Who's parking in the L Street Cycle-track? Mostly delivery vehicles. Other than enforcement how can we get them to park elsewhere? "the city could convert existing metered parking along L Street to loading-only lanes, giving delivery drivers more legal options to park."
"One person spoke at a public hearing Wednesday on the CIP. Jonathan Krall with the Alexandria Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee asked for bicycle and pedestrian facilities to be included in the plan."
And more from Jonathan Krall "The last thing we should do is build new housing next to two multilane roadways with no evidence of transit options and wide streets that favor cars over pedestrians. Yet, that is exactly what we are doing in Potomac Yard, where all bike lanes end on the Arlington side of the border....We could fix this situation quickly and at very little cost by narrowing or reducing traffic lanes on Potomac and Main Line avenues and adding bicycle lanes. Further, we could add a bicycle parking facility or bike station to the bus rapid transit line that is under construction....I was astounded to learn from city staff that the bus rapid transit line will have no bicycle parking at all."
The Ride of Silence is scheduled for May 15th at 7 p.m. DC's ride is reportedly leaving from Hains Point, but I don't have any more information about it at this point.
Arlington's 6th annual Tour de Bibliotheques is scheduled for April 13 @9:45. This is a fun little ride that visits 7 of the county's 8 public libraries.
Beginning next week, members of B-Cycle (the major competitor to Bixi which provides bikes to Capital Bikeshare) will be able to use B-Cycle bikes in any of 15 American cities at no extra charge. Recipricosity is a big improvement for bike-sharing, one that makes it more valuable via the network effect. This will make B-Cycle a more appealing choice for other cities, and put pressure on Bixi-systems to match. Meanwhile, Denver's system is expanding with the help of a $650,000 Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation, Community, and System Preservation Program grant - which aims to make U.S. transportation systems more efficient while reducing their environmental impact
Today might be your last, best chance to see the Pan Stars comet with the naked eye. Around 7:40 pm in the western sky.
Tomorrow, cyclists riding from Newtown, CT to ask for comprehensive gun control legislation will stop at Proteus Bikes where they hope other like-minded people will join them for the last few miles into DC.
The 11th Street Bridge's 16-foot wide sidewalk should open in late May or early June. "Walkers and bikers will have access to several scenic overlooks under construction in the middle of the span." As a statement to the sad shape of the old bridge, even the temporary set-up they're using now is better than the old facility.
Two new bikeshare locations have been approved in Georgetown. "
One station will be located next to the CVS on O Street NW at Wisconsin Avenue and the second will be located on what is currently an empty lot where 34th Street intersects with Water Street, NW
"
During the bike summit, bicycle industry leaders toured DC's protected bike lanes.
Lots of MSM coverage of the 26% increase in reported bike crashes in Fairfax County in 2012. "According to the records of the 15 accidents involving bikes in January and February of 2012, bicyclists were determined to be at fault in seven of them. Of those seven incidents, only one biker was given a citation. The offense was riding on the wrong side of the road." I suspect the uptick is, in part, the results of better reporting.
Conservatives and liberals agree - taxing bicycles for GHG emissions is stupid.
San Francisco is going to try another round of bikes on BART, allowing bikes in all stations and on trains at all hours on every Friday. "We heard from countless bike riders on both sides of the Bay that the August pilot opened up regional commuting by bike for both experienced bike riders and those wanting to give it a try for the first time,”
Alexandria City Manager Rashad Young has proposed a FY 2014 budget that includes $600,000 for Capital Bikeshare expansion in 2014 and another $1,395,000 worth of expansion planned through 2022.
In 2013,
work to identify station locations beyond the initial eight stations will be
completed. The program will expand to Carlyle and Del Ray over the next several
years through a combination of funding sources include CMAQ/RSTP
funding, private (development) capital contributions, and
Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) funding.
$500,000 for an update to the 2008 Bicycle Master Plan
$0 for the Wilkes Street Bikeway, because no more local funding is needed. The project should go out to bid this year
$1,317,602 for the Holmes Run Bike Trail upgrade, with work to begin in mid to late 2014.
$500,000 in 2015 for a study of the feasibility of building a tunnel connection under the
freight rail tracks from the Braddock Road station itself as
recommended in the Braddock Metro Neighborhood Plan. Completion
of the tunnel would provide a new station entry from the west,
minimizing the distance pedestrians must walk to access the station
from the west. Currently, pedestrians must walk south to the Braddock
Road underpass to reach the station. In addition, the plan
recommends studying a potential future pedestrian-bike connection
and a potential walking route connection to the northern gateway
$3,500,000 over the next four years for the Old Cameron Run Trail. This project will construct a shared-use path between Eisenhower
Avenue near Telegraph Road to on-oad bicycle facilities that link to the
Mt. Vernon Trail, addressing a major gap in the city’s proposed “Green
Crescent‟ trail system and ultimately providing a key link in the bicycle
and pedestrian multimodal transportation system.
$3,200,00 for FY 2017-18 for a shared-use path along
Backlick Run from Boothe Park west to the Fairfax County line. Once
complete, the trail will help better connect the far west side of the City
with the Mount Vernon Trail, and the existing trail network in the Ben
Brennan Park and Eisenhower Valley.
$1,000,000 for the construction of safety improvements at the Mt Vernon Avenue/Russell Road Intersection in 2015-16.
$500,000 in FY 2023 for design and engineering funding for
the construction of a multimodal bridge from the Van Dorn Metro
Station to Pickett Street.
$275,000 in FY 2014 for Safe Routes to Schools.
$7,870,000 for complete streets over the next 10 years.
$180,000 a year for shared-use path improvements and $10,000 a year for trail maintenance.
$350,000 spread over 3 out-years for bicycle parking at the city's Metrorail and transit stations.
$450,000 this year to construct safety improvements on the Mount Vernon
Trail where trail width and conflicts with vehicles make non-motorized
travel unsafe.
Preliminary engineering for this project began in 2011. A property
survey has been completed, and the next step will be to move the
project to the 30% design phase. Right-of-ways may be needed and
the plans for the Gen-On property may affect the project. Construction
is not expected to begin until at least FY 2015.
NBC4 plays up the driver-cyclist conflict when talking about the "fallout" of the new safety bill, but really there doesn't seem to be any "fallout". No one really seems oppossed to it. Video below the bump.
There's an uncomfortable set of incentives to on the one hand tell people that biking is safe (so that new people will give it a try) while also telling people it isn't (so that they'll give more money to safety). I suspect that despite the rise in bicycle deaths last year - which may just be noise in the data - biking in America is safer than it's ever been in my lifetime. Nonetheless, America Bikes references last year's uptick in their letter to Secretary LaHood asking that performance measures for states include non-motorized transportation. "In 2011, motor vehicle crash
fatalities were at a 60-year low in real numbers, and a historic low in the fatality rate per vehicle
miles traveled. Unfortunately, bicycle and pedestrian fatalities are on the rise—both in actual
numbers and percentage of overall fatalities. In 2011, a total of 5,109 individuals were killed
while walking or bicycling, an increase of 11.7 percent from 2010. As a share of overall
fatalities, bicycling and walking fatalities increased a full percentage point, now making up 15.8
percent of all traffic fatalities."
I have an idea for a phone app. A Ben and Jerry's tracker. It would keep track of which flavors you've tried, how you ranked them (Sugar Snap Peas and Orange Juice -> 0 stars), when you last had them ("What? Five years without Heath Toffee Crunch. That must be corrected.) etc...To assist in grocery store aisle decision making. In return for this idea, I ask only for a free pint.
Cyclist in aggressive driving case involvingg a driver who allegedly hit a cyclist intentionally, failed to show up to court. Again. "Without any witnesses for the prosecution, there won't be much of a
case. The lesson here is that if you're going to seek charges against a
motorist, you've got to follow through and be willing to appear in court"
"The Park Authority has published a preliminary set of plans for the
building of the new Pohick Stream Valley - Liberty Bell Trail,
projected for completion in 2014-15. This trail is designed to connect
to the new Burke VRE trail that runs from Burke VRE station along Pohick
Stream to Coffer Woods at Burke Lake Road." Public comments are due Jan 14th.
"The Department of Transportation is proposing new regulations that would
require hybrid and electric cars to make more noise when their engines
are running...NHTSA said the minimum sound requirements would prevent 2,800 pedestrian and bicycle injuries each year"
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