Bike problems in the heart of Courthouse?

[Toonces]

I work in the Strayer Building and bike in from Westover. Agreed, turning left onto Clarendon from Veitch is less than enjoyable. Same goes for heading North on 15th/Veitch and turning left onto Wilson. No one seems to know what to do. The lane markings or signage needs to be improved for the left turn and straight lanes for Southbound Veitch traffic. Not a good intersection from a car or bike perspective.

[Guus]

I was going to suggest eliminating the sliplane from Clarendon to 15th street, which makes the bike lane there tricky (the area that was recently painted green).

It’s just outside of the scope of the highlighted area.

Then I found that there already is a WalkArlington project for this, in “Active” state: http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/EnvironmentalServices/CapTrack/Details.aspx?q=UHJval9JZD0zMjM0&r=TmVpZ2hib3Job29kX05tPSZTdHJlZXRfTm09JlByb2dfSWQ9MCZQcm9qX1R5cGVfSWQ9MCZQcm9qX05tPWNvdXJ0aG91c2UmUGhhc2VfSWQ9MA==

[PotomacCyclist]

http://projects.arlingtonva.us/capital-projects/entry/2/363/

Project Name
Clarendon Boulevard at Courthouse Plaza Pork Chop

[americancyclo]

@dgm 80125 wrote:

less than enjoyable. Same goes for heading North on 15th/Veitch and turning left onto Wilson. No one seems to know what to do. The lane markings or signage needs to be improved for the left turn and straight lanes for Southbound Veitch traffic. Not a good intersection from a car or bike perspective.

I avoid ^^^this^^^ intersection on my commute by coming up 15th, Right on Courthouse, Left on Wilson. The light timing works out well.

I’d like to see a painted lane and through markings on Courthouse for the left turn to Wilson, though. Cars that make that left and then intend to turn right on Veitch have a tendency to drift in to the bike lane.

[dasgeh]

There’s no protected bike facilities in the whole of the study area. That’s a problem.

Even accepting that non-protected bike facilities are ok, those blocks of Wilson and Clarendon are more prone to cars drifting into the bike lanes than most, in my experience. Courthouse and Wilson could use a bike box to allow bikes to come up and queue for the bike lane restarting. The 15th St bike lanes and prone to be blocked by delivery trucks and loading/unloading. The long bus stop on 15th EB often causes conflict with the bike lane. There’s no good transition for bikes coming from Veitch to get to the bike parking at the County building. There’s a hugely ugly, waste of space, surface parking lot in the middle of the study area (not that that is a bike problem).

[Author]

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