TheWashCycle

Thursday Afternoon Commute - Walk-Friendly

Good afternoon

• The FHWA released data comparing some of the country's bike sharing systems. While DC was #1 in annual members, CaBi came in just behind Minneapolis in the number of stations and bikes (though I think it's #1 again now) and way behind Miami in casual members. And of course, more expansion is planned and underway "This week, for example, county officials are installing one new station at North Queen Street and Arlington Boulevard near Fort Myer and another at North Barton Street at 10th Street North near the courthouse. Those two stations were approved last year, although installation was delayed for legal reasons."
• DC has been named one of 10 Gold level Walk-Friendly communities by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center. "The designation goes to towns that promote walking and pedestrian safety through programs and policies." I don't think this is actually a cycling designation though. 
• MPD issues tickets to pedestrians and cyclists too. "D.C. police issued 500 tickets to pedestrians, and 3,000 tickets to bicyclists in 2011, Chief Cathy Lanier told WTOP on Thursday's "Ask the Chief.""
• SHA proposes modifications to Green Mile sidewalk along Wisconsin Avenue, that inlcudes narrowing it to 5 feet. This is to serve as a bike facility. 
• Montreal's Bixi is experimenting with a new pricing method for daily users. They get a key and are charged $5 (instead of $7) for each day they use it. Good for people who rarely use it, but don't want to deal with the kiosk - and they save $2 each time. Could be something we try here. 
• How DC area teams did in the National Bike Challenge
• State and federal funds will be used to create a corridor of hiking, biking and fishing areas more than 10 miles long from near Thurmont to north of Middletown in Maryland.
• Fairfax City, George Mason University and Fairfax County created the Mason-to-Metro Initiative, with recommendations to improve the bicycle and pedestrian sign system and map, and on-road bicycle facilities and trails. So, this fall, the city plans to install shared-use lane markings and signs on sections of Old Lee Highway. "Sharrows currently mark the bike lanes on George Mason Boulevard and University Drive between the university and Old Town Fairfax."
• Lots of pro cyclists are coming clean about their doping. 
• Puget Sound Wind Farm doubles as hiking and biking recreation area. "A bike ride among the bright-white towers seemed just the right pace at which to ponder their strange, mechanical beauty."
• I like the idea of this, but it will probably be too expensive and it would by like crack for NIMBY's - same as monorail. 

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - Grounds

It took four bike lockers, but I finally got one at my Metro station that wasn't broken. Problems were the hinge, the side panel and the lock. But the fourth one was just right - even if it was on the opposite side of the station from where I normally go. 

• Laura Sesana, a writer for the Washington Times (Yes. The Times) writes a glowing story about how biking changed her life for the better. It's pretty much the story that every bike advocate tries to tell of someone who hadn't been on a bike in years, but for whom bike infrastructure became an invitation to start biking for recreation and transportation. Her $380 bike has allowed her to cut her gasoline bill in half, gotten her into better shape and have more fun. 
• Mural Ride 2 is this Saturday. 
• "The Federal Highway Administration has awarded an $800,000 grant to install sidewalks to provide better access from neighborhoods to downtown Vienna. The sidewalks will connect neighborhood streets to Maple Avenue (Route 123)....“These improvements are of particular importance because Maple Avenue experiences severe congestion on a daily basis, and any pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements will be well-utilized and relieve congestion and auto pollution,” Connolly said." Are these sidewalks going to be 'bicycle infrastructure?
• A bike advocacy nonprofit in Portland writes about the steps it took to obtain the cultural competence necessary to reach out to people in a traditionally under-served community. 
• Why an initiative aimed at bike commuting succeeded and one aimed at coffee grounds composting failed. 

New bike/ped connection between 46th and NHB Ave

This is a newly installed switchback sidewalk between Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue and 43rd Street. You can see what it used to look like here. [Please, no comments on the amateurish photography. I can't crop it out without ruining what I'm trying to show you].

Thursday Afternoon Commute - How can you have a five-foot shoulder on a 55 mph highway and bring your grandchildren with you?

Good afternoon

• A cyclist was hit by a WMATA bus and the driver drove away. The cyclist tried to contact WMATA and were told that there was no way to find out which bus it was and WMATA did not take any responsibility.
• VDOT tries to reroute the Virginia Capitol Trail away from Route 5 to make it more appealing to recreational riders. The locals are not happy. "Concerns included safety and traffic control, loss of property to the trail, and the use of taxpayer money to redesign, build and maintain the trail."
• A student, riding his unicycle to school, was ticketed for riding a bike on the sidewalk. But he argued that a bike is defined as having two or more wheels. 
• Bicycling stamps are available today.

