Pedestrian hit by cyclist on Penn Ave

Just heard the report on WAMU. A pedestrian was crossing Penn near 12th. Penn is closed for the parade, but a cyclist was riding down it anyway. The cyclist called out to the pedestrian, but nonetheless was unable to avoid hitting her. According to the eyewitness, the cyclist never slowed her bike down. The pedestrian hit her head and was being taken to the hospital.

Be careful out there. 

Comments

[elizqueenmama]

Just heard that report too. Was disappointed in eye-witness report which will just further fan the flames of folks' predisposed ideas about bikes.
"I heard be bicyclist call out, but didn't hear her break or swerve or anything"

[Alex]

I was biking a block behind that cyclist and saw the fallen pedestrian. Penn was not closed off to bike or other traffic, though there was clearly an event being set up.

[MLD]

Be careful out there.

How about "please remember to yield to more vulnerable road users."

Just this morning I had a fellow cyclist behind me in the bike lane buzz by both me and a pedestrian when I slowed down because the pedestrian was crossing the street. Don't be stupid out there.

[Crickey7]

I saw police swabbing bikes locked next to the L Street cycletrack this morning. Seemed a bit excessive.

[Washcycle]

In my opinion, yielding to pedestrians is part of being careful out there. Can one be careful and not yield to pedestrians?

[Rob]

I rode through that section of Penn this morning. At first I thought "awesome, no cars!" but it turned out to be way more dangerous than usual, with DPR employees driving trucks recklessly, U-turns without looking, etc.

The past few weeks I have been getting increasingly frustrated with other cyclists, though. When I ride on Penn, I stop at every light and wait through the cycle. Not everyone does, and I get that sometimes it's perfectly safe to Idaho stop; but way too many people are recklessly blasting through red lights into oncoming traffic. And for what?.. to shave a couple of minutes from their commute? I thought one of the main benefits of bicycle commuting was that you get to spend time outside enjoying the fresh air. Who cares if it takes 5 extra minutes to get to work?

We’re also getting into uncharted territory when it comes to social norms among bicyclists. It’s long been a tradition for bicyclists to “jump the que” when there’s a long line of cars stacked up at a light. I do it too. But what about when there’s a line of 10 cyclists waiting at an intersection on Penn? What gives one person the right to jump ahead of all of them? I’ve seen it done more than once this week already.

[JFMAMJJASOND]

rode Penn & 12th about 8:40. If Penn was "closed" there was no evidence--at least from the Capitol to 12th.

There were, however, an inordinate number of pedestrians in the cycle track. Glad I had my bell.

Hope the injured gets well soon.

[Crickey7]

Rob: Norms are norms only when they are communicated and known. So communicate. If you need definitive authority on the norms as they apply to the practice of "shoaling" , we must turn to BikeSnob:

"'Shoaling' is an incredibly rude practice, and it's tantamount to cutting in front of someone at an ATM, supermarket checkout, or urinal line."

[Nicole]

I agree with Rob regarding the behavior of other cyclists. I recommend a handlebar cup holder and the morning beverage of your choice... you will appreciate those red light breaks more and have the satisfaction of not pissing off your fellow cyclist.

[T]

I run into tons of folks shoaling on the 15th St cycletrack heading south. Since I am heading north, I don't move out of the way and force them back into the line. It drives them nuts and a few have given me hand gestures, but the idiocy of their collective shoaling with another cyclist coming right at them head-on is unbelievable.

As for hitting pedestrians, curious how someone would hear the brakes of a bike? I had a far less serious incident a few weeks back on PA Ave too. However, it involved a tourist's elbow and my handlebar. I did serve and hit my brakes, but there was a bus next to me and no way to see a tourist who decided to jaywalk several secounds into a green light. Lucky for both of us I was alert and managed to avoid the worse collision. And, in my case, the pedestrian apologized to me.

Swabbing bikes on L St? I'm tempted to walk by at lunch asking if there is some sort of nefarious bike plot afoot. I feel like most folks park in garages around here anyway. Just goes to show how little the police know about cycling.

[Tom]

@T I think you mean "salmoning" not shoaling.

[UrbanEngineer]

"was unable to avoid hitting her...The cyclist never slowed her bike down."

Unable to...I'm not buying it.

Sounds more like a dumb accident that easily could have been avoided.

[Steven H]

@T, although I would never salmon in another cyclist's bike lane, most of the salmoning on the 15th Street cycletrack is because the gutter lane is in pretty bad shape. Salmoning is bad practice on a one-way street/bike lane (like 17th in Dupont), but on 15th I'd cut them a little slack--though I don't understand why anyone would be upset that you want to stay in your lane, particularly since there's nowhere else for you to go...

Shoaling definitely needs to end. It's evil.

[T]

I should have clarified that I meant shoaling and salmoning since I was thinking of it occuring right around the intersections when the lights switch. Lately I've noticed people trying to skip 7 or 8 other bicyclists and me coming from the opposite direction (which would be the salmoning part). Either way, agree, the practice needs to end.

And you are right about 15th St being in crappy condition. I get stuck in those ruts on the way home as the northbound folks come by. The times where we seem to get the best pavement is when someone digs up the road to lay new pipe and then they essentially have to fix the rutted part. C'est le vie.

[GMB]

Was the pedestrian crossing with the light? Jaywalking pedestrians are another of the many dangers of the Penn Ave cycletrack. I could see either the cyclist or the pedestrian being at fault here.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=879035108]

To clarify: salmoning is going the wrong way. Shoaling is pulling in front of another cyclist at a stoplight, particularly if said cyclist is going faster and will have to pass you anyways.

Lately, I've had a few close calls on Penn with pedestrians stepping out from behind the signage (in the tiny refuge areas) without looking, often with cameras in hand. Jaywalkers also typically don't look for bikes and blithely step into the cycletrack after clearing one side of the road. And no, if that were the case, I doubt I would have loudly slammed on the brakes, either. (Really, are bicycle brakes always supposed to be loud enough for a bystander to hear? I usually think of loud brakes as a problem, not a feature.)

And in other news, the Straight Dope reports that 29 Americans were killed by falling TVs in 2011. That's many more than the few American pedestrians who were killed by bicyclists.

[Commuter]

I stopped riding on PA Ave because of poorly timed lights, jaywalkers and U-turning cabs. Other cyclists can be jerks everywhere. Maybe I'll get an air horn to start calling out cyclists

[Cyclist]

Take it easy, folks. We live and work in a city of tourists, especially this time of year. We have an opportunity to send positive messages about bicycling and cyclists if we do it right.