TheWashCycle

M Street: Directional Signage

They have a lot of proposed directional signage - to the Key Bridge, CCT, Adams Morgan, Georgetown, George Washington University, Dupont Circle, etc... but this is just an example. 

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."

Arlington Facility Update Feb 2013

As presented to the Arlington BAC by County Staff (new information in bold)

1.  On-street improvements - For the next couple months staff will be scoping out bike network improvements to two important north/south corridors: N. Harrison Street and S. Eads Street.  Details have yet to be worked out, but both projects should include significant extensions of the bike lanes.  The implementation of both projects will be contingent upon the County's resurfacing plans (and budget) for 2013.  Preliminary layouts will be presented to the BAC for discussion prior to final plans.  Final paving and resurfacing plan expected in March.

2.  Construction of the new FHWA-funded wider sidewalks and buffer along S. Joyce Street under I-395 is largely complete and open for use.  (Street lighting, signals and counting equipment are still to be done.)  Public "ribbon cutting" to take place in March.

3.  Short term safety improvements to the Rosslyn Circle area are complete.  Deficient curb ramps at all the corners surrounding and including Gateway Park (except for three) have been rebuilt to meet current ADA standards.  The remaining corners, NW and NE corners of WB Lee Hwy/Custis Trail at Lynn Street and NE corner of Lee Hwy/Custis Trail at Ft. Myer Drive, will be done in conjunction with the larger Rosslyn Circle project which is at 60% design and currently being reviewed by VDOT.

4.  Washington Boulevard Trail Phase II - Staff has preliminary agreement from the Department of the Navy to renegotiate a new access easement that would reduce impacts on existing trees and allow the trail to be located further away from a streambed.  Implementation of the trail is still planned to start in 2013.

5.  Design work has begun on the creation of a short trail link in Bluemont Park between the Four Mile Run trail and Manchester Street near Ashlawn Elementary School.  Construction is planned for 2013.

6.  Planning work is about to commence on the design of a new ADA compliant trail linking Potomac Yard with the Four Mile Run trail.  This multi-year project will involve the Four Mile Run Joint Task Force (JTF) which is composed of Alexandria and Arlington citizens and staff.

7.  Staff is working with the NVRPA to get approvals to replace extraneous signage and markings with consistent and appropriate traffic controls along the W&OD trail.  Implementation planned for spring 2013.  Awaiting feedback.

8.  Installation of Wayfinding signage along the Custis Trail will begin in February.  First installations will be between George Mason Drive and the Lee Highway crossing near Cherrydale.  Phase I will incorporate the entire Rosslyn-Ballston on-street network and the Custis Trail between Rosslyn and Ballston.  Planning has begun for the next phase, which will include the remainder of Arlington's major trails.

9. Ten of the County's first automated bike lane counters have been installed this season.  Locations include Fairfax Drive in Virginia Square, Quincy Street near Central Library, Military Road and Wilson and Clarendon Boulevards in Clarendon.  Three new automated trail counters have been installed, bringing our total off street counter network to 15.  Two more trail counters will be installed as part of the S. Joyce Street project (see #2).  Staff is working closely with Arlington County Commuter Services (ACCS) webmasters to make count data available to the public some time in March.

10.  21 new bike racks were installed in December and January, including the County's first in-street racks (in front of the Java Shack).

11.  Staff has developed options for keeping major trails accessible during ice and snow events this winter.  One option involves utilizing County equipment and staff, another involves hiring contractors.  If a plan is agreed upon to use one or the other (or a combination of both) there may still be time for snow clearing on the trails to take place this season.  Awaiting County Manager feedback.

12.  Staff is refining the design of the new Carlin Springs Road bridge over George Mason Drive.  The new bridge planned for construction in 2014 will include 6ft wide bike lanes and sidewalks.

13.  The intersection of the W&OD Trail at Lee Highway in East Falls Church is being redesigned to better align the trail, improve queuing areas at the crosswalk and improve accessibility.  A related, but separate effort to reduce conflicts with turning traffic by changing signal operations, is also underway.

