TheWashCycle

Silver Spring Grand Prix goes Carbon Neutral

Clean Currents, a local sustainably-operated clean energy business, is providing offsets to make the Silver Spring Grand Prix bicycle race in July carbon neutral. The Clean Currents Cycling Team is the host of the race.

Keeping Cars out of the Bus/Bike Lane

I used to agree with something Jim Sebastian said about how to keep cars out of bike lanes - fill them with bikes. But self-righteous biker's experience has caused me to rethink it. She's been blown past in the bus/bike lanes downtown - and even passed on the right. Enforcement by the police seems unlikely (in light of the photo) - even during the street smart campaign I doubt they'll be enforcing this law. I'm not sure a single ticket has been written for a violation of the bus/bike lane.

In light of all this, this little film of automatic bus lane enforcement is pretty enticing.

The Patch

Ok, the acting is bad, but the song is fantastic...

The Patch

Rockville Bicycle Commuter Award

As part of bike to work day, the city of Rockville plans to give "a Commuter Award to someone who lives or works in the Rockville area and commutes by bicycle on a consistent basis." And by award, they don't mean some photocopied certificate, last year they gave away a Trek 3700*, but no word on what this year's prize will be. If you know someone worthy of nomination send there name in...

The City of Rockville will again be participating in the regional celebration of Bike to Work Day on May 18, 2007. Last year, over 6,200 cyclists registered for the event region-wide.  This year, Rockville will have two “pit stops;” one at Rockville Town Center, in front of the Red Brick Courthouse near the intersection of East Montgomery Ave and Maryland Ave, and the other at the Fallsgrove Transit Center, near the intersection of Fallsgrove Drive and Oak Knoll Terrace. The pit stops will be open from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. for bike commuters to stop by for breakfast, coffee, prizes, a free t-shirt, and to meet other local cyclists. During the event, the City of Rockville will be raffling prizes every 15 minutes as well as presenting the 2007 Rockville Bike Commuter Award to a notable cyclist dedicated to biking to work. 

If you would like to register for the event, assuring that a t-shirt in the correct size will be waiting for you at the registered “pit stop,” please visit the Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s Bike to Work Day website.

Nominate a Co-worker for the Rockville Bicycle Commuter of the Year Award
If you would like to nominate a friend or coworker for the Rockville Bike Commuter Award please send the person’s name and contact information to [email protected] or 240-314-8509 with the following information:

* Nominee’s Name
* Nominee’s Place of Employment
* Their Bike Commuting Habits
* Your Name and Contact Info (in case we can’t reach them)

Last year there were few responses, which means your nominee - should you have one - has a good chance of winning.

*Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but hopefully it'll be a more practical bike than a mountain bike.

Matthew Henson Trail Lawsuit Dismissed

It looks like the Matthew Henson trail has jumped its final hurdle. Construction was to begin Nov 6th of 2005, but area residents filed suit in December 2006 arguing that "a trail through the Matthew Henson State Park and Greenway would damage the park and make neighborhoods unsafe."

Judge William J. Rowan III in a March 13 opinion ruled that state and county agencies conducted sufficient studies, underwent proper permitting processes and planned for an environmentally sensitive trail that was in the public interest. Workers began clearing land last week for the trail.

Local residents had several complaints.

Strathmore-Bel Pre Civic Association residents and environmentalists argued that the trail would harm rich wooded areas and streams

That is, at least, somewhat fair. There will surely be some environmental impact. Which is why an EIA is done and the response is that...

county agencies and the proponents say the trail would encourage environmentally friendly recreation and travel, establish east⁄west connectivity for the Rachel Carson and Sligo Creek Park trails, and enhance nearby neighborhoods.

I was sad to see the Sierra Club oppose this, parks that are used are protected by the users. They clean them and look out for them. And the most used parks are linear parks with trails (I was told recently). Residents are also worried that the trail will

depreciate values of nearby homes

That's simply not founded. Studies have shown that trails increase value as pointed out in the article.

In fact, real estate ads often boast of features like the Capital Crescent Trail, a popular cycling route, as selling points because such trails offer recreation, a scenic view and opportunities for alternative commuting

Finally, they cracked out the old "bring crime" chestnut.

