TheWashCycle

WAGBRAD - Enhanced Version

Vaughn Edelson is organizing a WAGBRAD-like bike ride around the original DC boundary on Sunday May 12th. 

Meet at the Capitol Heights metro at 9:30am - we'll do the SE, SW, NW, and NE borders in that order. Feel free to join for 1, 2, 3, or all 4 sides. If you do it all, expect a solid day (~45 miles) of riding - it's an urban ride, stopping for lights (and stopping to check out the stones!), so it'll take longer than your normal weekend jaunt.

And where do you go after such a journey

Boundary Stone Public House in Bloomingdale has agreed to sponsor this excursion; what that entails is TBD, but I will definitely be headed to the bar when the ride is over!

More here. 

Friday Afternoon Commute - chopsticks

Good afternoon

• The original K Street Transitway included 5 foot bike lanes on each side. The new one does not
• PG County Trolley Trail update "A $226 million mixed use development complex in Riverdale Park is moving ahead with the permit application process, despite the status of a key approval condition still up in the air." Since the whole project is being held up by an additional road connection, there is probably something in there one could say about car culture and subsidies. 
• Bike some of the Boundary Stones - this is not WAGBRAD. 
• Other NPS bicycle related projects I just found
  • US Park Police Bicycle Storage shed
  • NPS Pedicab operation requirements.
• My latest Green Lane Project post - on Sustainable DC. 
• CaBi in Del Ray. And more on CaBi's record-breaking day this week
  • only 2,140 rides, or about 22 percent, were by people who purchased one- or three-day memberships.
  • Dockblocking wasn't much of an issue. Bikeshare stations were full for just 6.46 percent of the time and completely empty 7.74 percent of the time.
  • Peak ridership came at 6:02 p.m., right in the middle of evening rush hour, when 502 people were on Bikeshare
• A not-too-serious proposal to tax bikes in Maryland. 
• Ray LaHood on respecting cyclists (are you listening US Attorney's Office?) 

•  
  • “If someone is not respectful of cyclists, there’s a penalty,” he said. “That’s it in a nutshell.”
  • "We need to develop zero tolerance for people who don’t respect cyclists,” Secretary Ray LaHood said yesterday at the first of two national bike safety summits hosted by U.S. DOT this month. “That’s the campaign we’re kicking off today.”
  • Also  “When you build a road, build a bike lane. When you’re fixing up your street, build in a bike lane. Do that, and we’ll be supportive of that at the national level.”
• The World Health Organization is increasingly recognizing mass transport and urban design as traffic safety solutions. " Mayor Bloomberg, who spoke at the launch of this year’s report, cited sustainable transport solutions, such as advanced bus systems, increased pedestrian space, and protected bike lanes, as proven examples of “what works”."
• Pedestrians and cyclists just don't mix. 

Wednesday Morning Commute - revenue actually goes up

Good morning

• According to police, a cyclist in SE DC was pulled over at 3am for holding an open container. He pulled a gun and began firing and the officer "returned fire with his 9mm Glock, police said. Sweptson was struck several times in the upper body and pronounced dead on the scene; the officer was not hit. Police said a .380 semiautomatic handgun was recovered at the scene."
• DC Bike Party Cherry Blossom Chase. 
• Heated bike handles. "The design uses a small generator to capture energy from the bicycle's forward motion and generate electricity, which is then transmitted to a heating element embedded in a grip that goes on the handle bars. They are designed to work for a variety of bikes."
• This article, about the controversy surrounding a cycletrack and how it will remove parking, could be about DC, but it isn't. "Others said businesses may even have to close if parking on the busy thoroughfare is taken away."

Tuesday Morning Commute - Abaya

I saw Argo this week, it doesn't give anything away to tell you that there is a small bicycle element to the story. According to the Wired article the movie is based on, that is at least somewhat true. 

