The Meade Street Bridge redesign that was presented this week would be a big improvement for cyclists in the Rosslyn area. It would include bike lanes - some of them using colored paint - on Meade, N. Lynn and N. Fort Myer streets, a left turn pocket lane for southbound cyclists heading into Iwo Jima, and bike boxes on N. Fort Myer Drive. In addtion, the ramp from westbound Route 50 would be converted to a square intersection and two traffic signals would be added on either side of the bridge
Update: sorry, the version I wrote last night did not get saved it seems.
Maillot Jaune: Cyclists only prevail in 41% of their civil cases. Motorcyclists, for example, won 65% of the time 20 years ago (when cyclists only won 45%).
Podium: According to Streetsblog, one way the GOP wants to stabilize the highway trust fund is by cutting the funding for bike-ped projects. One way they don't - raise the gas tax.
Podium: San Francisco is getting five green bike boxes. And Kansas City has worked hard to shed it's reputation as the worst bicycling city in America, by adding 42 miles of bike lanes, the city's first sharrows and two new crossings of the Missouri River.
Maillot Vert: Car makers return to their roots by making bicycles. "According to BMW, the idea behind the bikes is “creating outstanding-looking bikes that are associated with BMW cars by their dynamic lines and exceptional performance”. In other words, they want you to feel as if you've bought a BMW motor."
Maillot a Pois Rouge: Because repaving a bike path would damage tree roots, Garden City, ID made that 1.5 mile section a dismount zone and created a 2.5 mile on-road detour. Bike advocates have sued to open the path to biking.
Maillot Blanc: Mapquest, which uses OpenStreetMap for it's data, now includes bike routes.
Lanterne Rouge: Interesting quote about the TSA searches "In relative terms it is the driving experience which has deteriorated, largely because of traffic congestion. Imagine what flying would be like if they were not allowed to charge you a proper price for the experience." Imagine what driving would be like if we could charge a proper price. Speaking of congestion, it's getting worse in China as they turn in their bicycles for cars (via GGW).
Also, a bike thief tried to put a stolen Ghost Bike on to a bus in Portland (where bike commuting is up again). The driver confronted him about it and convinced him to leave it with the bus driver, who then saw that it was returned. "I said one more time, you know what this is? It's a ghost bike a memorial for someone who died. I tried to tell him what it was," said Ferro.
Photo by sfbike
Last weekend I went to check out the contra-flow bike lanes on New Hampshire. I like them a lot. A friend of mine was telling me about them (My wife has informed me that I have to pretend to not know about these things when people try to tell me about them) and she was very excited since she already rode the wrong way on New Hampshire anyway. Now there was space for her.
I did find the bike signal hard to see when going north, and it wasn't entirely apparent that I could continue into a bike lane where it became one way, but my biggest problem was that I don't think the sensor sensed me. Maybe I wasn't in the exact right spot, or maybe it was the wet pavement, but I really thought I was doing it right.
Some people have complained about the "Get Behind It, The Bike Box" sign. The sign is becoming standard nationwide where cities are installing bike boxes. As I recall, DDOT had to modify the original design that Portland uses to address the unique diagonal entry point for this bike box. And the signs are smaller than Portland's because Portland mounts these on overhead mast arms but DC’s use of mast arms is limited by the overhead wire/viewshed protection issues, and so DDOT had to mount them on vertical poles adjacent to the intersection (they are 22” x 34”).
And it's important to note that this is an official FHWA experiment. DDOT is phasing in changes, such as green paint in the lanes and in the bike boxes. This is being done so that DDOT can measure and record behavior with each design element. Drivers are encroaching into the bike boxes now, but DDOT needs to document it over a period of weeks prior to adding new elements to the intersection. For FHWA’s purposes, it’s very important to understand the incremental effect on behavior of each element.
As an FHWA experiment, it means DDOT has to work with FHWA and sometimes design things the way FHWA wants them. FHWA insisted on the double yellow divider line, for example. DDOT wanted to do a single 6” white or double 4” white line. FHWA sees it as a lane of opposite moving traffic, and thus the MUTCD calls for double yellow. DDOT was concerned about the drivers having to cross a double yellow to park. It's FHWA's experiment and so they won that one.
I look forward to the future phases.
DDOT's been busy lately. It looks, from these photos, like they've finished the installation of the contraflow bike lanes at the intersection of New Hampshire Ave, 16th St. and U St NW.
