In response to Bruce Levitt's suggestion that Beach be made into an HOV only roadway in the direction of rush-hour traffic, with cyclists restricted to the right lane - and possibly closed to traffic outside of rush hour, Bruce Shulman of Silver Spring writes:
Unlike Bruce D. Levitt [letters, May 27] and apparently other cyclists who wish to limit access by motorists to some roads, I believe motorists and bicyclists can coexist if all obey the law and go out of their way to recognize the presence of others. I wonder how Mr. Levitt would respond if anyone suggested that cyclists be limited exclusively to the bike lanes that are increasingly available to them.
In reality, Mr. Levitt only suggested closing Beach, which is in a National Park, during off hours and only as one possibility. The suggestion to "limit access by motorists to some roads" was secondary to his main point and was something that was seriously considered by NPS.
Mr. Shulman then claims that he supports the bike lanes on 15th but that they haven't stopped cyclists from breaking the law. Which is not surprising since they weren't supposed to. They haven't stopped drivers from breaking the law either.
Perhaps The Post should report how many cyclists were cited by police for violations during the past year.
I'm confident that even on a per-road-hour basis, the numbers for cyclists would be lower than for drivers. Which, admittedly, is in part due to the fact that cyclists are targeted less often (but it's his metric).
If Mr. Levitt and other cyclists wish to improve an unacceptable situation, they should start by making a minimal effort at obeying the law and recognizing that both cars and bicycles are entitled to use the same streets.
Mr. Levitt's letter was mostly about reducing congestion on Beach Drive. I fail to see how strict adherence to the law by cyclists will reduce congestion there (or anywhere else frankly). And, finally, cars and bicycles are NOT entitled to use the same streets. There are some roads cyclists are not allowed to use, such as I-395 and some drivers can't use - such as Beach Drive on weekends.
The author thinks that the mixing of bikes and cars in dangerous but does say one thing I agree with.
Worse yet is the failure by many cyclists to have lights or reflectors or wear bright clothing so motorists can see them at dusk and at night.
I would like to see some more serious enforcement of all laws on Beach Drive. e.g. Speeding by motorists. Lack of lights/reflectors by cyclists. They should be able to make a nice little pot of money: maybe enough for NPS to plow the bike/ped path in winter.
Posted by: SJE | May 31, 2010 at 03:09 PM