Bicyclist beaten on DC trail.

[Justin Antos]

@birddog 54900 wrote:

Seriously – NE DC is one of the most dangerous places in the mid-atlantic.

Um…

[KLizotte]

@dasgeh 54907 wrote:

Full disclosure: I don’t live or work near there, and have never used this trail. I just had an idea:

Could we borrow the “slug line” model, where people wait at a designated spot for ride buddies, then ride the trail together? It’ll probably add 5 minutes to the commute of the fastest out there, but it would keep people safe… Hopefully.

I’m on the MBT listserv and I know that when it first opened up, and there were criminal incidents occuring, slug lines did develop on their own. People would wait at the beginning of the MBT, or at the NY Ave metro station, for a group of commuters to form and then head out together.

I feel terrible for the cyclist; he will never feel the same freedom and happiness riding again I suspect (or even just walking around). I’m also pissed that these horrid people are ruining the trail for everyone, esp given how much the local community has tried to improve it. For those of us in the Arlington area it provides a great way to get to the Anacostia trail system. I think I may switch to taking the 15th cycle track, to 14th, Irving Ave, Michigan, and over to Monroe instead. I’ve never felt unsafe from Monroe onwards; the neighborhoods are fine and the drivers have always been far better behaved than in Arlington/downtown DC.

I hope and pray the police catch these punks.

[AMRunBike]

Saw this on DCist and knew it would be in discussion over here.

Since I got my bike three months ago, I’ve never even thought about feeling unsafe on any of the trails I’ve been on (Mt. V, W&OD, 4MR, Custis, RCP), but now I feel like I should be thinking about it.

It’s creepy, and it confuses me that some people have such motivation for senseless violence in them.

I hope the guy recovers well.

[KLizotte]

@AMRunBike 54933 wrote:

Saw this on DCist and knew it would be in discussion over here.

Since I got my bike three months ago, I’ve never even thought about feeling unsafe on any of the trails I’ve been on (Mt. V, W&OD, 4MR, Custis, RCP), but now I feel like I should be thinking about it.

It’s creepy, and it confuses me that some people have such motivation for senseless violence in them.

I hope the guy recovers well.

So far as I know, only the MBT has a record of sustained criminality. Other things have happened on other trails but they are far and few between and are on par with what you would expect in the ped world on sidewalks (e.g., muggings, beatings, etc); that is, all very, very rare. Your biggest danger by far on a daily basis is cars and peds pulling crazy Ivans.

[baiskeli]

@lordofthemark 54910 wrote:

I hear you, and personally am leary of the MBT. But I think the reaction was to charecterizing the entire quadrant. Northeast happens to include H Street Northeast – I’ve never biked there, but I’ve walked there on many occasions. As a cyclist your bigger danger there is probably the street car tracks. The city has changed fast in the last few years.

Absolutely, and it’s not fair to bash a whole quadrant. But for someone who doesn’t know the city well, it’s a survival strategy.

Just like people from Yahoo, Kansas will just say that anywhere in Washington, including our suburbs, are full of crime – they don’t know the details. Like that loser who posted something on Facebook like that in a discussion about Denver vs. DC as the best place to bike. Some people responded by telling him about DC crime going down, etc. but I googled and found the perfect response: an article talking about how crime rates were going down all over the country – except in Denver.

[rcannon100]

Repeating for emphasis, KLizzotte is right. I have been riding on Custis, WOD, MVT, C&O and other trails for decades. They are safe; level of crime is way below average (there have been a few unusual incidents – it is always prudent to be, well, prudent: dont jog with headphones; take care after dark; carry a cell phone; if it looks wrong, go a different direction; ride with a buddy when appropriate). The MBT is an unfortunate problem that hopefully will get much needed attention.

[Terpfan]

@DaveK 54903 wrote:

That’s ridiculous. I live in NE DC, please tell me how I live in the most dangerous place in the area. Tell me how I shouldn’t walk my dog outside or walk down to meet my friends at the park for fear of my life. Please explain to my friends raising kids in Brookland how they’re not safe in their own homes. There are pockets of rough areas everywhere, and on the MBT they go along with locations of schools. You wouldn’t know that though because you’re ready to write off an entire quadrant of a major city.

I will tell you the crime where you live–the lack of publicly accessible bathrooms. I’ve experienced this firsthand playing softball back up that way. I had to buy some candy bar to convince the gas station guy to let me use his locked bathroom.

In fairness to birddog, 20 years ago, I would generally think there is some accuracy to it. DC has changed a lot from what I remember as a kid.

[Terpfan]

Someone mentioned the checkpoints at Trinidad. I do remember that–very controversial and they were eventually shut down. I never actually drove through one, but I do remember that summer and how bad the violence was. Shoot, I remember prostitutes and dealers standing on Logan Circle and how going to the 9:30 club was a dodgy proposition (now adays it is dodgy if you’re not hipster and don’t want to spend $8 on a can of PBR). The crime didn’t really “leave” per say, it just moved over into PG County and some down into Charles County (spurred on by big development of places like Verizon Center, City Center, Nats Stadium/Navy Yard, etc etc). The only difference between a while back and now is that it used to be a more of you stay in your area and I’ll stay in mine sort of mutual respect–now the lines are all blurred as much of the crime is gone.

