Attack on the MBT

[jopamora]

This was from last year, right?

[dasgeh]

@jopamora 88287 wrote:

This was from last year, right?

Oh, yes. Sorry. It was posted somewhere else as if it was this week.

[Greenbelt]

There was a ton of media after this — the fear-industrial complex was out in full force for days, with all the TV news crews on the trail, police walks etc.

Not to say I don’t feel terrible for the guy who was attacked, but I’m way safer on the MBT every day than in the R street bike lane. All-cause risk of injury much higher on the virtually any road in DC than this trail. Besides, there are so many people using the trail now, for yoga (!), jogging etc.

[skins_brew]

I have only been riding the MBT for like a year, so I don’t have much cred, but I generally feel “pretty safe.”

The worse time is when you are hitting the MBT when a school has just gotten out. The youth usually travel in groups, and when they are in groups, they get more ballsy. I have heard of the “knock out” game and there have been a few times when I thought someone was going to try to play, but luckily, they didn’t. The shitty thing is the group will be walking across the entire width of the trail, so you are forced to get within swinging range.

I don’t know how summer impacts the number of bored youth wandering the trail. On one hand, they are not in school and therefore not “commuting” but on the other hand, they might just be out and about, bored, and looking for something to get into.

[PotomacCyclist]

Have there been any incidents this year, reported or not? The media might not report a “minor” incident where only one punch is thrown, but people might talk about it on the local blog sites like Popville, Greater Greater Washington, DCist, etc.

I wonder if they shouldn’t bring The Mosquito back:

http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Anti-Loitering-Device-Installed-at-Gallery-Place-101903703.html

It was used to deter large groups of people from loitering around the Gallery Place Metro in response to a massive fight that broke out in that area. The noise device was later challenged, successfully, as discriminatory because it supposedly only affected teenagers and young adults. Older adults apparently cannot hear the sound.

Could they modify the device so that it can be heard by everyone and then install it near trouble spots along the trail? People who are cycling, running or walking through those areas won’t have to listen to it too long, while it might help to deter large groups of people, adults or teenagers, from loitering in those spots. If the sound is audible to all people, then there would not be a discrimination problem, would there? Or maybe the past experience with The Mosquito and the successful legal challenge has soured everyone over the device. Or maybe the crime problems along the trail have faded away?

I don’t know since I never ride over there.

[PotomacCyclist]

An assault took place on Monday, although the attack was unsuccessful.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/woman-is-assaulted-along-ne-dc-bike-trail/2014/06/16/8a7203c8-f5ca-11e3-a3a5-42be35962a52_story.html?tid=recommended_strip_1

[ShawnoftheDread]

The Post is reporting a juvenile arrest in this attack.

[PotomacCyclist]

There was a second attack on Monday, just hours after the other one. She was grabbed from behind, but she managed to elbow the man and get the attention of a co-worker, who came to help.

http://www.wtop.com/41/3644368/2nd-woman-attacked-along-Metropolitan-Bike-Trail

[KLizotte]

Another robbery on the MBT. This time the perps pushed a woman off her bike and stole her phone, purse, cash. Someone snapped their photo.

https://twitter.com/jwetz/status/620620521076621312

[GovernorSilver]

There was a community meeting in NOMA to discuss proposed improvements to the MBT. NOMA BID at least seems to be serious about the improvements – I think they are the ones who spent the money to not only add the bike lane to First St. NE – M St, but spend even more to make it a curb-protected bike lane.

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/27209/the-met-branch-trail-could-get-brighter-safer-and-easier-to-get-to/

MBT is quite isolated in stretches, which contributes to the crime problem. Among the solutions to this problem are proposals to open up shops and stuff like that along the trail.

WashCycle has some nice summaries of proposed improvements here:

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2015/06/metropolitan-branch-trail-20-new-trail-connections.html

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2015/06/monroe-street-at-monroe-street-they-propose-improving-the-connection-to-the-east-side-of-the-tracks-9th-street-north-of-m.html

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2015/07/metropolitan-branch-trail-20-neighborhood-enhancements.html

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