Bus Stop Placement

This is the top of the hill on Good Luck Road when riding from the Anacostia Trails. I bike on the sidewalk up this hill because there is never anyone on it, there are almost no crossings and the hill is steep with drivers who go fast. Just past the point you can see, is a driveway and I use that to get back in the road. Recently, they added this bus stop. but they put it right in the middle of the sidewalk. It only slows me down a little, but if I were using a wheelchair here, I'd be annoyed.

Use Sidewalk

The anti-sidewalk cycling people are not going to like this.

Photo by DDOTDC

Maryland Legislative Roundup

Last year this blog featured about a dozen detailed posts on Maryland House Bill 363, which created a new crime of negligent vehicular homicide.  Cyclists, AAA, victims families, and the elected states attorneys all supported that bill for several years before it became law; and WABA did the leg work to ensure that those living in the district of the key Senate Committee Chairman contacted their legislator.

This year we've had fewer posts about legislation in Maryland, but activists are pushing a number of bills.  Below is a summary of the four most significant initiatives.  I'll warn you at the outset that I have a less favorable view on these bills than most of the activists, not because I disagree with the objectives but because I think several need work to strengthen their positive features and remove their negative features.  Be that as it may, if all of those bills pass, here is the result:

• There will no longer be a potential jail term for those who unintentionally kill someone due to driving that constitutes a substantial deviation from the duty of care, unless the driver is drunk, speeding by 30 mph, passing a school bus, or crossing the double yellow line.  SB 942 largely repeals HB 363 which we worked hard to enact last year.  I hope to prepare a more detailed post.  The proponents (several states attorneys) actually want stronger legislation, but they think that H.B. 363 was watered down too much last year.  They prefer to start over by repealing the bill enacted last year and then identifying a few crimes that would be negligent homicide.  (Cycling organizations, AAA, and victims families oppose this bill.)
• Police will be able to ticket people talking on a hand-held cell phone.  HB 104  (SB 217) makes using a hand-held mobile phone a primary offense, which allows police to  stop and cite offenders for that reason alone. This bill repeals provisions of law that require enforcement as a secondary offense of specified violations involving the use of a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle, and also applies whether or not the car is moving.
• Drivers will be allowed to cross the double yellow line to pass a bicyclist, as long as the passing distance is not greater than 3 feet  (HB. 1397).  I personally do not like this bill.
  • I think that if we are going to legalize something alot of motorists do, we should also legalize something alot of cyclists do (e.g. rolling through a stop sign). 
  • It seems to repeal the cyclist's right to take the lane by riding in the center of the lane, since it lets a driver squeeze alongside the cyclist at a distance of three feet; I'm not sure whether an R4-11 sign would restore that right.  A previous post by WABA had recommended allowing drivers to cross the double yellow lines, if they leave a much larger passing distance (e.g. change lanes to pass).  The differing perspectives by cyclists were not synthesized to create a bill that resolves all the outstanding issues.  
  • The bill also allows drivers preparing to make a left turn to cross the double yellow line and salmon in the oncoming lane for a few hundred feet. 
• Cyclists will be able to ride on all sidewalks except where the local government has specifically prohibited it.   I think H.B 946 needs to be revised because as written, it will create an unneeded administrative burden on jurisdictions that have decided not to legalize cycling without specifically prohibiting it (since it was already prohibited).  In Prince Georges County, DPW&T has authority and intends to work with cyclists to administratively legalize riding where it is safe.  If “prohibited” was changed to “prohibited or regulated” then that problem would be solved and I would support the bill. 

Advocates are working on two other changes worth noting, but I think that they may be too late to get a bill introduced this year. 

• John Wetmore, who produces “Perils for Pedestrians” is working with Senator Frosh (D-Bethesda) on making utility easements more available for trails.  Maryland already has a statute that relieves some owners of trails from liability, and that law could certainly be extended to utilities.  But I doubt that would be sufficient to make Pepco or BG&E enthusiastic about trails.  I personally think that to be effective, the law would have to give the utilities substantial financial incentives such as, for example,  reducing the assessment of utility real estate by an amount equal to what such an easement would otherwise cost to buy.  I think it would also be possible to require public access on all new utility easements that are acquired without running afoul of the takings clause.  But for existing utility easements, compensation would be required.
• The key advocates for MoBike are looking for a sponsor of a bill to require MDTA to allow bikes to ride on the shoulders of the Intercounty Connector.

