ACPD Blocking Key Bridge Access, Threatening Cyclists

[rcannon100]

I saw this too. I saw the officers. The light cycled westbound to a red light. A car flew through the red light turning north to key bridge. I pointed at the car looking at the officers. They did NOTHING.

If you would like to write up a blog post, I am more than glad to post it to the Windy Run blog (that invitation is open to everyone)

[arlrider]

Thanks for the offer, though I’m not much of a blogger. I was thinking of going to ARLnow because this (Intersection of Doom) is one of those topics that they love to post just about anything about, and because there’s also a really strong anti-government-waste sentiment over there (though that same crowd also seems to be an anti-cycling crowd). And of sending this over to Chief Scott and asking for his explanation of why this is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds, and why his officers feel the need to threaten citizens.

[creadinger]

Also, related to the IoD – I thought the off-ramp from 66 was going to have “No Turn on Red” signs installed?? When is that going to happen? I didn’t see any this morning when I drove through there. I cautiously approached the intersection to look for cars/peds/bikes, and the car behind me tailgated me all the way through the turn.

[baiskeli]

@creadinger 96294 wrote:

Also, related to the IoD – I thought the off-ramp from 66 was going to have “No Turn on Red” signs installed?? When is that going to happen?

Yeah, motorists need another traffic control to violate and ACPD needs more violations to ignore!

[Terpfan]

First day back on the bike in a week for me (head cold in between–joy joy). Ran into the same thing and almost said something except I thought it was for an accident because of how the CRV-type suv in front of him seemed to have her tires hitting the curb. Apparently, that person was just a stupid driver. I’m confused why he’s parked there when they usually park across Lynn in the in-between area. Thankfully for me, no one was coming the other way at the time. Otherwise, I would have said, wtf to him.

[creadinger]

@baiskeli 96298 wrote:

Yeah, motorists need another traffic control to violate and ACPD needs more violations to ignore!

“One change is minor in cost but should be significant in impact: A no-turn-on-red sign is being installed at N. Lynn Street for those exiting I-66. That’s being done “as soon as possible,” Marcus said.”

Despite being a minor cost, apparently, ASAP does not mean within 1 week+

[btj]

When I went by around 9:15 the police car had been moved off the sidewalk and down into the access road (next to the MVT) and the officer was directing traffic from within the intersection near the crosswalk. So that’s good news at least.

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[arlrider]

@btj 96301 wrote:

When I went by around 9:15 the police car had been moved off the sidewalk and down into the access road (next to the MVT) and the officer was directing traffic from within the intersection near the crosswalk. So that’s good news at least.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6759[/ATTACH]

Whoa! Magic. Where’s that at 8:30? Also the cop in your picture isn’t the loser who tried to threaten me for documenting his misbehavior.

[Rootchopper]

I’d like to hear from one of the police officers. Why are they ignoring dangerous infractions? When car traffic backs up do they get an earful when the go back to their station at the end of the shift?

[mstone]

@Rootchopper 96308 wrote:

Why are they ignoring dangerous infractions?

I would guess it’s because their supervisors don’t treat traffic safety as a serious concern, and the elected oversight hasn’t held anyone accountable.

Probably not likely to change as long as local elections are based on things like whether the candidate supports obamacare.

[sjclaeys]

Continuing on the theme of whether there has been follow through at the IOD, the additional lead time to cross Lynn seems to have gone away.

[dasgeh]

@creadinger 96294 wrote:

Also, related to the IoD – I thought the off-ramp from 66 was going to have “No Turn on Red” signs installed?? When is that going to happen? I didn’t see any this morning when I drove through there. I cautiously approached the intersection to look for cars/peds/bikes, and the car behind me tailgated me all the way through the turn.

We discussed this last night at the ABAC meeting, and County staff is looking into it. Apparently, there’s a little confusion as to whether it’s going to be full time “No Turn on Red” or an electronic sign, which only prohibits rights on reds at certain times.

As I said last night, I worry that an extended Leading Pedestrian Interval without a No Turn on Red sign is worse than what we had, because during the LPI phase, drivers wishing to turn right are looking left — away from pedestrians and cyclists legally crossing the sidewalk — and may accelerate without ever looking right, leading to disastrous consequences. Staff heard my comments and said they would relay them. I’m ok with waiting to see what they come up with, though I’m extra careful during the LPI now.

Last night it was asserted (almost in an aside, so not discussed) that it is not lawful for cars in the center lane to turn right on red. I believe I’ve seen that happen, and wonder whether there should be signage to indicate so, if we’re not going to have full time No Turn on Red for all.

[rcannon100]

@rcannon100 96291 wrote:

If you would like to write up a blog post,

Done.

[arlrider]

@rcannon100 96318 wrote:

Done.

Nicely written – thanks!

[creadinger]

@dasgeh 96317 wrote:

We discussed this last night at the ABAC meeting, and County staff is looking into it. Apparently, there’s a little confusion as to whether it’s going to be full time “No Turn on Red” or an electronic sign, which only prohibits rights on reds at certain times.

As I said last night, I worry that an extended Leading Pedestrian Interval without a No Turn on Red sign is worse than what we had, because during the LPI phase, drivers wishing to turn right are looking left — away from pedestrians and cyclists legally crossing the sidewalk — and may accelerate without ever looking right, leading to disastrous consequences. Staff heard my comments and said they would relay them. I’m ok with waiting to see what they come up with, though I’m extra careful during the LPI now.

Last night it was asserted (almost in an aside, so not discussed) that it is not lawful for cars in the center lane to turn right on red. I believe I’ve seen that happen, and wonder whether there should be signage to indicate so, if we’re not going to have full time No Turn on Red for all.

Thanks for the clarification. I have in fact seen cars turn right on red from the center lane, so if you want to report that at the next meeting please do. There’s no sign to say “NO”, so people unsure of the law will do it. Driving through there in the early mornings I would welcome the no-turn on red from both lanes. Even though traffic is light and it would slow me down, it would alleviate the anxiety of looking 6 different ways for on-coming people and also keep the a-holes from creeping up my bumper while I try to not kill somebody.

While they decide what to do, because that could take years, maybe the best thing would be to make it full time – No Turn on Red, and find out whether there’s actually any impact on traffic.

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