But Layhill Village resident Ken Giordon said the trail would bring strangers, crime and spur home depreciation. His house sits about 100 feet from the trail’s path. Also, he said the trail’s proximity to Bel Pre Elementary School poses a danger to students.

Oh, won't someone think about the Children! So many crimes utilize bikes and bike trails. You know what provides even better access than a trail - roads. We ought to shut down all roads near schools, y'know, for the children.

Hopefully this is the last bump in the road for a trail almost ten years in the making

It is part of the Countywide Parks Trail Plan, a master plan that the Planning Board approved in 1998 after assessing environmental impacts and five different approaches to the proposal, including not creating the trail, said Lyn Coleman, Department of Parks trail supervisor. Park and Planning and the Montgomery County Council approved the $3.9 million, three-phase project in April 2003, with plans to complete the 4.4-mile trail within two years.

Watch out, Utica: College Park is a City On the...Grow!

UMD picked a developer for it's East Campus development

Plans are still being worked out, but Foulger-Pratt and Argo are focusing on a design that would emphasize retail along Route 1, pedestrian and bicycle pathways and a mix of residential, hotel and office space.

[Foulger Pratt is responsible for Silver Spring's redevelopment and Richard Layman thinks that bodes poorly for the area, while Just up the Pike disagrees].

This led me to the always informative Rethink College Park blog where I found a plethora of bike related tidbits.

First there's North Gate Park - a pocket park on the NW corner of Route 1. It will include two new bridges (one is still being pursued according to this photo) across Paint Branch connecting to the Paint Branch Trail and a connection to the North Gate Development - all tied in to a Metro Bus stop.

Then there's the new NOAA building. According to this map, it includes a connector trail to the NE Branch Trail. This building will have a LEED certification of Silver, and it SHOULD (my opinion) include a bike storage area and changing/shower rooms - being so close to so many trails (I couldn't find if it does).

Greenbelt Station is another planned development with bicycle impact. This is a development on land south of the Greenbelt Metro Station, between the railroad tracks and Indian Creek (map). The trail along Indian Creek ends at Greenbelt Road - south of this development - and the only way to get to the metro from there is to go along Greenbelt and Cherrywood Lane and come on the Metro Access road - it's far further than the crow flies. The new development will include a parkway with a "sidewalk/hiker/biker trail". I'm not sure what form that will take - it sounds like a wide sidewalk - but even having the road will make for a shorter trip. It will be interesting to see how the parkway is connected to the trail. In addition a bike/pedestrian path will connect the area to Springhill Drive. And...

Through a tax break, the city will also receive a new $1.25 million pedestrian walkway to help connect citizens to the city, Krouse said. The walkway will go underneath the railroad track that runs parallel to the Metro station.

I have no idea where that underpass will be. Here's a NY Times article about Greenbelt's expansion

There are plans to make a more bike-friendly Route 1.

The bicycle element of the vision for walking and bicycling includes cycling on US Route 1. In discussions between the City of College Park and SHA that occurred after the January 21 meeting, a decision was made to include bike lanes in future US 1 improvements. The National Bicycling and Walking Study and other sources have found a strong correlation between the presence of dedicated bicycle facilities and a tendency to ride bicycles for everyday trips.

It may be possible to stripe bike lanes without moving curbs if roadway dimensions are adjusted to be more suitable for an urban arterial. In order to reach goals that stakeholders seek, such as slower traffic speeds, adding bike lanes, and providing for pedestrians, travel lanes along US Route 1 can be reduced to 11’ in width, and the turning lanes in some locations may be reduced to 10’. Median widths can also be reduced in some locations.

Moving the curbs to accommodate bike lanes is the most expensive component of the proposed roadway reconstruction. If it is not possible to create bike lanes by reallocating the existing space between curbs, and if funding is not available to move curbs sufficiently to accommodate bike lanes, the bike lanes can be deferred. That is, it is possible to move forward with median construction and acquisition of space for sidewalks, deferring the bike lanes until later. Installing medians without moving the curbs would require the application of an urban arterial design standard, rather than the rural highway standard the SHA currently uses. The SHA requires medians to be a minimum of 16 feet wide. There is adequate precedent for use of smaller medians. AASHTO allows for medians as narrow as 4 feet.

