TheWashCycle

Thursday Afternoon Commute - Rant

Good afternoon. Don't forget the Tour de Fat is this Saturday. 

• New CaBi stations installed this morning at 18th St & Rhode Island Ave NE, 15th & F St NE and 12th & Irving St NE
• On a recent edition of The Tommy Show on 94.7 FM, many callers complained about cyclists. Mostly listeners were just ranting, but Tommy later admitted that "they could have done it in a more educational manner."
• Tour de Fat pre-party at ChurchKey. How I wish I could go.
• Support bike lanes on New Mexico Ave NW
• When you bike the Custis Trail, you pass right by the grave of a Revolutionary War Veteran. A recent Eagle Scout project added a handrail to allow access between the cemetery and the trail.
• So much about bike sharing
  • Other trailblazing cities (that's us) seem to be looking on to NYC's rollout with a bit of exasperation. For a local element 'Meanwhile, Chris Holben, project manager for Capital Bikeshare in Washington, defended his city’s claim to being the country’s bike share pacesetter. “It is the most successful, to date,” he said. “We’ll see what happens in a couple more weeks.”'
  • Meanwhile, Chicago is starting the process by discovering that there are overage fees and that the bikes cost $1200. You don't say? Can we just send them all of our pre-CaBi news articles to cut, paste and reprint? And I love this quote: "Nobody is going to pay $75 — plus daily overtime fees — to ride a bike a few times. And if you ride a lot, you will ride your own bike," he said. 
  • And Chicago has some NIMBY issues.
  • Businessweek predicts that CitiBike won't make money. They may be right, because expanding the system beyond the ideal profit point is probably in the city's best interest. But they may also be wrong, and I suspect the system could turn a profit if that were the goal (not counting what it would cost to rent all the land needed for the stations). 
  • Profit or not, people like it. And it's good for business.
  • Earl Blumenauer thinks New Yorkers will love it. "Closer to home, I’ve watched Capital Bikeshare, Washington’s bike share program, begin to redefine the city. From its onset in 2011 with 49 stations and 400 bikes, the system has exploded in less than three years of operation — celebrating its four-millionth rider this spring. Now the system has 224 stations and 1,900 bikes throughout the region, becoming the only mass transit system in America that fully pays its operating cost.I witness it on a daily basis being used by tourists, people on errands, and even those commuting to work. The New York system, with three times the bikes and 75 more stations, is poised to enjoy even greater and more rapid success.
  • The 10 largest bike share programs outside of China (not DC).
• San Francisco has a bike speed indicator on the Golden Gate Bridge. It will only encourage people to ride faster ("I got that thing up to 40!")

 

Photo by M.V. Jantzen

Wednesday Afternoon Commute - Whereas

Remember the NASA bike share thing from last week. Two things - I've ridden one of the bikes a couple of times and though clunkier than a CaBi, they get the job done; and one of the major contractors here has forbidden their employees from riding them because it's too risky. 

• CaBi installed four new stations in DC yesterday,  at 8th & East Capitol St. NE, 15th & East Capitol St. NE, 8th and F, NE, and NJ and R, NW.
• M Street Cycletrack meeting tonight. 
• Homeless camp along the MVT removed. 
• If I known my post in response to Goodyear's article would become a multi-day thing, I would've edited it or something. 
• NCPC is hosting a meeting on 10th Street SW and Banneker
• ANC3F passed a resolution in support for a separated cycle track on Connecticut Ave. NW (text below)
• "Front and center in today's bike-lane dust-ups is San Francisco. ... an effort to build bike lanes along Polk Street, which would provide a relatively flat, north-south route in the city, has met opposition. Polk Street is a narrow, congested thoroughfare, so the plan is to replace most of the curbside parking with bike lanes and miniature parklets. However, business owners in the heavily commercial neighborhood are not impressed, fearing the loss of parking will have a negative impact on their business. They have placed protest signs in storefront windows and have jammed community meetings on the lane plans, turning them into rowdy events."