No bikes on trail

Photo by M.V. Jantzen

If one ridiculous sign isn't working, then clearly you need two

Dismount Bike Ahead by M.V. Jantzen

He adds "Cyclists on the Mt Vernon Trail, by National Airport. The crosswalk by a road connecting to the Mt Vernon Parkway has long had a stop sign and another sign saying "dismount before crossing," which I find ridiculous. Dismount??? So, I was shocked to see a pair of new signs added a few yards before the existing signs, saying "dismount bike ahead." .... Notice there are no signs for automobile traffic, even though the painted crosswalk means they have a requirement to yield, not the other way around. Arlington, VA."

I like how the new one is about the dismount ahead, like the reason why people weren't complying is that they were caught off guard by it.

Maryland advocates: What I did on my summer vacation

Here are a few tidbits about what some Maryland advocates did over the summer.

Jack Cochrane is known as the key bicycle advocate in Montgomery County, but he is also a summertime advocate in western New York.  Until recently, Route 394 had a door-zone bike lane as it passed through one of his favorite towns.  He wrote the state department of transportation: 

But after resurfacing, the line separating the parking area from the bike lane has not been repainted (all the other lines were repainted).  This creates a wider parking area at the expense of the bike lane.  The bike lane symbols are gone too.  Please leave it that way.  Now bicyclists are free to ride in the travel lane (safely away from parked cars) without drivers getting upset at them for not riding in the bike lane.   

He wanted to urge the state to place "Use Full Lane" (R4-11) signs there, but New York State explicitly decided not to adopt the sign.

Another Maryland advocate persuaded the police on Long Beach Island (New Jersey) to change the text on a variable message sign from "Cyclists obey traffic laws.  Stop at red lights and stop signs" to "Walk to the left, bicycles ride right."  When a driver wrote a typical letter to the local paper urging a police crackdown on scofflaw cyclists, he wrote a letter commending the police.

Clueless drivers ... threaten the lives of cyclists and pedestrians...So many drivers park on the sidewalk that one must assume that most drivers do not know what a sidewalk is... So many drivers fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks that one would assume that many drivers do not know what a crosswalk is...So many drivers speed that one must assume that drivers mentally add 10 mph to every posted speed limit—not so different from cyclists who run red lights and stop signs (5 mph instead of 0 mph)...Almost all drivers make illegal right turns on the bike lanes along Atlantic, Beach, and Long Beach Boulevard south of Beach Haven....Many drivers illegally honk their horns at cyclists riding in the center of the lane for their own safety...Fortunately, the Long Beach Township police are trying to educate drivers and cyclists on how to be safe.

Finally, the Maryland Department of Transportation's director of bicycle and pedestrian affairs spent some time in the cooler climate of Calgary, Alberta.   The Calgary Herald reported

Today, the conference heard from a delegate from Maryland named Michael Jackson, who examined  schools in his state that have actually banned students from walking or riding a bike to school. It seems absurd, but it’s not uncommon, and it’s hard not to think poor understanding of cycling drives some of those prohibitions. 

(Jim Titus is a bicycle advocate from Prince Georges County, Maryland)

Wednesday Morning Commute - BMUFL

Good morning. Not much for me to report, but soon I'll be able to start biking again, which I'm excited about.

• The hit and run in Bethesda might not have involved a hit. "There may or may not have been actual contact between the biker and the van," he said. After the accident, the cyclist said the van made a sudden lane change and hit her, Didone said, but preliminary investigations of the damage did not show any signs of the van hitting the bicycle.
• The BAC comes up with some ideas about automated enforcement. 
• Where BMUFL signs are being installed in Montgomery County. I saw some on MD-212 Riggs Road earlier today. 
• There was another possible hit and run involving a cyclist yesterday, this time in Arlington near Westover.
• Livestrong donations are strong
• I'm blogging for the Green Lanes Project about DC bicycle facilities and you can see my first post here.

