Saturday Night Ride - Live from New York

Good evening

• A DC police officer hit a cyclist in Sherman Circle with his cruiser during yesterday's morning rush. "According to a witness, the police car "[came] around the corner -- flying -- and hit the citizen and knocked him to the ground." Both the cyclist and bike were thrown 20 feet, and the cyclist was transported to the hospital. The driver had a yield sign adn two teenaged passengers in the car. The yield sign was a bit bent over as you can see in the video below.
• The Post congratulates NPS for reconsidering its decision to keep CaBi off the Mall
• The Greenbelt City Council voted to apply for grant funds to study the feasibility of a bike-sharing. Reportedly, MDOT has a program that will cover 80% of the cost of either study or implementation of bike-sharing (that's the first I've heard of it). The study will cost between $25,000 and $50,000. They've talked with nearby communities about partnering.  "Councilmembers had numerous questions about details of such a program, including how it might integrate with bikeshare programs in the District of Columbia and nearby communities such as College Park. Councilmember Leta Mach questioned whether people would use such a program.
• Rep.Donna Edwards tours Edmonston's Green Street as she touts her bill "Green Infrastructure for Clean Water Act."
• Great bike photos.
• A Canadian man started an advertising buisness pulling signs behind his electric bike. But in one town, it's illegal. 

DC Police Car Hits Bicyclist: MyFoxDC.com

Comments

[cabi addict]

"Reportedly, MDOT has a program that will cover 80% of [...]"

It's the same CMAQ funding vehicle that Montgomery is pursuing for expanding Capital Bikeshare to downcounty Red Line areas; one presumes that Howard County and Baltimore City are also seeking it for their planned and announced (respectively) systems.

see http://www.mdot.maryland.gov/Planning/Bike/Bikeshare_About.html

[JeffB]

Re: Edmonston's Green Street Program:

The town’s $1.4 million “green street” project equipped Decatur Street with rain gardens — filtration systems that prevent storm water runoff from entering waterways — low energy street lamps, bike lanes and permeable pavement. The project was funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act in 2009 and became the first of its kind throughout the state when it opened in November 2010.

I sure hope the accompanying photograph in the article wasn't an example of said bike lanes. I'd call that a second class gutter lane.

[washcycle]

Those bike lanes are a little narrow by the bridge (though they don't get much wider elsewhere). But, there's no door zone, so the effective width is probably wider than many bike lanes in DC. That photo is just west of the NE Branch trail. I ride through there twice a day on my commute.

[Purple Eagle]

Decatur is also a fairly low-traffic street. I have not been able to figure out where the permeable pavement is - the regular road surface looks like normal asphalt to me.

To me the only negative part about that street re-design is that they missed an opportunity to improve the geometry of the trail crossing relative to the nearby cross street. There is a stop sign 10-20 yards from the trail along Decatur, which can make crossing a little tricky - drivers don't necessarily notice cyclists as they prepare to stop. And they also failed to pave the street to the same level as the trail, so there is a small but noticeable bump on either side of the road as you cross.

[antibozo]

The Flickr link you posted appears to be a redundant subset of another gallery, and omits the photographic credits. Here's the original, with credits and more images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hmoong/galleries/72157628308402559/

[Greenbelt]

I think even the narrow bike lanes like those on Decatur street have had a really positive impact on local drivers watching for bikes. I'm getting way more friendly waves and courtesy this year than last. I think it's a source of price for some of the port towns to be moving ahead with better and more complete streets while their bigger neighbors -- ahem, College Park and Greenbelt -- seem to be stalled on street improvements lately.

[Edge]

How much you want to bet that the cop who hit the cyclist is saying it was the cyclists fault? Who's watching the watchers when they violate the traffic laws with impunity?

[antibozo]

I see no reason to assume without evidence that the cop is denying responsibility.

I was driving downtown one day some years ago and a cop sideswiped me at an intersection (I was making a right turn, and was waiting for a pedestrian in a crosswalk). He gave me his info and offered to pay for damage out of his own pocket. Not every cop is an asshole.

[Edge]

While I certainly can't say that "every cop is an asshole," antibozo, my experience is that law enforcement attracts a personality type that enjoys telling people what to do and is reluctant to admit responsibility for its own actions. As a former prosecutor and later defense counsel, my personal experience is that most cops have a do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do attitude. My experience shows me they are the majority, not minority.

How many cops do you see illegally parked, fail to stop for pedestrians in a cross walk, or speed routinely when not responding to a call?