King Street Bike Lanes

@chris_s 63551 wrote:

http://www.alexandrianews.org/new-bicycle-facilities-and-street-resurfacing-planned-on-king-street/

… Expect some opposition [emphasis added] since “The proposal includes removal of parking in order to install the bike facilities.”

That’s an understatement!

They will be actual lanes.

First impression: “Awesome!”

But, that quickly turns to (as the rest of the commenters on this thread have said): “Oh boy, the parking thing. I’m getting a headache already.”

If they are able to have bike lanes on this stretch, I think that would be awesome. If not, I think they could incorporate a climbing lane for those headed northbound while using sharrows for those heading southbound. I fully agree with removing the parking lane as it isn’t always there on that stretch, leaving empty space that could be better utilized.

I put this into StreetMix to try and see what the different plans could look like (NOTE: I do not know the actual dimensions, so I estimated what the lane widths are using Google Street View) (NOTE 2: these are all facing northwest, so you’d be looking up the hill towards Janney’s Lane)

Currently
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3654[/ATTACH]
Link: http://streetmix.net/bobco85/15/king-street-now

If they put bike lanes in, removing the parking lane
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3655[/ATTACH]
Link: http://streetmix.net/bobco85/16/king-street-bike-lanes-remix

If they put a climbing lane in with sharrows, removing the parking lane
[ATTACH=CONFIG]3656[/ATTACH]
Link: http://streetmix.net/bobco85/17/king-street-climbing-lane-remix

I’ve always thought that on hills the configuration should be bike lane uphill and sharrows downhill (on a street with reasonable speed limits). Think Wilson and Clarendon, or Virginia Lane, or Walter Reed near 4MR. Is this implemented anywhere?

@DismalScientist 63614 wrote:

I’ve always thought that on hills the configuration should be bike lane uphill and sharrows downhill (on a street with reasonable speed limits). Think Wilson and Clarendon, or Virginia Lane, or Walter Reed near 4MR. Is this implemented anywhere?

My understanding is that the Fairfax County bike plan (still unofficial at this point in time – awaiting BOS approval) includes some streets with “climbing lanes” – IE a bike lane uphill, and no seperate bike real estate downhill. I don’t think thats been implemented anywhere yet.

I’d have to vote against this. Not in favor of cars, or against cyclist (I am both a driver, every day I’m not on my bike, of this section), but in support of the homeowners who live along here. The parking for these people is almost non-existent as it is. I’d have to support them, and say that cyclists just take the lane until the road widens at Janey’s. I’ve seen plenty of cyclists do it. I also think, practically speaking, the majority of cyclists are going to avoid this hill, outside of the harcore commuter, person looking for a challenge, or racer out on a training ride.

JG

@dasgeh 63661 wrote:

Your other arguments make sense, but is there a reason why these homeowners should have their parking subsidized?

Particularly since it looks as if most of the homes on that stretch have parking in the alleys and in their front/backyards, in addition to the parking on the side streets. The street parking spaces are a de facto “perk” exclusive to the residents of that section, but building a more complete street benefits a much larger share of the population.

Before calling on-street parking a perk, I would like to know what percentage of single family homeowners in Arlington and Alexandria do not enjoy this perk. I certainly would not like to back out of a driveway onto an arterial like King Street where there is no buffer that a space for onstreet parking allows. King Street was one of the first streets built in Alexandria and there are areas where houses are quite close to the road. Real estate pricing is determined somewhat by the parking amenities that come with houses and I would imagine that folks who paid a high price for a home thinking that they would have onstreet parking would be quite perturbed if the government would take it away from them during a street redesign.