WHEREAS the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is developing a
master transportation plan, which will direct DDOT funding for the next ten
years or more; and

WHEREAS biking is the most efficient use of public space and fund for
transportation; and

WHEREAS Mayor Gray's Sustainable DC initiative has called for at least 75%
of all trips to be made by walking, transit, or biking by 2032; and

WHEREAS All District corridors and arterials should be made safe for
walking, driving, and biking; and

WHEREAS Connecticut Avenue is a major arterial road from Montgomery County
to Downtown Washington, D.C.; and

WHEREAS Capital Bikeshare is expanding in Montgomery County, and in the
District along Connecticut Avenue; and

WHEREAS separated bicycle facilities are safer than other roadway
treatments, reducing crashes up to 90%; and

WHEREAS bicyclists using the 15th Street cycle track stated that they felt
overwhelmingly safer when riding in a physically separated facility
according to DDOT; and

WHEREAS a protected cycle track encourage bicyclists to use the road instead
of the sidewalks; and

WHERAS 83% of residents in the area around the 15th Street cycle track
surveyed consider it to be a valuable asset to their neighborhood according
to DDOT; and

WHEREAS Motorists interviewed on D.C. streets with cycle tracks were found
to be favorable toward the lanes according to DDOT; and

WHEREAS a protected cycle track would improve the flow of traffic,
especially uphill, by allowing bikes to move at a slower speed without
impeding cars; and

WHEREAS business benefits by having cycle tracks, with the first cycle
tracks in the U.S. on 8th and 9th Avenues in Manhattan seeing up to 49% rise
in local businesses, with 3% in the rest of the borough.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that ANC 3F supports the inclusion of a separated
cycle track on Connecticut Avenue in the forthcoming master transportation
plan.

 

Cyclists are special and do have their own rules

Sarah Goodyear of the Atlantic has an article for Bike to Work Week entitled "Cyclists Aren't 'Special', and They Shouldn't Play by Their Own Rules." The thesis seems to be that now that cycling is mainstream, cyclists need to behave better. I would argue that whether or not cycling is mainstream you need to ride safely and courteously. In fact, an increase or decrease in cycling mode share shouldn't change the way you ride one iota. 

Goodyear is asking cyclists to become footdroppers and thinks that more enforcement of cycling laws is what is needed for cycling to "get to the next level." I disagree which is easy to do since Goodyear offers no evidence, no data and no defence of her position. It appears to be 100% emotion-based opinion.

When I look at great cycling cities in Europe it doesn't appear to me that there is some point where increased enforcement is needed to keep growth going. Growth is fueled by better designed streets, laws that protect cyclists and increasing the costs of driving. If anything, what I've read about Amsterdam and Copenhagen is that they don't tolerate the kinds of bad driving that are considered normal here. I don't read about ticketing blitzes. 

She makes the point that many cyclists are rude or ride dangerously and that she'd like to see such behavior ticketed. I have no problem with ticketing dangerous behavior - though if we're really going to focus on the MOST dangerous behavior, that will rarely mean ticketing cyclists. And if law enforcement were to blitz cyclsits, it would likely not be for their most dangerous behavior (riding at night without lights or too fast on the sidewalk or against traffic) but rather not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign during a charity ride or at some out-of-the way intersection.

Writing about wrong-way cycling she adds

It makes all of us look terrible and it’s a real hazard. Same goes for blowing through a stop sign or red light, or blocking the crosswalk when you’re impatiently waiting for the light to change. Not to mention shouting at pedestrians to get out of the way when they are crossing legally. I saw someone yell at an old lady the other day. 

I again assert that few cyclists actually "blow through" stop signs and lights. Yes, cyclists run them - even Goodyear - but not blowing through them.

She sees herself as an ambassador. But does anyone see themselves as a pedestrian ambassador when walking or as a driving ambassador when driving? No. Biking is not foreign, and maybe to "get to the next level" we need to stop presenting it as though it is. It is funny that she sees it this way, that she has to behave hyper-legally and as a role model only to follow it up with. 

you’re going to have to give up your identity as a special person who does some special activity known as cycling.

You’re not so special any longer

Ok, if I'm not so special any longer, then how come I have to behave differently - squeaky clean - than everyone else?

I agree that cyclists should be safe and courteous (because I think EVERYONE should be), but not that they need to be hyper-legal in the hope that it will soothe everyone else. Because it won't. And it won't take cycling to the next level.

What will help is changing the law where it currently doesn't make sense, such as with the Idaho Stop - exactly the kind of "Special Treatment" and "own rules" that Goodyear seems to be arguing against. What will help is treating cycling as special by creating special facilities to help them get around - like bi-directional cycletracks on one-way streets or cycle-tracks. What will help is bike sharing, on street bike parking, unique zoning regulations related to bike parking, special commuter benefits for bike commuters, etc...