New contraflow bike lane with yellow line and plastic bollards for separation
This has been in the works since November, 2008 when the intersection design was rapidly changed to include bike facilities. The design back then included colorizing the facilities, but since that was not included in designs last year and it doesn't show up in any of the DDOT photos, I'm guessing that is either not happening or is in a later phase.
Regardless, it does appear that cyclists are already using the facilities. It includes, what I think are, DC's first bicycle-only traffic signals. And though not the first bike boxes in DC, they are among the first, so DDOT put up signs to help educate cyclists and drivers.
Have you been on it yet? Does it work for you? Is it too confusing? Other thoughts?
Coincidentally Jonathan Maus was just writing about changes to federal law that will make it easier for cities to fund these kinds of innovative facilities.
Currently, due to outdated federal standards, many bikeway designs that are common in Europe and Canada -- like bike boxes, colored pavement markings, bike-only signals, and buffered bike lanes -- are still considered "experimental" in the U.S.. This lack of official endorsement by the FHWA means city planners cannot use federal funds to install them and they encounter a host of significant barriers when trying to implement them....[but] the US DOT may soon give "interim approval" to the designs which would expedite their use across the country.
My notes from Gabe Klein's appearance on the Kojo Nnamdi Show with approximate times for subjects below:
The only real "news" was the announcement that DDOT will be rolling out a new program in August that will allow businesses to pick out a designer bike rack that matches their business such as a martini glass, a book or a pizza slice. The business will have to pay for part of the cost (as opposed to a free inverted U).
Klein stated early that he rides to work two times a week.
Capital Bikeshare is the "most exciting program" (04:00). It will make biking a primary mode of transportation. Talked about how Montreal's program has resulted in people biking everywhere. Website starts next week. Program launches in early September. Glad to partner with Arlington and hopes to partner with other jurisdictions. [Capital Bikeshare is coming to Near SE and a station at Nationals Park may be on deck for spring 2011, which leads me to wonder if DDOT already has plans for another expansion with or without TIGER].
Still tweaking where the stations will go. Chris Zimmerman and Klein have talked about expanding the program and the region is planning a TIGER grant for up to another 1000 stations bikes. The system gets easier to run as more bikes and stations are added.
People need bike facilities (17:23) ranging from bike parking to showers. DDOT's installed 1000 bike racks this year.
Callers were concerned about scofflaws at (19:00) and again at (45:50). Klein believes that in addition to enforcement, we need bike boxes and "lead pedestrian intervals" that allow cyclists to get a head start at intersections to make them more visible and safer. And we need to give cyclists separated cycletracks. TCO's do write tickets to cyclists and DDOT will continue to work on education and has plans for a marketing campaign called The Share Campaign that will be rolling out later this year.
Caller was happy about all the Bike lanes in DC(27:00). DDOT has a great bike team that has put in 40-50 bike lanes, and they want to get to 80 with 5 miles of cycletracks. Klein wants them to go faster and works to remove obstructions to that.
Shared bike and walkways are something DC should look at and DDOT just opened the Met Branch Trail (36:00)
Email: When parking meters disappear, so does bike parking because the poles serve as both (42:00). DDOT is now looking at replacing single space meters with better single space meters - so that will retain parking, but they are sensitive to the issue when they install multi-space meters.
Caller thinks we need Protected Bike lanes and laws that don't require cyclists to act like a car (47:25). Klein thinks the two issues are tied together. They hope to have the 15th Street protected bike lane done by the end of August/early September. Other cycletracks are planned for L and M.
Caller: How do we convince people to ride bikes year round? (49:00). Klein thinks bike sharing will change the way people will think about bikes - especially when another 1000 bikes are dropped in.
Email: Bicyclists can make the roads and sidewalks just as dangerous as motorists. What about limiting cycling to only those who are fit enough and smart enough to ride. Should we have a bicycle license? (50:00). Klein replies that DDOT has talked about plates to counter bike theft but they probably don't want to handle bike licenses. They plan to educate drivers about how to drive around cyclists. Will continue to study how other cities handle bicyclist education.
Richard Layman sent me this 3-foot passing campaign ad from New Orleans. There is a similar one asking cyclists to ride with traffic.
On the House floor, Rep. Earl Blumenauer calls attention to the imbalance between the number of bike/ped fatalities and the funding they receive.
An article from worldwatch about how bicycles can save the world.