• DDOT and MPD have a new safety campaign called "Toward Zero Deaths." The goal is admirable, but the bike and ped section is a little thin on substance. And one of the items "The fine for drivers who fail to stop and give right of way to pedestrians in crosswalks is $250 and 3 points" is already out of date. Starting yesterday, that fine dropped to $75. I'm actually OK with dropping fines where enforcement goes up - for example, when more speed cameras are installed - because, if the criminal cost of speeding=risk of getting caught*the cost of getting caught, then the cost of speeding probably goes up nonetheless. But this I don't understand.  
• New ART bridge should open this Spring. 
• The Alexandria Department of Transportation and Environmental Services is having a meeting to discuss a redesign of the intersection of Seminary Road and North Quaker Lane. More here.
• A driver has been charged with failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian within a crosswalk in Loudoun County after the driver hit a 10-year-old on a bike. 
• The comments on this GGW April Fool's post about mandatory motoring helmets are pretty great since several people don't seem to get it. But one person notes that driving with a helmet might actually be illegal. 
• "The organizers of the TD Five Boro Bike Tour filed a lawsuit Monday against New York City after being told to reimburse police for more than $900,000 in traffic-control costs that will be incurred along the 40-mile route."
• The war on historic cobblestone roads. "The Transportation Department has pledged to save as many of the old cobblestones as possible. Some have been retained, but turned 90 degrees to create makeshift bike lanes, pointing in the direction of traffic flow — a visually striking intervention that the city “just made up,” Ms. Gallo mused, to promote cycling."
• US DOT Bike Safety Summits will be in Minneapolis and Tampa. 
• Saudi women can now ride a bike in public, but they must be accompanied by a male relative and dressed in the full Islamic head-to-toe abaya. 

Thursday Morning Commute - Opportunity

Richard Perle on the 10th Anniversary of the Iraq War "You can't a decade later go back and say we shouldn't have done that." Oddly, the same thing Bill Clinton has been telling his wife for years.

• Drive to Work Week!
• 2013 Vasa Ride in photos. I feel the need, the need for Swede. 
• Upcoming Baltimore bike events. 
• Lojack for your bike. 
• Not sure if the Silver Spring Transit Center issues will effect the Met Branch trail there or not. 
• Bike commuting can help you lose weight in ways that car commuting can not. Science!
• Not bike related, but crazy cool. 

Saturday Morning Ride - Bibliotheques

Good morning

• 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. 
• How to bike to the Wiehle Avenue Metro Station. The station has a bike parking room with space for 240 bikes (and there is more parking outside). 
• 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

Friday Afternoon Commute - Sign of Civilization

Is everyone excited about the new Nicole Kidman movie about tandem cycling?

• DCist digs into the BikeDC cancellation. "Bauman says he was stymied for months by Mayor Vince Gray's Special Events Task Group and the National Park Service. Bauman says he submitted his request to for a permit to the special events group last November, but did not get an appointment until January, and it wasn't until a few weeks after that when he was told to jump through more hoops involving the Metropolitan Police Department's special operations division, which handles security needs for events around the city....Bauman says he was told that Bike DC could not close certain segments of the Spout Run Parkway and U.S. Route 50 at the same time."
• Cafritz Property at Riverdale Park officially re-submitted their plan to develop the land that straddles the future PG County Trolley Trail. 
• "Three members of the Arlington County police force will participate in the annual “Rode to Hope” Law Enforcement United bicycle trek, which will run 250 miles from Chesapeake to the District of Columbia over a three-day period in May."
• This story about Taylor Phinney reminds me of the greatest Canadian Sports Film You've Never Heard Of a.k.a. "Running"
• WABA on the BSAA 2013 hearing.
• I guess I have to accept that the "SmartBike failed" interpretation of history is going to prevail, much like Jackson's concept of the "corrupt bargain" has. (My thoughts here)
• "Bike lanes and pedestrian activity is a sign of civilization."
• A photo essay on DC bicycling.
• Bike Maryland asks Maryland voters to support more transportation funding. 
• Sally Jenkins on Lance Armstrong "All I'm trying to say is, I think there is a level of outrage at Lance that is simply out of proportion to the offense, in my joking way. I've heard him compared to wife beaters and child molesters, and it's absurd."
• Below is a map of Maryland bike crashes from this presentation about bicycle and pedestrian safety in PG County. ("Data from Baltimore City contain records of crashes but not locations; accordingly, those crashes do not appear in the maps below" WC: Well then, that's something we should fix.) Some of the recommendations are: 
  • "In conjunction with M-NCPPC, SHA, and bicycle advocacy groups, develop a list of roads that are available immediately for restriping for bike lanes."
  • Create a Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Advisory Group within County government
  • MHSO and DPWT should share data on the locations of pedestrian and bicycle incidents
  • DPWT should work with PGPD to develop a “checklist” of engineering and situational deficiencies that officers use during their investigations of crash sites, which can then be shared with the Traffic Safety Division. DPWT should then eliminate the collision audit program and use the recommendation from PGPD to develop work orders for pedestrian and bicycle improvements