We're going to have to treat cyclists better and let them play by their own rules if we want to "get ot the next level."

Is it fair if bikers get benefits when motorists don’t? Nope. You know what else isn’t fair? Everything. Deal with it.

Thursday Afternoon Commute - 4 million

This is so good. So very good. 

• Capital Bikeshare had it's 4 millionth trip yesterday evening. It took 1 year to get the first million, and 19 months to get the next 3. According to Chris Holben at DDOT "we have stations planned for this week and next.  And more on the way." Also, CaBi recently moved the station at Glebe and North Fairfax because it was being under-utilized. 
• City Paper has a follow up to their "There is no war on cars" cover story. It inlcudes a link to the always incredible Gary Imhoff, who believes that there is, in fact, a war on cars.
• MPD was reportedly ticketing cyclists who ran the stop sign on Water Street at Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown this morning.
• Washington DC in Bicycling magazine.
• The new intersection of 4th and Illinois. 50 States ride gets a little better.
• "The Greenbelt Museum invites you to celebrate the New Deal-era legacy of this historic community by throwing on your vintage best, hopping on your bicycle, and joining us for a leisurely cycle through town on Sunday, May 26. This event is free and open to all! Riders should gather on the front lawn of the Greenbelt Community Center at 15 Crescent Road at 11am. The ride will kick off shortly after that time, and loop back to the lawn for post-cycling eating and socializing. The Greenbelt Museum’s historic house is right across the street and will be offering free tours for participants beginning at 1pm. Bring your own food (sorry, no alcohol allowed), buy some Tea Pops, sample some complimentary lemonade or grab something delicious from the Greenbelt Farmer’s Market. Non cyclists are welcome to join us for the picnicking!...This new event is organized by the Friends of the Greenbelt Museum and sponsored by Maryland Milestones/ATHA, Inc., Tea Pops, and the Greenbelt Farmer’s Market."

City Paper declares "there is no war on cars"

It's a very thourough and well-written article in which John Townsend of AAA calls David Alpert retarded and compares him to the KKK. 

Another [front of today's imaginary war]: the profusion of bike lanes. AAA and others have blasted the city for promoting bikes at the expense of cars, even though most bike lanes have little to no impact on driving. The new L Street bike track has drawn heat for removing a lane that was previously used for driving during rush hour and parking at other times, leaving a measly three to four lanes for cars. According to rough figures from DDOT, there are about 85 lane-miles of bike lanes in the city, versus about 4,300 for driving and 985 for parking. Even these figures—the ones that show there are more than 10 times as many miles devoted to stationary parked cars as to bikes—understate how much of the city’s streets are dedicated to cars, since car lanes are much wider than bike lanes; all told, more than 100 times as much road space is dedicated to cars as to bikes. Yet some drivers continue to feel marginalized by the slight reallocation of road resources.

Montgomery County police say "Get out of the way" or something

Disappointing article on WTOP.

Washington Area Bicyclist Association Director Shane Farthing says bicyclists have the right to use the full travel lanes at all times and that cars must yield and simply wait behind a slow-moving bike.

"Cyclists can't necessarily always go as fast as traffic, but the law does give cyclists the right to use the road," says Farthing.

So far, so good...

But Montgomery County Police Lt. Bob McCullough, deputy director of the traffic division, says that's not the case.

Slow-moving bikes need to move to the right-hand side of the roadway particularly "when they reach a point that they are impeding traffic."

Is Bob McCullough calling in from the 80's? But it gets worse.

D.C., Maryland and Virginia law states bicyclists can ride the center of the travel lane only if they're going the speed limit.

There is no such law. The speed limit is an UPPER limit, not a lower limit. You are not required to maintain that speed, and there is no law against "impeding traffic".  The law in Maryland reads:

Riding to the right not required when traveling at the speed of traffic, operating on a one-way street, passing, preparing for a left turn, avoiding hazards, avoiding a mandatory turn lane or traveling in a lane too narrow to share.

So there are many more excpetions to "riding right" in Maryland than just "traveling at the speed of traffic" which is not the same as "the speed limit." In DC the law is even farther from what WTOP reports:

Operate a bicycle in a safe and non-hazardous manner... so as not to endanger himself or herself or any other person.

WTOP, you are not the New York Post. Don't try to be. 