AASHTO’s “optimum design” for medians that also serve as left turn pockets ranges in width from 9.8 feet to 15.7 feet, less than SHA’s minimum width. The bicycle vision needs to include connectivity. An opportunity exists on the west side of US Route 1 to link the striped lanes with the University of Maryland trail system. Signage for the trail is posted along US Route 1 at University View

You put the Dutch on bikes...

and they all think they're Batman

An 81-year-old man ran down a suspected shoplifter with his bike in the Netherlands, a country with more bicycles than people. The alleged thief, 29, had $162 worth of cosmetics on him, police said.

Paris Embraces Plan to Become City of Bikes

WaPo ran another article about the coming rental bikes in Paris, which has been mentioned here before. (and here for San Francisco) This one was much longer and more detailed.

On July 15, the day after Bastille Day, Parisians will wake up to discover thousands of low-cost rental bikes at hundreds of high-tech bicycle stations scattered throughout the city

By the end of the year, organizers and city officials say, there should be 20,600 bikes at 1,450 stations -- or about one station every 250 yards across the entire city.

A recent study analyzed different trips in the city "with a car, bike, taxi and walking, and the bikes were always the fastest."

Like I've said, DC is pursuing these. Despite earlier comments I actually like the way the bikes look

The Lyon rental bikes, with their distinctive silver frame, red rear-wheel guard, handlebar basket and bell, can also be among the cheapest ways to travel, because the first half-hour is free, and most trips are shorter than that.

For most people the bikes are free - that's gotta help with Metro peak load (If Metro starts placing info signs outside stations and a big delay comes up, can you imagine how quickly will all of the bikes along that line be gone?)

95 percent of the roughly 20,000 daily bike rentals in Lyon are free because of their length.

Membership fees in Paris will be steeper than in Lyon, from $1.30 for one day to about $38 for a year.

I can blow $38 a year on tubes. The program in Lyon has been a big success..

Based on statistics from Lyon, company officials estimate that each bicycle in Paris will be used on average 12 times a day, for a total of about 250,000 trips a day, or 91 million trips a year.

In Lyon, according to deputy mayor Touraine, the city's 3,000 rental bikes have logged about 10 million miles since the program started in May 2005

I always wondered about what to do when you're done with the bike. With zipcar, you have to return it to the same spot, but with the bikes any rack will do. Which can create problems.

The main complaint voiced by riders is that at certain times in certain places -- such as mornings at local universities -- all the racks can be occupied, making it impossible to return a bike.

The scientist in me wonders if bikes congregate at the bottom of hills. What, I wonder, is the average elevation where bikes are checked out and checked in and are they different?

Making the Streets Safer for Cycling

Every 10th trip in Berlin is made by bike. With more than 500 miles of bike lanes and paths, rush hour in this German city of 3.4 million can be a blur of two-wheeled commuters, from suited businessmen to mothers hauling toddlers in specially designed trailers.

From an article in U.S. News

Studies have shown that for trips under 3 miles, bicycles are often the fastest alternative.

But then, you already knew that...

Change along the CCT

  Tunnel Under Wisconsin Ave 
  Originally uploaded by Eye Captain.

Plans for construction on Lot 31 - the parking lot on the southeast side of the Capital Crescent Trail in Bethesda - involve closing a portion of Woodmont Avenue between Bethesda Avenue and Miller Avenue for up to two years, but the trail will stay open.

sheltered tunnels would be built for walkers, bikers and joggers using the adjacent Capital Crescent Trail.

[Stonebridge executive Doug] Firstenberg said the builders have taken resident comments into consideration when designing the project, which will include a park behind the building and provide easy bicycle access to the Capital Crescent Trail.

Construction could start as soon as this summer and end in 2011.

Around $3 million will be spent on upgrading the intersection with a more significant curve, extended sidewalks and parallel parking spaces to slow traffic and provide safer pedestrian crosswalks.

I think they're talking about the intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenue.