ACPD Community Engagement Survey

[dasgeh]

From an email from ACPD

The Arlington County Police Department’s Strategic Management Plan guides the more than 450 men and women of the Department as they fulfill their responsibilities and serve our community. The plan looks to the future, focusing on crucial issues and helping the Department allocate resources to the most essential services.

The Department is in the process of reviewing and updating the plan. Members of the community are invited to offer comments on the future of the Strategic Management Plan through our online survey. To access the survey, please click here. The survey is available in both English and Spanish and will be open until midnight on July 11, 2016.

To review a copy of the current Strategic Management Plan, please click here.

Many of us think that ACPD has a bias in favor of people driving, and doesn’t do enough to protect people walking and biking. Many of us think ACPD should require all officers to spend time walking and biking in Arlington, and to have annual training in the laws meant to protect people walking and biking. Many of us think ACPD should continue engaging with the cycling community, including working with the BAC and should also work with the PAC (pedestrians). Here’s a chance to tell them. You can skip all the questions about gangs and technology, and it’ll take you 5 minutes.

Topic

[sjclaeys]

The electric sign that ACPD has at the intersection of N. Van Buren and N. Westmoreland is outrageous. It first says (roughly) “Cyclists Must Obey All Traffic Laws” and then “Including This Stop Sign”. Not only is this message probably ineffective in changing cyclists’ behavior, I think that it actually promotes aggressive driving behavior towards cyclists by perpetuating the view that cyclists are scofflaws and do not deserve to be treated lawfully.

[dasgeh]

@sjclaeys 142225 wrote:

The electric sign that ACPD has at the intersection of N. Van Buren and N. Westmoreland is outrageous. It first says (roughly) “Cyclists Must Obey All Traffic Laws” and then “Including This Stop Sign”. Not only is this message probably ineffective in changing cyclists’ behavior, I think that it actually promotes aggressive driving behavior towards cyclists by perpetuating the view that cyclists are scofflaws and do not deserve to be treated lawfully.

Can you get a picture? Is this new? Since when?

Thanks

[sjclaeys]

I rarely go through that intersection, so just noticed it this morning.

[bentbike33]

@dasgeh 142226 wrote:

Can you get a picture? Is this new? Since when?

Thanks

I will be passing through shortly. Will stop for a picture.

[consularrider]

It’s like the stop sign at Ohio and Buckeye Drives in East Potomac Park that says that bicyclists must stop, doesn’t say anything about the car that routinely fail to come to a full stop at the same intersection.

[Tania]

@dasgeh 142226 wrote:

Can you get a picture? Is this new? Since when?

Thanks

It’s been there at least a week, maybe a little longer (my sense of passing time is notoriously bad – but I feel confident in “at least a week”).

[MFC]

@sjclaeys 142225 wrote:

The electric sign that ACPD has at the intersection of N. Van Buren and N. Westmoreland is outrageous. It first says (roughly) “Cyclists Must Obey All Traffic Laws” and then “Including This Stop Sign”. Not only is this message probably ineffective in changing cyclists’ behavior, I think that it actually promotes aggressive driving behavior towards cyclists by perpetuating the view that cyclists are scofflaws and do not deserve to be treated lawfully.

Instead of getting indignant, why don’t you spend about 1/2 hour at that location and count the number of cyclists that don’t even slow down for the stop sign? My guess is that a large number of cars do not stop fully, but when it comes to blowing through stop signs, cyclists are the worst.

[dasgeh]

@MFC 142232 wrote:

Instead of getting indignant, why don’t you spend about 1/2 hour at that location and count the number of cyclists that don’t even slow down for the stop sign? My guess is that a large number of cars do not stop fully, but when it comes to blowing through stop signs, cyclists are the worst.

Seriously? There’s a stop sign in my neighborhood that cars routinely blow through. Just last week, a car hit a jogger and ran over her legs. We don’t get no stinking sign.

Cyclists blowing don’t mangle people’s legs

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

[bentbike33]

@bentbike33 142228 wrote:

I will be passing through shortly. Will stop for a picture.

Here they are.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12028[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]12029[/ATTACH]

[bentbike33]

@MFC 142232 wrote:

Instead of getting indignant, why don’t you spend about 1/2 hour at that location and count the number of cyclists that don’t even slow down for the stop sign? My guess is that a large number of cars do not stop fully, but when it comes to blowing through stop signs, cyclists are the worst.

Point taken that cyclists blow through the stop sign. But the bigger problem would be cyclists coming down the hill. The oncoming cyclists who see the sign now are going uphill.

[rcannon100]

@MFC 142232 wrote:

Instead of getting indignant, why don’t you spend about 1/2 hour at that location and count the number of cyclists that don’t even slow down for the stop sign? My guess is that a large number of cars do not stop fully, but when it comes to blowing through stop signs, cyclists are the worst.

Indignant is far more fun.

Besides, I prefer to count the number of people who threaten other people with their vehicles. Threat to life from 15 pounds of alloy moving at 13 mph – not. Threat to life of one ton of steel moving at 13 mph. Oh yeah, 36,000 deaths per year caused by vehicles.

Yup Indignant is far more fun.

[KLizotte]

Well….technically….a law abiding driver could suddenly swerve to avoid an unlawful cyclist (say blowing a stop sign) and accidentally hit another car, cyclist or pedestrian. In that case, I would say the cyclist was fault of the injuries.

All of this is to say that cyclists can cause injuries/deaths too even if the likelihood is lower.

[rcannon100]

Counsel: Objection your honor. Speculation.

Judge: Sustained.

You can speculate all you want. Do you have any evidence? As indicated in a different thread, we have this problem of the laws of physics. One ton of steel traveling at 25 mph kills. A cyclists – make it 200 lbs – traveling at 14 mph does not kill. There were 36,000 (give a few thousand) automobile caused deaths last year. The number of deaths that involve bicycles, you can count on your hand.

So….. I return to being indignant.

[Tania]

@KLizotte 142239 wrote:

Well….technically….a law abiding driver could suddenly swerve to avoid an unlawful cyclist (say blowing a stop sign) and accidentally hit another car, cyclist or pedestrian. In that case, I would say the cyclist was fault of the injuries.

All of this is to say that cyclists can cause injuries/deaths too even if the likelihood is lower.

There is a busy school bus stop at this intersection. I have zero doubt some a$$hat flying down the hill and through the stop sign has almost crashed into some little kid trying to cross the street. Or some resident just out walking their dog.

I’m glad they’re doing cycling enforcement here.

[mstone]

@Tania 142241 wrote:

There is a busy school bus stop at this intersection. I have zero doubt some a$$hat flying down the hill and through the stop sign has almost crashed into some little kid trying to cross the street. Or some resident just out walking their dog.

I’m glad they’re doing cycling enforcement here.

So who died, or was seriously injured? We all know that one time this cyclist ALMOST hurt someone, which is a load of crap in context.

[Author]

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