Monday Morning Commute - Bicycle Easter Egg

Good morning

• What causes traffic?
• Arlnigton County's new wayfinding signs are up and they look good. DC has some new ones too I noticed, and I'll be posting photos of them later. 
• Easter was historically a big day for biking. (And, it appears they used the Examiner trick of mismatching the picture with the headline, In this case "Natives Shot Like Dogs")
• Neighbors are worried about how kids will access the new Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Complex in Fort Washington. One key connection might be the Henson Creek Trail. The trail will go under the new Bock Road bridge, which is under construction and is being raised six-feet to accommodate hiking and biking on the trail underneath.
• Austin's new bike map colors roads and trails by a level of comfort.
• "The findings from this paper indicate that while bicycle helmet laws are widespread and thought to be effective, the net effect of these laws on health outcomes is actually not straightforward. It is clear that there are offsetting behaviors and unintended consequences of these laws, and these effects need to be considered by policymakers."
• One possible effect of driverless (and thus mistake-free and crash-free, so the theory goes) cars might be Driverless cars will increase the appeal of walking and biking. I think we're much farther from driverless cars than perhaps the cheerleaders think we are, but it's interesting to conisder how much more people would bike if they didn't think it was possible to get hit by a car.
• "When asked to describe their bicycle in one word, many cyclists of all kinds use the word “freedom.” Nowhere is this description more appropriate than for the women who make up the Afghan National Women’s Cycling Team."

Monday Morning Commute - Recovered

Good morning

• Phoenix Bikes bike show is this Thursday. 
• MPD posts photos of recoverd bikes on flickr. Hooray!!!
• The Green Lane Project was part of the Bike Summit. 
• A profile of Megan Odett, the organizer of Kidical Mass DC and the ABC's of Family Biking DC, in the Express. 
• This year's Cherry Blossom Fesitval map includes Capital Bikeshare stations. 
• Bikeshare can be your Metro SAG wagon. 
• United bank at 7535 Georgetown Road will be demolished to make room for a new mixed-use tower that will include a bike parking room. 
• "A temporary sidewalk bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists that will open Monday over busy U.S. 15 at Motter Avenue in Frederick will remain in use until a replacement span is completed in 2014."
• Change lanes to pass. 
• On the lack of success by bike advocates in the Virginia legislative session. "State Senator Chap Petersen (D-34), who introduced several unsuccessful bike safety bills this session, said he was baffled by the defeat of his “dooring” bill, which would have required motorists to open their doors safely when there is oncoming traffic. The maximum civil penalty for recklessly swinging car doors open was $100. The bill generated the most attention—and optimism from bike advocates—when it sailed through the Virginia Senate and a House transportation subcommittee." And more...

Sunday Video - AAA says share the road

Share the Road from AAA Public Affairs on Vimeo.

Monday Afternoon Commute - Don't mess with us. We deliver the mail via scooters

Good afternoon.

• Jonathan Maus of BikePortland gets embedded in Capital Bikeshare. A lot of this has been covered before, but the photos are great and some of the details are new to me
  • Capital Bikeshare employs 45 people
  • They expect the first 10,000 trip day this summer.
  • "I watched one of them, Timur Mukhodinov, do an annual maintenance service. He replaced nearly all the main components; lights, tires, rack, fenders, kickstand, bell, and so on."
• Woman's body found by a cyclist along the Rock Creek Park Trail. 
• The Assembly is having a season kick-off volunteer open house this Wednesday, 7:30pm at Bicycle Space.  It's a great chance for returning and prospective volunteers to meet other volunteers and get a sense of what volunteering with Bicycle Space is like.  Volunteers are a key part of all the free bike rides and events we put on throughout the year, we couldn't do it without the help of the community!  Snacks and beverages will be provided.
• Volvo is releasing a cyclist detection facility which should prevent fatal accidents.
• In Austin, Uber works with pedicabs.
• NYPD is now conducting robust investigations of traffic crashes that result in critical injuries but not certain or likely death. "Paul Steely White, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a cycling and pedestrian advocacy group that has been sharply critical of the city’s enforcement of traffic laws, hailed the changes as “a very significant step toward a safer, more humane city.”
• I don't know which is better, these old post office uniforms or the scooters they're using to deliver mail. [In the comments, check out the stamp with the bike-riding mail carrier].
• Another day in the war on cars. "DDOT and D.C.'s Office of Planning actively promote alternative options, such as trains, buses, Capital Bikeshare and car-sharing services like Zipcar and Car2go."