TheWashCycle

Critical Manners Halloween Ride

Critical Manners is like Critical Mass but more polite. Show up this Friday in costume. Bring lights, helmets and boomboxes.  6pm at Dupont Circle

There will be a short intro and then at 6:15 we will head out.

We will ride legally and politely. Observing traffic signals, and waving to motorists and fellow cyclists.

All the more reason for costume and other whimsy. 

Section of NE Branch Temporarily Closed

Ron reports that a section of the Northeast Branch Trail was closed this morning between the intersection with the Northwest Branch Trail and Decatur Street.  There was yellow tape across the trail here. I ride this trail when I bike to work (working from home today) and according to my GPS, the part below the railroad tracks is the lowest point of the trail so it's possibly just a flooding issue - Ron couldn't see a reason.

The trail there floods several times a year. I can't help but think that if a road flooded several times a year they would do something to fix it. They could move the trail up to the berm and have it cross the tracks at grade, for example.

2009 Bike Lane Progress

If you can, look at this list of proposed 2009 bike lanes and let me know if you can confirm or deny their existence. I want to update the map.

I know I've seen the following:

Confirm:

Eckington from Florida to R - 0.2
Harry Thomas Way from Eckington to 3rd - 0.27

Deny:

11th SE from O to Pennsylvania - 0.5 m

Crossroads Cycle Tracks

PG and Montgomery Counties have been studying the Crossroads region where New Hampshire Avenue and University Boulevard meet up for several years now. Now there are some details coming out that the area could include cycle tracks.

Along with the Purple Line, the plans also aim to redevelop the five major shopping centers in the Crossroads into mixed-use residential and retail high-rises and increasing the "walkability" of the area with broad pedestrian promenades and a buffered bike lane along University Boulevard.

Takoma Park City Planner Ilona Blanchard said the plan's language on the proposed buffered bike lane along University Boulevard is too confusing and needs to be clarified.

Both counties have their own sector plan for the region.

MoCo's Plan calls for designing New Hampshire Avenue with service lanes on the outside so that it can serve as a mutli-way boulevard that adds bike lanes within the proposed service lanes (in the Sector Plan they show a photo of a cycle track as they describe this). It also calls for directional buffered bike lanes along University Avenue. These bike lanes would have a 2 foot buffer and look like the bike lanes WABA wants on K Street (higher than the street, lower than the sidewalk) with trees between the bike lanes and the sidewalk. it also calls for class 2 bike lanes on Carroll Avenue, and making Sligo Creek Parkway a signed shared roadway. On the latter it calls for adding at least a 4 foot shoulder on each side of the roadway where one doesn't already exist.

Finally, it also suggest extending the Long Branch Trail south a few blocks from Carroll Avenue to Jackson Avenue if WSSC needs access for sewer line work (the "if" is because of possible environmental damage). The trails network drawing shows the trail extended all the way to Sligo Creek with trails radiating NE away from Long Branch

The PG County plan calls for a transit center at the crossroads intersection and

Bicycle hub facilities at the transit center that serve transit riders who walk and bike to work, school, and other places can be incorporated into the transit center. Bicycle hub facilities could include enclosed bicycle storage lockers and parking facilities, retail services, and information about transit options.

Like MoCo's, PG's plan also calls for buffered bike lanes (6' wide with 2' buffers) on New Hampshire and University Boulevard as well as bike lanes on Riggs Road up to Keokee Street

The plan envisions using Merrimac Street/14th Avenue/Kanawha Street as an alternative route for slow moving traffic that would includes bike lanes.

But in general the PG Plan is lighter on specifics than the MoCo plan. (the PG County plan has introduced a new term to me though - a Texas Doughnut "A Texas Doughnut is a building or group of buildings, often multifamily residential, that wraps around or encircles a multistory parking garage." Lovely. They would like to encourage them).

Still I'm not sure what the confusion is that Blanchard talked about, but that quote is from 4 months ago so perhaps it has been straightened out since. I can't say I'm too familiar with the area. I've ridden Sligo Creek and the Northwest Branch as well as Piney Branch Road but never in the crossroads region. Still it sounds like an improvement to me.

Takoma Park supports clearer language advocating a buffered bike lane along University Boulevard and consensus among various plans.

