The comments section from yesterday’s ARLnow.com report included something from the cyclist struck on Monday:
“i am the cyclist who was hit on Monday morning. the facts are simple. the walkway sign was white, meaning that cyclists and pedestrians had the right of way, legally. after i was hit and thrown from the hood of the work van, i made it back to the van. The driver finally got out, and said to me, “i had a green light.” I think that summarizes everything. A driver had a green light, and even though making a turn, and driving through a crosswalk, he felt he had the right to go regardless of what was in his way. By the way, he received the ticket for failure to yield. If cars and trucks do not yield to people in the crosswalk, there is no hope for safe passage. I hope the person hit today is lucky and doing well. having spent four hours or more at GW shock trauma, with excellent care, and bruised and bloodied all over (and for those who care about the bicycle – a bent handlebar – showing the force of the fall — i feel lucky that it wasn’t worse. a trip to the trauma unit shouldnt be the entrance fee for crossing the street.”
And from my experience, the cyclists heading east have much less of a problem because the cars turning right towards Key Bridge can at least see them if they are paying any attention. Unfortunately for cyclists heading west, they are usually invisible until they actually get into the intersection. There is an issue with cars turning right on red there. In the morning I turn left from the trail into the crosswalk across the intersection and cars rarely look to their right. In the evening I am enterning the trail after having riding north on Lynn St and cars are straddling the cross walk making it more difficult to make the turn. In addition both cyclists and pedestrians waiting to cross Lynn St frequently block the entire trail, again making it nearly impossible to enter the trail, especially when there is a car cheating up across the crosswalk.
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