[ebubar]

@AMRunBike 54933 wrote:

Saw this on DCist and knew it would be in discussion over here.

Since I got my bike three months ago, I’ve never even thought about feeling unsafe on any of the trails I’ve been on (Mt. V, W&OD, 4MR, Custis, RCP), but now I feel like I should be thinking about it.

It’s creepy, and it confuses me that some people have such motivation for senseless violence in them.

I hope the guy recovers well.

Ditto. I’ve never felt unsafe on the Capital Crescent or Georgetown Branch trails. Often I can be the only one for several miles (especially in the rain).
A shame that you have to even think about these types of random things happening.

I’m particularly concerned that this happened on the MBT, which if I remember, runs parallel to the Red Line. Is this an area that’s visible from the Metro?
Did none of the hundreds of people packed into those trains see anything in the heat of rush hour? I’ve thought about using the MBT as a longer
route home through the city, but now I don’t know if its such a wise idea.

[83b]

Horrible story, and I hope the cyclist makes a speedy, fully recovery.

For anyone who feels unsure about safety along some or all of your commute, I keep a Sabre pepper spray strapped by my headtube that I find very easy to reach for if something feels dodgy. It even comes with a convenient velcro strap that fits handlebars, stems, and frames.

ETA: Regarding the quadrant-wars, I live in Southeast 😮 and remember the Trinidad checkpoints. The kids on my block are a menace! Just last week I saw them gang up to chase innocent lightening bugs.

[PotomacCyclist]

@Terpfan 54948 wrote:

I will tell you the crime where you live–the lack of publicly accessible bathrooms. I’ve experienced this firsthand playing softball back up that way. I had to buy some candy bar to convince the gas station guy to let me use his locked bathroom.

In fairness to birddog, 20 years ago, I would generally think there is some accuracy to it. DC has changed a lot from what I remember as a kid.

DC has changed a lot from what I remember just a decade ago. (Arlington too, although in different ways.) It wasn’t that long ago that even Metro Center consisted mostly of burned-out 3-story early 20th-century buildings, with only a couple modern office buildings here and there. Now almost all of those burned-out hulks are gone and replaced with modern buildings. (Redevelopment is a complicated issue, but no one can say that those old burned-out buildings were good for anyone other than drug dealers.)

I’ve never ridden on the MBT. I don’t usually head over through that area so it’s unlikely I’ll ride there much in the future, and not just because of the crime problem. I talk about cycling, bike commuting, health and fitness and Capital Bikeshare with many people I meet through work. I told some people about the new stations that will be installed in Maryland this year, including those in Silver Spring and Takoma Park. However, I did provide a word of caution about riding from Silver Spring to the Mall and downtown, because I remembered reading about the incidents on the MBT last year. I think it’s more responsible for me to point out the benefits of cycling in the area while also noting some of the potential problem areas and issues, like the MBT. While there are occasional incidents on other trails, they don’t seem to be nearly as frequent as the problems on the MBT.

(The Mt. Vernon Trail is generally safe. I rarely hear about any incidents there. But the worst story I’ve ever heard about on local trails did take place there, in Alexandria, eight years ago. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/09/AR2005060901735.html Haven’t heard of anything like that since I started cycling in 2009.)

[Greenbelt]

I’ve ridden the Met Branch every work day, and many weekend days, for over two years with never a hint of trouble.

If the police take this seriously, which is not always the case I know, I bet they nab this gang pretty quickly — there are cameras on that stretch of trail.

[rcannon100]

Oh yeah, my deputy director – whenever we talk about safety – she has these personal alarm devices for anyone who wants them (this is an issue for walking from the agency to the subway during the winter when its dark out). Pull the string and an alarm blares. 130 dB alarm

http://www.amazon.com/Vigilant-PPS23BL-Electronic-Personal-Whistle/dp/B007ZFQ8AY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1371061957&sr=8-3&keywords=personal+alarm

[KLizotte]

@rcannon100 54973 wrote:

Oh yeah, my deputy director – whenever we talk about safety – she has these personal alarm devices for anyone who wants them (this is an issue for walking from the agency to the subway during the winter when its dark out). Pull the string and an alarm blares. 130 dB alarm

http://www.amazon.com/Vigilant-PPS23BL-Electronic-Personal-Whistle/dp/B007ZFQ8AY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1371061957&sr=8-3&keywords=personal+alarm

This looks quite good. I will probably get one since I travel alone a lot to strange cities. Can’t hurt to wear it while biking in dodgey areas either.

[creadinger]

@rcannon100 54973 wrote:

Oh yeah, my deputy director – whenever we talk about safety – she has these personal alarm devices for anyone who wants them (this is an issue for walking from the agency to the subway during the winter when its dark out). Pull the string and an alarm blares. 130 dB alarm

http://www.amazon.com/Vigilant-PPS23BL-Electronic-Personal-Whistle/dp/B007ZFQ8AY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1371061957&sr=8-3&keywords=personal+alarm

This sounds like a car alarm for a human.

[Author]

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