Wednesday Morning Commute - He's so Barry

Beautiful weather out there, hope everyone is enjoying it.

• Marion Barry, driving with a falling off bumper, has no qualms about illegally crossing the Penn Ave bike lanes - as seen in the photo. The biker set him up. 
• CaBi built out of soup cans and for a good cause. 
• Equal Rights language and biking on the GW Parkway. Speaking of which, Arlington County, Alexandria and the NPS are looking for volunteers to count cyclists and pedestrians on the MVT. This might help make the case for improved crossings.
• Bicycle storage is becoming a bigger issue for apartment seekers NYC. Ironically that might change once they get bike sharing. People always ask "why join CaBi, just buy your own bike." But in NYC, where space is at such a premium that some people rent dogs, the answer to that question will be more obvious. Also, NYC has bike ambassadors.
• Man starts riding his bike after 9/11 and then writes a book about it.

Comments

[5555624]

It's not just storing a bike in an apartment, it cam be the building itself. I briefly lived in a building where bikes had to use the freight elevator. In my current building, I have to carry it across the lobby because the tires "scratch" the floor.

On the other hand, they have recently installed an outdoor bike rack, something missing from several places I have lived. (I always keep my bikes inside, but I do notice whether places have bike racks.)

[Blue-eyed Devil]

The former mayor is not only crossing the lanes illegally while dragging his bumper, but it appears in the pic that he's cutting off (or at least inconveniencing) a cyclist in the process. Apparently, he didn't even bother to check to see if it was clear.

Hopefully, the dangling bumper left with the car.

[Greenbelt]

DC could raise a lot of revenue ticketing taxis and limos that pull illegal u-turns on Penn. Ave. Of course, former mayor Barry wouldn't pay his...

[Foo]

And a "bumber" is... ?

[Crickey7]

Former mayor-for-life Barry is such a tragedy. He may seem like a buffoon now, but there was a time when he was the progressive alternative to the establishment's stooges.

[Greenbelt]

"Bumber" -- combination of bumper and bumbler. Bumbler being a less used term for bungler -- ie one who bumbles around from bungle to bungle.

[jason]

Exact same location where he almost hit me about a month ago. Barry needs to retake his driving test.

[DaveS]

Are we certain it's actually illegal to make U-turns across the bike lanes on Pa Ave?

Of course it should be, but there are no double yellow lines anywhere. U-turns are explicitly prohibited in certain places along the road, implying the norm is to allow U-turns.

We properly object when police enforce imaginary laws against cycling, and we can't make up laws against offensive motoring behavior either.

[todd]

@DaveS-

I assume that Barry's bone-headed turn was prohibited by DC Municipal Code Rule 18-2201 (among others): http://www.dcregs.dc.gov/Gateway/RuleHome.aspx?RuleNumber=18-2201

[todd]

I meant DC Municipal Regs.

The "No U-Turn" signs you mentioned are at intersections, right? That's the difference -- you generally can make turns at intersections but cannot make them across a dividing space in the middle of a block (I think).

[DaveS]

I don't think 2201 (Driving on the Right Side of the Roadway: Proper Use of the Roadway) says anything about this scenario. It talks about divided highways and only making U-turns where physical barriers and pavement permit it, e.g., not driving through the unpaved median or across islands. Even if Pa Ave counts as a divided highway, the lack of barriers and the presence of pavement allows U-turns.

2204 (Turning Requirements and Restrictions) seems to prohibit U-turns at ALL intersections controlled by traffic lights or police officer, which would mean the additional signs at controlled intersections are there for emphasis. But mid-block U-turns are okay as long as they meet other conditions.

I've discovered that my assumption about double yellow lines is wrong. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD), which guides DC's road marking practices, calls for double yellow center lines to indicate no passing zones, but the Uniform Vehicle Code (UVC) seems to permit U-turns across double yellow lines as long as other regulations allow it and are followed. And DC explicitly calls for the use of white paint for road markings on Pa Ave between 3rd and 15th NW, in variance from the MUTCD - probably for aesthetic reasons. (It's okay, I don't believe in magic paint anyway.)

Prohibiting U-turns across the Pa Ave bike lanes needs to be done as an explicit regulation, and until and unless that happens U-turns are permitted everywhere except intersections.

[Contrarian]

I don't believe double-yellows have any legal significance in DC, I've certainly never been able to find any reference to them in the DC Code or DCMR.

[Michael H.]

Barry's driving skills are just fine. The problem is the crack.

[JJJJJ]

Double yellow doesnt prohibit any kind of turns, you need a quadruple yellow for that. Quadruple yellow = physical barrier.

(This sounds like a joke, but Im serious)

In this case, we do have four white lines which are subbing in for yellow lines. So I say illegal.

[Joe]

You all assume he knew the bumper was dragging behind him! Scary...shameful he is re-elected.

[Jim T]

Maybe he thought it was a deer.

[oboe]

Marion Barry, driving with a falling off bumper, has no qualms about illegally crossing the Penn Ave bike lanes - as seen in the photo. The biker set him up.

The Ghost of DC Past. I wonder if that car has dealer tags...