TheWashCycle

10th Annual Maryland Bike/Ped Symposium

The 10th Annual Maryland Bike/Ped Symposium was held on Feb 10th and CPABC has a long write up about it. Some of the highlights..

Doug Simmons, Assistant Administrator of SHA, talked about the new Maryland Bike Map and the mark-up copy that Harvey Muller had brought along to display and asked for comments.  Doug reconfirmed SHA's commitment to make all new roads and reconstructed roads Bike/Ped/ADA compliant. He stated how important it was that STATE LAW was changed by the advocacy groups to allow state highways funds be used in non-motorized travel. Doug’s talk was most refreshing as he talked about mass transportation, connecting Bike Route/Trails to stations/schools/workcenters, Safe Route to Schools and using SAFETEA-LU Funds to make Md. more Bike/Ped Friendly. He introduced Felicia Baker, the new Bike/Ped person at SHA District 3, which handles all of Prince George's and Montgomery Counties. So far District 3 is the only SHA district with a Bike/Ped person on board. We are hoping that all seven SHA districts will get a Bike/Ped person to assist Harvey Muller. Doug Simmons stayed on for over an hour after his talk to talk with and answer questions.

There was also an article in the Examiner about it, which included this..

Baltimore County Del. Jon Cardin, chairman of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Caucus, said he is working on two bills designed to promote bicycling safety.

The first bill would require automobile drivers to yield to a bicyclist in a bike lane, and would permit drivers to only pass a cyclist if it can be done without endangering the cyclist. The second bill would increase the fines and length of license suspensions of drivers who fail to yield to cyclists and thereby cause bodily harm or death in a crash.

I wish I could have gone. Stupid work.

Potholes

This is my first winter biking to work every single day (I surrendered my license plates today) and they do get large this time of year. DCist has all you want to know and more. The most important thing is to report them to the service center. They really do get fixed - most of the time. I don't know how to do this in Virginia which is too bad because the Pike has some real big ones going.

You can request pothole filling services by calling the Mayor's Citywide Call Center at (202) 727-1000, or online using the District government's Service Request Center.

Rosslyn Circle

There was a question in Dr. Gridlock this week about how inexperienced cyclists should cross Fort Myer and North Lynn on the Custis Trail.

My husband travels that bike trail nearly every day and says it is really dangerous. As I contemplate taking a group of Girl Scouts on a bike ride, I dread this tiny  stretch of the trip.

Dr. G forwarded some sound advice and mentioned some possible improvements there

Paul DeMaio, an avid biker who also is the bike promotions manager for Arlington County Commuter Services, suggested the Scouts walk their bikes in pairs through the two Rosslyn Circle intersections, with Barker guiding them across.

Charles Denney, Arlington County's Bicycle and Pedestrian Program manager, said traffic signal engineers want to slightly modify the signal timing at Lee Highway and Lynn Street to give trail users more crossing time.

Eventually, he said, the county wants to reduce the crossing distance at the intersection and possibly build a tunnel under Lynn Street. But he agreed with DeMaio that with adult supervision, the Scouts could safely cross.

The tunnel's been mentioned here before, and seems unlikely.

2007 Events

So many upcoming WABA events. Many involve riding and eating.

March 4 - VASA ride - 56, 28, or 18 mile ride followed by Blueberry Soup at the Swedish Embassy. Extra bowl for first person to do the Swedish Chef voice.

March 14-16 - Bike Summit - Advocacy and lots of it. Usually there's a ride too.

March 24 - WABA Gala and Auction - More time at the new Swedish Embassy. Swedish Chef voice is strictly förbjuden.

March 31-April 14 - Bike valet parking during Cherry Blossom Festival

May 12 - Singles Ride and Bike in Movie

May 18 - Bike to Work Day

May 19 - Moonlight Memorial Ride

June 3 - Arlington and Alexandria Community Ride

June 17 - HUB citybikes racing criterium

Aug 25 - 50 States and 13 colonies ride

More W&OD rail talk

In light of last week's talk of retro-fitting the W&OD as light rail, this article should have been added in.

The Washington and Old Dominion Railroad is now largely a bicycle trail. But it could have become a high-speed commuter rail link between Loudoun County and the near suburbs of Northern Virginia had the arguments of some local officials been heeded more than 40 years ago.

It really was a lost opportunity. Especially since a spur was built to Dulles to help build the airport and THEN REMOVED (So we once had rail to Dulles). But at this point, with all the track removed, it really doesn't offer much advantage over any other route.

Bike to Work Garment Bag

I don't own one of these, have never seen one and can in no way vouch for it. But if you're unhappy with your present panniers, here's a link to another option. If you get one, let us know what you think.

Carrefour de Tortue

Baltimore Avenue (Route 1) is not a bike friendly street (I avoid it), but they're redesigning it, with a wide 16 foot outside lane. Rethink College Park is advocating for a traffic circle at the intersection of Paint Branch Parkway, Campus Drive and Baltimore Avenue, claiming that:

Though such circles are largely foreign to Americans outside DC, the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has shown that circles reduce the number and severity of accidents (even those involving pedestrians, bikes, and mopeds) at the traditional crossroads they replace. The FHA suspects the reduction in accidents is a result of the fact that drivers must slow down as they approach the circle. Others suspect that the relative rarity of such traffic devices forces drivers to pay closer attention.

Though the picture shows a giant M, the author offers up another item for the center of the circle - a statue of Kermit the Frog on a bicycle.

CCCT looking for Volunteers

WANTED: People to help defeat the invasive species choking our trees.

Invasive species are threatening the health of trees along the CCtrail corridor, particularly between Bethesda and the DC/Montgomery County line. In order to combat this problem the Coalition for the Capital Crescent Trail needs:

- Volunteers to train in recognizing and uprooting invasive species. Training consists of one session conducted by Montgomery County Parks.

- Two volunteers to coordinate the overall volunteer effort in uprooting invasive species.

If you are interested in participating, send an email to [email protected] or leave a message at 202-234-4874.

Georgetown Bike Theives

It sounds like you'll need the Fahgettaboudit on the Georgetown campus.

When he returned, the bike was gone and his twisted Master lock was left on the ground. There was also an empty suitcase nearby.

The police informed my son that groups of thieves troll campuses in the city with suitcases of tools, steal bikes and then travel out of state to sell these bikes at used bike stores. The impression was that the thieves are professionals.

Last week, while walking through Red Square, my son found another Master lock on the ground, twisted and damaged in the exact same manner as his lock.

It's too bad that while the campus police believe that professional thieves are targeting students, they don't seem to have any plan to deal with it beyond warning people.

Strange things are afoot at the AWI

The Anacostia Waterfront Initiative just announced its updated website. Pretty nice - except there are a lot of broken links. It's even got a cyclist on the banner. The AWI could impact cycling in many ways not the least of which is their involvement in the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail and Marvin Gaye Trail, but really all of their projects are so enormous that they could either be a boon or a disappointment for cyclists.

It's also announced that its CEO is leaving and that the corporation will be abolished.

His departure comes just a few weeks before hearings will begin to determine whether AWC and the National Capital Revitalization Corp. should be abolished and have their operations transferred to city personnel.

More about that here.