Car on the Custis

[ursus]

@bobco85 161669 wrote:

I understand that flexposts, if used, should have a decent amount of room around them so that folks with wider/longer bicycles/trailers/etc. can easily pass. I also think they should only be used at places of entry/exit (looking at you, unnecessary flexpost on the side of the Custis/MVT bridge over I-66 in Rosslyn).

I am not sure which bridge you are referring to, but if it is the one at the start of the bridge after you pass the newly reconstructed trail at the Roosevelt Island parking lot, it isn’t there anymore.

[Judd]

@bobco85 161669 wrote:

Honestly, I feel safer when I see flexposts at trail entry points. I really do. To me, there is no confusion that a vehicle is not supposed to enter. I also like them because they get people to slow down, to consider that they’re about to enter the trail, and to pay more attention to things around them.

The flexpost is a useful tool in helping to keep the trails safe from vehicles.

I’m with Steve O on bollards and flexposts, particularly at the entrances to trails since many trail entrances also have other obstacles to negotiate like uneven surfaces, curbs or debris gathering at the entrance. Although we had two cars on trail occurrences yesterday and there’s been a handful that I can remember in the last year, I don’t really see car incursions as a huge problem. From a sample size of 1 – I have seen zero cars on trails in the past two years, but I have seen 2 bikers hit bollards and countless bollard near misses (including myself).

[Judd]

@bobco85 161669 wrote:

Visually narrowing the width by using rocks helps, but I doubt their effectiveness (see Wayne F. Anderson Bikeway/Commonwealth Ave driver-on-trail issues).

This would probably improve if there were a nice big, “Welcome to the Wayne F. Anderson Bikeway” sign at the end of Commonwealth so cars clearly knew it was a bikeway.

[bobco85]

@Steve O 161670 wrote:

You are mistaken. Both of my children, when young and learning to ride, crashed because of bollards that were unnecessary. They would have crashed even if they had been flexposts. They were not injured, thankfully.

Please read this series of posts in its entirety. http://www.ohiobikeways.net/bikewaysblog.htm#bollards

There’s a disconnect with our arguments. I am advocating for the use of flexposts in specific situations (trail entry points such as the one through which the driver entered), but I am not, in any way, advocating for the use of bollards. (Note: I have read those articles before multiple times) I am also not advocating for flexposts to be the first and final solution, but I do think they are useful tools in ensuring safety.

There is a very real danger about bollards in how they have been historically (and currently, cough, cough, Ffx Co Pkwy Trail) used. A solid object placed in sometimes unexpected places that leaves no room for error is dangerous, and people have died after collisions with bollards.

However, the danger in the use of flexposts has not been realized. The flexibility inherent to them allows for energy in a collision to be better absorbed which will reduce injury. I think this is a major reason why they’ve been used so more frequently nowadays.

Concerning your anecdote about your children, you stated that they hit bollards, crashed, and were uninjured when they were young and learning to ride. It’s expected that inexperienced cyclists will be more wobbly and tend to crash more often, but even in this case, flexposts would not have caused injury.

Bollards and flexposts are like apples and oranges. Both are fruits, but one is softer than the other and hurts a lot less when hit.

[bobco85]

@ursus 161675 wrote:

I am not sure which bridge you are referring to, but if it is the one at the start of the bridge after you pass the newly reconstructed trail at the Roosevelt Island parking lot, it isn’t there anymore.

This is the one I’m talking about, on the west side of that bridge:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14990[/ATTACH]

I hope that flexpost has been removed. It is not a good place for a flexpost to be installed.

[n18]

@Judd 161646 wrote:

If you know a guy with one of those signs, I know a guy with an impact drill and some masonry screws.

I believe that a permit is required to post traffic related signs, either from VDOT or the county, but I am not sure. Here is VDOT’s FAQ page about signs. Here is a relevant quote:

Can I Purchase a Sign from VDOT?

VDOT does not make signs for sale to the public. There are a number of sign fabrication companies that can supply highway signs. Owning such signs are legal.

However, posting signs on public highways or streets by citizens is against the law, whether they be standard highway or simple cardboard signs.

One can buy traffic signs from Amazon, but I think they are meant for places like apartment buildings, etc.

[jrenaut]

Better to ask forgiveness….

[DrP]

@bobco85 161683 wrote:

This is the one I’m talking about, on the west side of that bridge:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14990[/ATTACH]

I hope that flexpost has been removed. It is not a good place for a flexpost to be installed.

That one was removed a while* ago.

*While can be anywhere from 3 months to a year because at some point it is no longer a new thing.

[DrP]

Speaking of bollards…

So the new bike lane on Fairfax between Glebe and Wakefield (i.e., next to the new building) appears to have a shiny, new, metal bollard at the Wakefield entrance to the lane. And I mean shiny. It looks stainless steel or chrome as I go by it in the evening. I do not understand its purpose. Who is going to turn into there? How frequently is someone from Wakefield going to try to make a left from the stop line? Who is going to turn left from Fairfax onto Wakefield and turn immediately right before the sidewalk? I only see possible pain with this one.

[Judd]

@DrP 161709 wrote:

Speaking of bollards…

Who is going to turn left from Fairfax onto Wakefield and turn immediately right before the sidewalk? QUOTE]

Someone with Maryland plates and an Uber sticker on their car.

[Judd]

@jrenaut 161687 wrote:

Better to ask forgiveness….

When I used to work for the Boy Scouts, there was a guy that had rigged a book with a lighter so that when he opened the book, a flame would shoot out of the top. He used it to recruit Scouts in schools. It was a really effective recruitment prop. If there’s one thing that gets a second grader excited about joining the Scouts it’s the prospect of starting fires. It was never a problem after he did it, however if he had asked beforehand, “Can I light a fire in your school?” the answer would have always been no.

[ursus]

@DrP 161707 wrote:

That one was removed a while* ago.

*While can be anywhere from 3 months to a year because at some point it is no longer a new thing.

I thought so too. That one always caused me anguish heading downhill because it was somewhat hard to see around the corner and avoid pedestrians who could be on either side of the bollard. Removing it was a big improvement.

[Judd]

@n18 161686 wrote:

I believe that a permit is required to post traffic related signs, either from VDOT or the county, but I am not sure. Here is VDOT’s FAQ page about signs. Here is a relevant quote:

I have advised the guy that I know with an impact drill that he may be breaking the law and that he will suffer the serious repercussions of improving a trail in a way that no one would ever complain about and that he is likely to suffer the slings and arrows of increased admiration from his peers.

[bobco85]

@DrP 161707 wrote:

That one was removed a while* ago.

*While can be anywhere from 3 months to a year because at some point it is no longer a new thing.

I swear, all my memories of passing through there have that bright yellow flexpost being there, and I’ve gone through there a couple times in the past few weeks (does this mean I’m getting old?)! Anyways, I’m glad it’s gone, and hopefully I’ll notice its removal (and remember that it’s not there anymore) next time I pass through.

[bobco85]

@Judd 161713 wrote:

I believe that a permit is required to post traffic related signs, either from VDOT or the county, but I am not sure. Here is VDOT’s FAQ page about signs. Here is a relevant quote:

I have advised the guy that I know with an impact drill that he may be breaking the law and that he will suffer the serious repercussions of improving a trail in a way that no one would ever complain about and that he is likely to suffer the slings and arrows of increased admiration from his peers.

You should also advise that guy to stop breaking the end QUOTE tags :p

[Author]

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