Wednesday Morning Commute - PTSD

Tiger Woods sits out the US Open, bringing me one event closer to winning $1.

• "The Minnesota Avenue Metro Capital Bikeshare station will be moved a 1/2 block south to 4058 Minnesota Avenue, NE. The repositioning allows for CaBi users to avoid the high volume of bus traffic from the Metro, and co-locates the station with a new DC Government facility - the Department of Employment Services (DOES)." This could boost ridership EOTR.
• The SUV driver who hit and killed a pedestrian while drunk and then drove away, only to have her plate number recovered by a cyclists who chased after her is pleading insanity for reason of PTSD. Even if that waives away why she fled the scene, isn't she still guilty of killing someone while driving drunk? I guess they have nothing to work with.
• WABA has helped over 60 cyclists at their mobile bike shop EOTR. I'm putting the over/under on an actual bike shop EOTR at around 2015.

Comments

[charlie]

Well, it can't hurt: that station was only used 15 times in April.

I believe under the Alta-Arlingotn contract it is $5000 to move a station. Since DDOT waived some of the rebalancing penalties, perhaps this is being done at a discount.

And per our discussion yesterday, I still can't find Good Hope Rd and MLK SE in the dashboard datafiles. Strange -- or more likely stupid on my part.

[Richard Layman]

What should be done EOTR now is the creation of a program like the Phoenix Bike program in Arlington, Neighborhood Bike Works in Philaelphia, or the bike program of the old Shaw Ecovillage program, with for profit and nonprofit elements.

And I offered, through BicyclePASS, to help WABA develop the kind of neighborhood-based infrastructure and programming bike plan that I advocate for in my writings and planning efforts (e.g., what is called a "sustainable transportation element" in the Western Baltimore County Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan).

[Richard Layman]

oops, that's a sustainable tranpo plan element wrt EOTR.

And another good program example is the Community Cycling Center of Portland.

A combination Phoenix/NBW + Community Cycling Center would be the ideal, and should be incorporated into such a plan.

Check out this key program of the CCC:

http://www.communitycyclingcenter.org/index.php/programs-for-adults/create-a-commuter/

And I even think I have a good lead on who could fund such an effort.

[jj]

Bike infrastructure EOTR would help. I repeatedly hear that it is too difficult to install bike lanes b/c it would mean taking away all vehicle lanes, but there are places (such as Naylor Road) where there is plenty of room for a bike lane. Also, there are other kinds of infrastructure that would be helpful and might make biking EOTR safer/more pleasant (and thus increase biking). For example, some 'bikes may use full lane' signs or sharrows along Alabama Ave might help drivers understand that bikes are in fact allowed in the street.

[washcycle]

charlie, DDOT has some moves that they get for free. So up to X moves, they pay nothing, after that they have to pay.

[Krystal]

I wonder how Tiger sitting out will affect proceeds and what not. I already heard that businesses were upset.

[Washington 20009]

Any information on the serious bike accident at 15th and Q reported by the Post this morning? I would not be surprised if a contributing factor was the weird traffic light pattern on the street.

[Shane]

@Richard: Give a call back and tell me what you're talking about. Only thing I've heard from you EOTR is that you'd like to see a comprehensive plan rather than the HIA we are conducting with Safe Routes. And our response was that we would love to do that too but have no funding for it except what we received from our appeal to members, so are starting with one element while seeking funding for a broader initiative. No mention of BicyclePASS, Phoenix, funding, etc. Would love to hear more.