Friday Afternoon Commute - 1900

Good afternoon

• France's cultural attache is leaving DC "For some, Roland Celette is the buoyant man about town, perched elegantly upon the bicycle he rides from gallery to gallery"
• Fixe bike lovers rejoice. 
• WAMU reports on the  "Bicycles may use full lane." signs in PG County. PG County unfortunately wants to use the Share The Road signs on roads with only one lane in either direction. "We are utilizing the two signs, as not only are we concerned about the county's liability, but also about the safety of the bicyclists," says Hubbard. I'm not sure how Share the Road signs make cyclists safer than "Bicycles may use full lane." signs or how they protect the state from liability.
• OT: This is an interesting and unintentionally humorous look at what artists in 1900 though life in 2000 would look like. Lot's of underwater living, dirigibles and personal propeller packs. No bikes oddly. They're so wrong on so many things - and yet there are a few items (roller skates, the roomba, movies with sound, airplanes) that they got right in theory. 

Monday Afternoon Commute - Railroad

Good afternoon

• CaBi posts another record with 203,896 Bikeshare rides in July. 
• Bikes abandoned at Metro stations have been tagged and after 10 days, they may be removed and sold at auction. And still more parking is needed. 
• While MDOT is installing the "Bicyclists may use full lane" on it's roads, most county and city transportation departments are not. 
• More grants: Montgomery County has been awarded  $40 million in grants for transportation projects at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. Defense officials say the money will be used on projects including a bicycle and pedestrian path under Maryland Route 355 that will connect the medical center and a Metrorail station. But I doubt many cyclists will use this path. 
• The driver who struck and killed cyclist Lanie Kruszewski in Richmond last week claims he thought he hit a deer. Since 2002, he's been charged with reckless driving four times with one conviction. In two of the other cases, the charge was reduced to a lesser speeding violation. In the fourth case, the charge was amended to improper control/driving. In addition to those cases, Webb has gotten seven other speeding tickets. One of those was amended to disregarding a highway sign, and two were amended to a violation of defective equipment. He also was found guilty of a violation involving a right turn on red. So yes, it is impossible to lose your license in Virginia. As with the Pettigrew case I might believe that the guy thought he hit a deer. And, as in that case, I really don't care. It doesn't explain why he hit a cyclist with a light on her bike. And one has an obligation to determine - with 100% certainty - that they did hit a deer, and not a person, before leaving. So, while morally-speaking, driving away because you thought you hit a deer is better than doing so to avoid legal implications of hitting a person; legally it should be treated as the same thing. If his 2004 Dodge Durango has Airbag Control Module similar to the one the driver in the David Williams case had, I'm giving 10-1 odds that he was speeding.
• Bicycle railroad.

Thursday Morning Commute - gobsmacked

Good morning

• The D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development recognized the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail as the August 2012 One City Location of the Month. "By the end of the year, the District anticipates opening a second fiberglass bridge east of the river will complete trail connections on both sides of the river from South Capitol Street to Benning Road. Design of the Kenilworth Gardens segment, which will extend the trail from Benning Road to the Bladensburg Trail in Maryland, is to conclude by the end of 2012."
• Capital Bikeshare is setting up on the campus of Gallaudet University today. I don't mean to be insensitive, but I rely pretty heavily on hearing when I bike. Does anyone know how the hearing impaired compensate for this? If biking with two headphones on is illegal, how does the law treat biking when deaf?
• Local bike advocate Veronica Davis was honored by the White House as a Transportation Innovator and Champion of Change. "In addition to co-founding Nspiregreen, a sustainability and environmental consulting company, Davis helped launch Black Women Bike. "
• The list of local Maryland Highways that will get "Bicycles May Use Full Lane" signs.
• Construction in Greenbelt includes debris in the bike lane and in DC includes steel plates in the 15th Street Cycletrack near Treasury.
• American Kristin Armstrong successfully defended her Olympic Gold Medal in the Women's Individual Time Trial. On the men's side, Bradley Wiggins added to his Tour de France win by winning the Gold at home. That makes him the most decorated Olympian in British history with 7 medals. Winning the 2012  "Dan Jansen Award" for being kicked in the gut by the Olympics - Taylor Phinney once again came in 4th place.