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Good Morning

• Lydia DePillis discusses complete streets in DC and how to turn back some design mistakes from the past. Along with it this video which shows a close call for a salmoning cyclist.
• Poor discussion on mandatory helmet laws for adults at WUSA9 in the wake of this week's death. It even gets some of the facts wrong. It does not appear the victim was a teenager or there is no indication that a head injury was the cause of death.  I'm not sure he wasn't wearing a helmet, as this is so often mis-reported.
• The Gazette has an oped on sharing the road on MacArthur. Unfortunately it describes taking the lane, which is legal and safe, as "rude" - the same word it uses to describe drivers who speed past and potentially endanger cyclists, which is illegal and dangerous. It also incorrectly states that cyclists can "impede traffic" which they can not under the law -§ 21-804. Minimum speed regulation (a)  Slow speed impeding traffic prohibited.- Unless reduced speed is necessary for the safe operation of the vehicle or otherwise is in compliance with law, a person may not willfully drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic
• Lance Armstrong will participate in RAGBRAI this year. "The Des Moines Register newspaper, which sponsors the ride, says Armstrong likely will ride for two days with his Livestrong team through central Iowa."
• Virginia's law that allows cyclists to proceed through a red light after two minutes if it's safe goes into effect today.
• Yes, those are ads in the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes. No, they aren't supposed to be there.
• TIGER III gives another chance for super-bikeshare expansion.

Comments

[Michael H.]

Quote from the TBD story about the Virginia red light law: "Bicycles will also be held to this new law — a moot point, since bicycles don't care about traffic laws to begin with."

A quality, level-headed, neutral news article from TBD. Actually, not really.

[Crickey7]

Mandatory stopwatch laws for cyclists. How else will you know your two minutes are up?

[Joe]

So anyone traveling below the posted speed limit is impeding traffic whether in a car or on a bicycle. Therefore the speed limit is actually the minimum speed one must travel and not actually the maximum as stated by law.

This manipulation of the speed limit and it's meaning brings into question all other "rules" of the road.

[Shawn]

WUSA9 gets facts wrong, then makes proposals/suppositions based on incorrect facts? Sounds like truthiness to me.

Those adds in the bike lanes are distracting and ugly. I hope they remove them and charge the news channel for the trouble/effort/costs.

[Max]

Joe, you are correct, the term "speed limit" has been changed to refer to the minimum speed in which you are allowed to travel, unless of course there is a speed camera set up, and then you must be under that number (or according to my niece, only 6mph over it). But once you are past the camera you can speed right back up. Very confusing, I know. Another option is you can spray stuff on your license plate and then you drive really really fast all the time. Cool huh?

All kidding aside, it is really quite a sad game many motorists play, and unfortunately civility and concern for cyclists and pedestrians are not elements to that game. oh well, sucks to be a human outside the safety of a car, I guess.

I think I'll go for a bike ride now.

[Max]

Crickey7: Mandatory stopwatch laws for cyclists. How else will you know your two minutes are up?

What, Crickey7, can't you count to 120?

[Crickey7]

Only with a chorus that calls out the gradually diminishing number of beer bottles.

[Max]

Perhaps a handlebar-mounted abacus would help.

[Crickey7]

That could do double duty as one's talisman.

[Greenbelt]

@Max:
http://wearehold.com/uploads/ftp_uploads/ride_eat.jpg

[Eric_W.]

Regarding the ads: What does DC usually do with people who deface property with grafitti? There is no reason to do anything less here. Actually it should be more since it is a commercial purpose.

[washcycle]

The ads are left over from an event over the weekend. The street was closed and these were placed on the street, but then not cleaned up. It's not quite as bad as graffiti in my opinion.

[Joe]

With Montgomery County's new meaning of "speed limit" I guess it time to kick all but olympic level runners of the capital crescent trail. Or at least mandate peds can't imped cyclists on the trail and force then to be single fine and as far to the right as possible.