cycling in Maryland are paying off. "At the state level, transportation and parks officials have recruited volunteer and community groups to enhance off-road trails and create new ones. Maps and online services are being upgraded to supply more real-time information to mobile devices. 'We're getting close to producing a map of every single trail in Maryland,' said Steve Carr, a planner for the Department of Natural Resources." But communities remain underserved. And "the 20-mile Western Maryland Rail Trail will be extended another 4.7 miles from Pearre in Washington County to Little Orleans."
• The 16^th Annual Bicycle Symposium, hosted by Bike Maryland, has been scheduled for Feb. 27 in Annapolis.
• Virginia Bill would make it illegal to open a door on the traffic side of a car unless it is safe to do so. If Del. Barbara Comstock is your delegate, ask her to not stand in the way of crucial bike safety legislation. 
• Ask VDOT to to ensure that safe bicycling accommodations are included in the widening of Route 1 through Fort Belvoir. We won't get a second bite at this apple in our lifetimes.
• The Old Bike Shop in Arlington has opened. So it's actually new.
• South African Olympic cyclist Burry Stander was killed while training Thursday when his bike collided with a taxi.
• "They'll drive their car home, and they'll wash the blood off, cover the car up and act like nothing happened," says Laurino. "It's incredible the lack of conscience some people have."
• "Mayor A. C. Wharton Jr., elected in 2009, assumed office a year after Bicycling magazine named Memphis one of the worst cities in America for cyclists, not the first time the city had received such a biking dishonor. But Mr. Wharton spied an opportunity."

Wednesday Evening Ride - Get out the map

If I miss something, feel free to add it in the comments for others

• Alexandria Parks opportunity: "Beginning in October 2012, The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities is undertaking a nine-month public outreach process to inform Management Framework Plans for the City’s large multi-use Parks. The Citywide Parks include: Four Mile Run Park, Simpson Stadium Park, Chinquapin Park, Henlsey Park, Holmes Run Park, and Ben Brenman/Boothe Parks. The goal of this effort is to study and understand the existing conditions and future needs for each of the Parks."
• There are new "Bicycling in Virginia" bike maps. But it lacks necessary details. 
• A debate about gas taxes, roads and bikes in the papers of Pittsburgh. I'm not sure this stat is accurate though "cars additionally impose an estimated 6.5 cents per mile of road wear [per mile]." That seems high.

Thursday Afternoon Commute - Acceptance

Good afternoon

• New Hampshire Ave NW to get bike lanes between Washington and Dupont Circles. Also the road will become two-way, which should also help cyclists. Project will wrap in about 18 months. 
• Meanwhile, Arlington installed a green-painted bike lane yesterday at Military Road and Nelly Custis Drive. It's the first green-painted bike lane of any length in the area (there is small strip of test paint on a bike lane in SE). There is also a blue painted lane at Military and Nellie Curtis.
• The new Tri360 triathlon store is big, has a bike shop and will organize bike rides.
• Ride with BicycleSpace this Friday and you could win a free Linus Bike. 
• CaBi, now at King Street Metro. Plus, 2nd quarter trip data is now available for download - just in time for Grandparents Day!
• More on Loudoun's Reston Century behavior. 
• The Herndon Town Council approved bicycle facilities for inclusion in the Fairfax County Bicycle Plan by a five to two vote at their Aug. 14 meeting.
• Google is bringing expanded mobile biking directions and navigation to its Maps for Android application, adding turn-by-turn voice guidance as well as new mapping data spanning 10 additional international markets.
• Businesses in Seattle are effectively opposing efforts to close a gap in the Burke-Gillman Trail. 

 

Photo by BeyondDC

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - Spinning

Good morning

• Braddock Road Metro CaBi Station installation. 
• BeyondDC tries to simplify the DC bike map. I would have included the Bluemont Junction Trail 
• An 8 year-old boy riding his bike was hit by an SUV and dragged for 50 feet. "Police say the boy will be okay because he was wearing his helmet." "Police say the boy was riding his bike near Old Mount Vernon Highway and Surrey Road about 6 p.m. Tuesday when the accident occurred. Authorities say the boy rode his bike into the street and the driver of the SUV was unable to avoid him....the driver stayed at the scene and has not been charged." I'm gald he was wearing a helmet, but clearly he's not "OK" since he was airlifted to a hospital, and they have no way of knowing what would've happened without a helmet. 
• Bikes are good for cross-training. 
• Another PR review.

New Metro In-Station Maps now include bike routes

You can see the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail in Red (and sometimes blue?) on this map. Although it also has Yards Park in the wrong place.  This is from the Potomac Avenue Station, with the black dotted arc the distance away from there.

Monday Morning Commute - Cardboard

Good morning.

• WaPo on BikePlanner. "There is a limit to what a map can provide. Only someone who travels through an area knows about a particularly steep hill or an endlessly congested spot. That’s where the hive mind comes in. BikePlanner relies on OpenStreetMap, an open-source service that is basically a map version of Wikipedia. Maps can be edited, and users will be able to draw on the collective experience of Washington bicycle riders to plan routes."
• Game theory and track cycling. It's OK to go slow - or even stop. Sometimes it's good to intentionally crash. But never, ever, ever half-ass badmitton.
• The New York Times new transportation reporter didn't know how to ride a bike, so he started taking classes. "According to a federal survey conducted in 2002, 3 percent of Americans 16 or older who did not use bicycles said they abstained because they did not know how to ride." WABA has similar classes, in case someone ever asks. 
• A bicycle made out of cardboard. Maybe someone will make one to compete in next year's bike fest. It reminds me of this (even though on rewatching it, I realize the box is not made of cardboard).