Bar spin capital

Bar spin capital, originally uploaded by MikaAltskan.

Streetsblog Seeks Work Bike Photos

More information here. Deadline is Thursday morning.

WABA Alert: Comments Needed on K Street Transitway and Klingle Valley Trail

WABA is urging concerned cyclists to take a few moments of their time today to help bring better bicycling tomorrow. 

The deadline for comments on the K Street Transitway project is October 30th and opposition from area businesses to WABA's preferred option, Alternative 3, is strong.  Alternative 3 is the only design that provides any sort of accommodation for cyclists and we strongly believe that to rebuild K Street without facilities for cyclists would be a missed opportunity and would run counter to the city's stated desire to improve conditions for cyclists.  While Alternative 3 provides for bike lanes, WABA is urging the DC Department of Transportation to instead construct cycle tracks-bike lanes that are protected by a raised curb.  We believe this design will help prevent vehicles from parking in the bike lane and would present a more attractive option for less experienced cyclists.  WABA's detailed comments on the project can be found at http://www.waba.org/documents/K_Street_Transitway_Comments.pdf.

We hope that you will take the time to send your comments to the following email address: KStreet.comments@dc.gov. 

Klingle Valley Environmental Assessment

The October 7th public meeting on the Klingle Valley Trail Environmental Assessment was well attended by trail supporters, but we still anticipate strong opposition from those who would prefer to see it opened to vehicular traffic.  We need to show the District Department of Transportation just how strong the support for the Klingle Valley Trail really is in our community.  This is also an opportunity to submit comments before the preliminary alternatives have been drafted.  WABA is urging DDOT to do the following:

1) Build the trail 12 feet wide: given the expected popularity of the trail as well as the uneven terrain, the trail should be built wider than the standard;
2) Provide amenities for trail users such as waysides with benches and emergency call boxes;
3) Light the trail at night: this would improve safety and also facilitate bike riding across Rock Creek Park;
4) Construct a direct connection to the Rock Creek Trail.

Comments on the Klingle Valley Environmental Assessment may be posted at http://www.klingletrail.com/contact.asp.

Fall 2009 Bicycle Friendly Communities (we'll have to settle for honorable mentions)

The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) released their Fall 2009 list of Bicycle Friendly Communities. They picked 15 new communities and 3 renewals, with Eugene, OR the highest rated at Gold.

You'll have to get up early if you want to bike to one though, as the closest one to DC is 391 miles away in Greensboro, NC.

However four Maryland communities, Rockville, Annapolis, Baltimore and Cumberland, did get Honorable Mentions - and four Honorable Mentions equals at least one Bronze, right? Congratulations to them, that's nothing to be ashamed of.

Suggest Better Research

The FHWA has program called STEP (Surface Transportation Environment and Planning) that pays for research projects in a host of fields, including Bicycle/Pedestrian and Health. They're looking for input on the lines of research they should pursue. If you have an idea for research they should be doing (helmets, obesity, medical costs/savings, etc...), you can submit it here.

Another Step for the Completion of the CCT

Silver Spring Trails reports that the Montgomery County Master Plan Draft for the Purple Line will be presented to the Planning Board this Thursday.

He notes that the draft already provides that:

• The CCT will be rebuilt alongside the Purple Line to be continuous, at least 10′ wide, along the entire Georgetown Branch and WMATA/CSX corridor from Bethesda to downtown Silver Spring.
• The CCT will remain in the Bethesda tunnel on an overhead structure and will be at least 10′ wide there.
• The CCT will have bridges and underpasses to provide grade separated crossings of Connecticut Avenue, Jones Mill Road, 16th Street, Spring Street and Colesville Road.
• The CCT will have its own bridge over Rock Creek separate from the Purple Line, and the CCT will be connected directly to the Rock Creek Trail by a new ADA compliant trail access ramp.
• The CCT will connect directly to the Metropolitan Branch Trail on an overhead structure in the new Silver Spring Transit Center
• Access to the Trail will continue to exist at all of the formal trail access points that are at the Trail now.

Concept sketch looking east from behind the Riviera House in Bethesda -
the East-West Highway overpass can be seen in the background
(Source: Purple Line Functional Plan / Public Hearing Draft)