Big Stinky Hill Climb Challenge Rescheduled

Not because of permit issues, but rather weather and metro closures. Now scheduled for 4/13

Regrettably, tomorrow's forecast shows a high chance of rain. As well, the Metro will be closed at Brookland and surrounding stops. 

A major goal of the Big Stinky Challenge is to take footage at the event and create a video to serve as a way to spread awareness about the stalled progress in completing the trail. For the above reasons, we don't expect we will have a great turnout and, ultimately, we will not be able to shoot a video that will best highlight the issue. As such, we have decided to reschedule this event for Saturday, April 13th. We hope you will be able to attend on this new date! We are sorry for the change of plans! 

As well, we are planning a meeting of The Assembly for the evening of April 3rd. Please keep this in mind as there will be a chance to pitch in and help further organize the Big Stinky Hill Climb Challenge at this event.

BikeDC is victim of Permit Fatigue

Update: It's official

Some people are getting emails letting them know that BikeDC is cancelled for this year. 

Unfortunately Bike DC will not be held this year.  The restrictions and road blocks to getting permits being imposed by the National Park Service and some DC agencies have made it impracticable to continue.

There simple is not enough time to resolve all the extant issues and still produce a successful event.

Their website still shows a May 12th date, but warns

we are having a very difficult time getting permits for Bike DC from both the National Park Service and Washington, DC.  As soon as the issue relating to our permits are resolved, we will post information here about this year's ride.

So it looks like that was all just too difficult. It's a little ridiculous when the regulatory burden for something like this becomes so large that it kills it. 

Clando BikeDC anyone?

Thursday Morning Commute - Leaving on a jet plane

Good morning

• A good point I failed to make about the Hurt article. 
• Dr. Gridlock suggests wider trails as a way to dial down conflicts between peds and cyclists. 
• "After spending four days riding almost 400 miles from Newtown, Conn., the cyclists of Team 26 pedaled down Constitution Avenue through the rain Tuesday with a police escort leading them to the Capitol."
• DuPont Circle Bike groper being deported. 
• "To grasp the enormity of London’s $1.4 billion bicycle investment, Janette Sadik-Khan, the sitting Commissioner of New York’s Department of Transportation (DOT) has a budget of roughly $2 billion at her disposal… that’s her entire transportation budget."
• Heritage Foundation hates diverting "highway" funding to other transportation: "The current surface transportation law, called Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), did eliminate some TAs, such as transportation museums and acquisition of scenic or historic sites and easements, from the list of previously eligible activities, but lawmakers should go further. They should eliminate the eligibility of these programs [including bike projects] for federal funding and turn them over to the states and localities." But they love the idea of diverting other tax money to highways. [ And while it's true that $27.3 billion is technically diverted to transit, TA, etc... $18.8 billion of the trust money came from general tax funds (and not user fees); so really only $8.5 billion is being diverted from users.]