Manhattan's DA promises to take on unsafe driving
Included in the platform are plans to expand the number of prosecutors in the Vehicular Crimes Unit, promises to support speed cameras throughout the city, and a pledge to host a training summit this fall for law enforcement from across the state.
On the virtues of getting lost.
Admittedly, it was a bit unnerving how few people use this two-mile stretch of the path set off by concrete barriers from Harlem River Drive. There is no exit until the end at Dyckman Street. Alone at high noon, the sun gleaming off the water, I could have sworn I saw things bobbing in the Harlem River. Car tires? Logs? I pedaled faster on the path littered with pieces of gravel and glass.
The Brooklyn, NY IKEA does not want you to bike there (via TheCityFix)
But a “confrontational” Ikea Manager Mike Baker said that a southbound bike lane along Beard and Halleck streets would put cars, buses and bikers on a collision course to the entrance of the big box on Beard Street.
“It seems dangerous to officially encourage bikes to the front of Ikea,” Baker told Community Board 6 on Thursday night.
A tongue in cheek article about the dismay of adding pedestrian zones and bike lanes to the city.
Even worse are the cyclists. Pushy or what? Now they want their own lanes on Jarvis St and University Ave. Who do they think they are? Don’t they understand these are major arterials, places for cars, not bikes? Good thing city council vetoed a proposal that would have put bike lanes on University for a three-month trial period.
Bikes are for kids. They belong on the sidewalk, with all those pedestrians.
A 19-year-old cyclist, riding cross country to raise money for breast cancer research, was hit from behind by an SUV and killed.
He suffered serious head trauma and was taken to University of New Mexico hospital, where he was pronounced dead Tuesday afternoon.
"The friends who saw the horrific crash said they are angry at the driver who they said caused it and want the public to learn from what they're calling a careless mistake," reports local Albuquerque ABC affiliate KOAT 7.
“I was standing still on the side of the road and John was riding toward me when I saw the car come riding off the road, onto the apron area, and then he struck John,” Bereskie said.
Bereskie said Anczarski fell from his bike and onto the windshield of the car. The helmet Anczarski was wearing appeared to be pushed back, exposing his head, Bereskie said, and Anczarski seemed to strike his head when he landed on the roadway.
According to Bereskie, “The driver said that he was looking off the side of the road for something involving his granddaughter, and I guess when he was doing that he continued and was off the road and almost hit me and struck John.”
Yet the identity and fate of that driver remain, for now, a mystery. It is unknown whether he has been picked up or charged with any crimes.
Bereskie, said the driver was an older man who lived on the Laguna reservation land, which belongs to the Pueblo Indians. Bereskie also said the driver did not stop immediately after he realized Anczarski had been hit, according to the Standard Speaker.Friends said they question how that driver didn't see him.
"We were wearing yellow jerseys. We had blinking LED lights on our bikes," Bereskie said.
The crash occurred at 1pm
Originally, the accident was being investigated by the Laguna Pueblo Police Department, but because it occurred on tribal lands, it was handed over to the Bureau of Indian affairs. A press release from the bureau was promised on Wednesday but remains forthcoming, according to the Republican Herald.
Two young men in Chicago, drove around drunk, hunting down a cyclist to hit. They hit two different cyclists in the Brookfield area and were caught.
The driver, 20-year-old Erik Fabian, plead guilty to aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and leaving the scene of an accident. He was sentenced to two years probation. Fabian’s buddy, Armando Reza, was sentenced last week to 10 days in jail for the same incident.
The city of Vancouver made a video to explain it's two-way cycle track (or separated bike lane, as they call it) (via GGW). I love the use of planters and bike parking as part of the barrier.
San Jose's new trail markers look cool and should be emulated on our trails
And a WSJ Video about biking in SF, and their new separated bike lanes.
WNBR coverage (but maybe not the kind needed).
Two cyclists were temporarily detained by police for infringement of decency but released when their friends circled the police vehicle.
And relatedly, THIS is how you protest the oil spill in the Gulf
I am pledging to replace at least seven short trips each week that I would ordinarily take via car, with a bicycle, and I'm planning to lose weight while I'm at it. I will bike two miles to the train station in the morning to catch my commuter rail to the office. I will bike to meet friends in the park on weekends. I will bike to my local coffee shop. I will equip my bicycle with a basket, so that I can bike to the deli for my gallon of milk and loaf of bread. Seven is a small number, but I have to start somewhere -- no one can go from bench-pressing 45 pounds to 245 overnight.
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