Cyclists ticketed on the trails

[rcannon100]

Sorry…. you must have your facts wrong. This is “Bike Friendly Arlington.”

Sometimes I wonder if the Arlington Police Department is even a part of the Arlington County Government – they so often seem so entirely not on the same page.

[Dirt]

Awesome that someone is finally doing some traffic enforcement. I wish they’d also enforce the law on cars a bit more often. I wish they’d do it more often and more consistently.

[Arlingtonrider]

Does anyone know if the ticket given in Arlington was actually for speeding? I recall that some warnings were given a few weeks back for some kinds of violations, but wasn’t aware of an actual ticket for speeding. What is the speed limit?

By the way, I should entitled this thread as “letter to the editor about trail tickets”. Didn’t mean to imply that something was going on yesterday. Speaking of yesterday, it was a chilly ride home in the wind! I was glad I packed a warm scarf and can’t wait to get my Moose Mitts.

[Mark Blacknell]

I’m working to get some information about what the ACPD’s doing with a speed gun on trails. They aren’t – in my experience – generally in the practice of enforcing laws about which people have no notice, so I’d be surprised to hear of any actual tickets. (And speaking of notice, I’ll have to go look at the signs a little closer. I vaguely recall speed being posted on the WOD signs, but not the Custis. I might be wrong.)

~

Does anyone here live in Falls Church? If so, you know what I’d *really* appreciate? You gathering your fellow WOD users and petitioning Falls Church to turn those stop signs on the WOD trail/street intersections 90 degrees – to face the cars. Between Lee Highway and Broad Street, the WOD itself is *far* higher traffic than the cross streets. The current setup just creates lots of unnecessary danger and uncertainty (see the threads here) about who has right of way. Further, it prioritizes the relative few (in cars) over the many (on the trail). It’s the sort of change that would have to come from FC residents, though.

[americancyclo]

@Mark Blacknell 11458 wrote:

It’s the sort of change that would have to come from FC residents, though.

I’m about 75 yards shy of being useful with this one. Totally support it though!

[jabberwocky]

Is there a speed limit on the Custis?

[DaveK]

@jabberwocky 11465 wrote:

Is there a speed limit on the Custis?

Not a posted one.

[Arlingtonrider]

It’s possible that the author of the letter to the editor was making assumptions based on seeing the speed detectors. We don’t know. As an afterthought, it might also be helpful to traffic engineers for accident mitigation purposes to have some actual data on bike speeds in particular areas to help them decide how to best address problems. The data might show that bike speed is not the main issue that needs to be addressed.

[OneEighth]

Honestly, speed limits on the trails is a solution in search of a problem.
Are there folks who go too fast for the conditions? Sure. But, frankly, the root problem is safe passing/sharing of the trail. Speed is incidental. I’d rather see requirements that trail users wear reflective gear or carry lights.

[jabberwocky]

@DaveK 11466 wrote:

Not a posted one.

Is there an unposted one? I’ve never heard anything about speed limits on the Custis.

[PrintError]

I wish passing signals were enforced. When my wife walks from Herndon to RTC to meet me for lunch (with a stroller), she counts 5-10% of trail cyclists will bother to signal, the rest rocket past without a word.

Whenever someone does it to me, I yell out “NICE SIGNAL”

[elbows]

When I went to my local community association meeting and asked the ACPD if they ever ticketed drivers for coming too close to cyclists while passing, they told me that there was no such law and then one started ranting about scofflaw cyclists who he sees speeding on the trails in Arlington. This was the first I had heard trail speed limits. Thanks for all you do, Mark Blacknell.

[DaveK]

@jabberwocky 11469 wrote:

Is there an unposted one? I’ve never heard anything about speed limits on the Custis.

Not that I know of, but I didn’t want to definitively say no.

[5555624]

@rcannon100 11452 wrote:

This is “Bike Friendly Arlington.”

Where is this mythical place of which you speak?

Just from a commuting perspective, I get hassled — yelled at, cut off, close calls, etc. — by more drivers in Arlington, than I do in D.C.

[Mark Blacknell]

A few points:

It sounds like the folks with radar guns on the trailers are transportation consultants, not ACPD. I know we discussed this in an earlier thread, and do recall at least one person saying that they saw a jacket with “POLICE” on it. But it just doesn’t square with experience, expectations, and enforcement possibilities that ACPD would be concerned with bike speeds on trails.

Re: speed limit on trails. There’s no default state speed limit on trails, and this is what the Arlington County Code says (14.2-65): “No bicycle shall be ridden faster than is reasonable and proper, but every bicycle shall be operated with reasonable regard for the safety of the operator and every other person upon the streets and sidewalks of the County.” NPS has authority to set a speed limit for the MVT (which I believe to be 15mph), and NVPRA *may* have similar authority over the WOD. But the Custis is 100% Arlington, to the best of my knowledge.

If anyone’s interested in Arlington County Code re: bikes, it’s in Title 14, Art. 2 – http://www.arlingtonva.us/departments/CountyBoard/CountyCode/file74511.pdf

Finally, Elbows is my favorite poster of the day. Next time you see that officer, kindly direct him or her to VA Code § 46.2-839. http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-839

[Author]

Posts