Another Rosslyn Accident

[dasgeh]

@americancyclo 20275 wrote:

A bridge! or a tunnel! or a catapult!

Catapult the cars! And the tourists!

[dasgeh]

@baiskeli 20283 wrote:

Are you looking specifically into whether that stop sign is legit?

This is something I keep meaning to look into but would love it if BikeArlington or WABA or someone else could — what are the legal requirements for a stop sign in VA and DC (and MD, though I’m rarely there). Specifically, there are a number of these small stop signs on MUTs in NoVA and DC, and I’ve heard that they don’t conform to any law. However, I’ve never seen any citations to the law that they would need to conform to. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

[chris_s]

@brendan 20260 wrote:

More seriously: if the county is serious about keeping this part of the sidewalk a MUT, the hotel parking lot entrance/exit needs to be redesigned or closed. If redesigned, perhaps moved east away from the concrete structure (perhaps mid-block between the current location and the traffic signal).

Last time the County presented on this (October 2011) they were trying to convince VDOT to let them remove a lane of Westbound Lee Highway and use that space to shift and widen (to 16′!!) that part of the trail. The shifting would make the intersection between the parking exit and the trail happen farther south than it current does, greatly improving the sight lines (the issue there primarily being that you can’t see around that skywalk structure). Illustrated on pages 24 and 25 of this presentation.

That (plus some other improvements) are part of the “N. Lynn Street Esplanade and Lee Highway/Custis Trail Safety Improvements” project. If they stay on schedule, we should see another public meeting with a 90% complete design sometime this Summer.

My coverage of the October meeting is here: http://engagearlington.com/archive/2011/10/06/the-rosslyn-meeting.aspx

The County’s official project page is here:
http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/environmentalservices/cpe/capprojects/page63515.aspx

[Mark Blacknell]

@dasgeh 20332 wrote:

This is something I keep meaning to look into but would love it if BikeArlington or WABA or someone else could — what are the legal requirements for a stop sign in VA and DC (and MD, though I’m rarely there). Specifically, there are a number of these small stop signs on MUTs in NoVA and DC, and I’ve heard that they don’t conform to any law. However, I’ve never seen any citations to the law that they would need to conform to. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

This is a path I started down before, but never completed. Below is a summary I rec’d during that process from another local advocate:

The stop signs on the W&OD Trail have been an issue that I’ve investigated in the past. In some cases police consider those signs to be the same as a stop sign on a road and will ticket cyclists for not stopping. I think the applicable code they usually use is:

46.2-821. Vehicles before entering certain highways shall stop or yield right-of-way.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-821

In one case a cyclist was struck by a motorist in a crosswalk on Belmont Ridge Rd at the W&OD Trail. He was issued a citation under the above code. He fought it in court. The judge ruled that the code only applies on a highway/road and not on a trail. The charge was dismissed. See the bottom of this page for details about the case:

http://www.restondigital.com/bikecommuting/resources.html

At one point I asked Del. Ken Plum to ask the VA attorney general for a ruling on the situation, where there is a stop sign on a trail adjacent to a crosswalk. The request was misunderstood and the AG merely explained that motorists must yield to pedestrians and cyclists in a crosswalk where the speed is 35 mph or less (I won’t go into the 35mph or greater part since there is some contention about whether that’s what the code really says).

I asked folks at NVRPA about the signs they have placed under the stop signs that say “Required by Law”. I was sent a reference to VA code 15.2-5704, Powers of Authority:

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+15.2-5704

The applicable section is likely either “7. To regulate the uses of all lands and facilities under control of the authority;” or “17. To adopt such rules and regulations from time to time, not in conflict with the laws of this Commonwealth, concerning the use of properties under its control as will tend to the protection of such property and the public thereon.”

I’ve always contended that existing code handles intersections of a trail and a road and the signs are not necessary:

46.2-924. Drivers to stop for pedestrians; installation of certain signs; penalty.

http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-924

As an example of how this situation is misinterpreted, Doug Landau, a personal injury attorney and cyclist who handles many bike crash cases, recently posted a blog entry that complete misses the point about how cyclists are treated by the law:

http://fairfax-loudoun.injuryboard.com/automobile-accidents/bikes-in-the-crosswalk-are-they-safe-on-the-path-.aspx?googleid=295790&utm_source=commentemails&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=comment%2Bnotifications

Finally, a while back Spokes magazine featured an article on the zig zag markings on two roads that intersect the W&OD Trail in Loudoun Co. VDOT conducted a study on the effectiveness of this treatment. In the study there’s a recommendation, number 5, for VDOT’s Traffic Division to conduct a study of VA code as it relates to the interpretation of the W&OD Trail stop signs at the road crossings.

http://www.virginiadot.org/vtrc/main/online_reports/pdf/11-r9.pdf

In the end, I expect it’s an unsettled question. Which is a little unsettling in and of itself.

[dasgeh]

Mark, this is awesome. Thanks.

As another avenue of research, is there a standard for the size (along with shape and color) of stop signs? I thought I had seen it somewhere for DC’s regs, and these mini-stop signs don’t meet the required standard. In other words, even if the County or State were allowed, by law, to choose to put a stop sign at this location, does what they’ve put up have the force of law? If they put up a cardboard sign with “STOP” written in permanent marker, but I’m pretty sure the answer would be no.

[chris_s]

@dasgeh 20481 wrote:

As another avenue of research, is there a standard for the size (along with shape and color) of stop signs?

The “Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices” is the standard for all road signs. To be a stop sign on a shared use trail it must be at least 18″x18″ (and look like a traditional stop sign – red color, etc). On a road it’d have to be 30″x30″ or more.

Reference:
http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part9/part9b.htm#table9B01

[Author]

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