 (Jim Titus is on WABA's Board of Directors and represents Prince Georges County of the Maryland Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (MBPAC).  He tends to wait 4-8 hours after a post is uploaded before replying to comments.   The opinions expressed here are Jim's alone and do not represent the views of either WABA or MBPAC.)

 

Bill in Maryland would make sidewalk cycling legal as the default

A bill introduced in Maryland last week would make sidewalk cycling legal everywhere except where explicitly banned by law. Currently it is illegal unless explicitly allowed - as is true in Montgomery County. I think this is a much better approach since, on average, I think cyclists are better off with the option. In most cases cyclists will choose the road, but there are a few places where sidewalks might be preferred (I get on the sidewalk to go up two foreboding hills on my commute every day) and it would be hard to determine and legislate each of those one by one.

I know some cyclists are opposed to sidewalk cycling at all times, but I'm not among them.

One of the sponsors of the bill, Aruna Miller, is a Montgomery County planning and traffic engineer, so it's nice to have someone pushing the bill who can speak with some authority.

Thursday Morning Commute - Close call

Good morning.

• Cyclist in near collision with bus. (only newsworthy because of the video)
• A griper complains about cyclists riding too fast on the sidewalk, in a place where sidewalk cycling is legal. I'm sympathetic, but making sidewalk cycling illegal is not going to solve their problem. Cracking down on bad sidewalk cycling will. The equivalent would be me saying that a car was driving too fast on the road the other day endangering me and other cyclists and so cars should be banned from roads. 
• As mentioned yesterday, CaBi released individual trip data and people are already doing interesting stuff with it. Like studying very long trips. Or determining that the average ride goes downhill by about 2 meters, that the most popular rides are last mile rides ("The four most common one-way trips are Adams Mill/Columbia to Calvert/Woodley and back as well as Eastern Market Metro to Lincoln Park and back.") and that tourists use it like crazy and pay fees to do so. And the data release coincides with the release of a report “Capital Bikeshare Study: A Closer Look at Casual Users and Operations" led by frequent bike researcher Ralph Buehler. "The report also included several suggestions to improve the system, including improving technological approaches to redistributing bicycles, expanding repair facilities as the system grows, and providing maps and increasing the visibility of stations." I have not read the study yet. 
• The Silver Spring Transit Center will open late - which you knew, but the bike station across the street won't open until after the center. 
• The Three Notch Trail is back on track. Why was it held up? "Commissioner Dan Morris (R) brought up issues with the Mechanicsville section of the trail last month. In addition to concerns from residents there, “Immaculate Conception is my church,” he said, and sits along the county’s right of way for the Three Notch Trail. The church has a wooden walkway over the county’s right of way."
• The off-duty police officer who was harrased as she rode her bike home from work had her day in court. The driver was sentenced to 3 years in jail for an assortment of charges, though only one of them for assault - and that one because she's an officer. 

Thursday Morning Commute - 3000% increase

Good morning

• What's the best way to see the Marine Corps Marathon? By Capital Bikeshare of course.
• Speaking of CaBi, official September 2011 numbers are out. As mentioned earlier ridership was again down from the mid-summer highs. It's about 11% lower in September than June. All the other indicators are down a little too - probably due to weather and reduced tourism as previously discussed. Trips per bike per day was down to 4.8 - which isn't much off the peak of 5.1. On the up side, ridership in September 2011 was more than 3000% larger than in Sept 2010 (I know it was only open a few days that month, but it's still a fun number). There have been 1.05 million rides so far and only one serious reported injury.
• More than half of the speakers at the Virginia Transportation Plan public hearing expressed interest in better bicycle, pedestrian, and transit solutions. But others came to support the outer Beltway. 
• Not sure this guy knows what walkable means. If there are a lot of pedestrians - it's probably walkable. And sidewalk cycling in legal in Takoma Park. 
• The Boeing deal in Arlington may clear the way for phase II of the Long Bridge Park, which may include a new connection to the Mount Vernon Trail. Maybe. Phase I is coming along nicely and will open soon.