Eads St Question

[DismalScientist]

There is no N Eads Street in Arlington. In North Arlington, the single syllable streets only go down to Kent.

The answer is parking “protected” (cough, cough) between 15th and 23rd.
Southbound at 23rd lane is poorly designed with cars making right turns crossing perpendicular to the bike lane and not merging through the bike lane.

[Kolohe]

Do you mean South Eads? (i.e. Crystal city area?) The answer is yes north of 23rd st (e.g. https://goo.gl/maps/YFYVtRGmV6S2), but not south of 23rd st (e.g. https://goo.gl/maps/mbkkqL8HXCv)

eta – the area around the new ART bus depot and the sewage plant is better with flex post barriers between the traffic lane and bike lane than the current street view snapshot suggests. But mainly (and maybe only) southbound.

[Judd]

This lady was car protecting the Eads bike lane last week.

[Judd]

@dasgeh 168092 wrote:

For those familiar with N Eads Street in Arlington, is any of the bike lane a parking-protected bike lane?

I’m curious as to what is prompting the question.

[lordofthemark]

@Kolohe 168095 wrote:

Do you mean South Eads? (i.e. Crystal city area?) The answer is yes north of 23rd st (e.g. https://goo.gl/maps/YFYVtRGmV6S2), but not south of 23rd st (e.g. https://goo.gl/maps/mbkkqL8HXCv)

eta – the area around the new ART bus depot and the sewage plant is better with flex post barriers between the traffic lane and bike lane than the current street view snapshot suggests. But mainly (and maybe only) southbound.

There is also a short section of flex post protected bike lane NB near the bus depot.

I find both the parking protected sections and the flex post protected sections fairly comfortable (IIRC correctly there are also some very short unprotected but buffered sections NB) The big advantage of the protection, aside from the lower likelihood of sideswiping in a lane, is that it reduces the likelihood of motor vehicles being in the lane – though if they are at the entrances/exits, that can be particularly annoying. Of course car protected lanes also make it more difficult to swerve out, either to position for a vehicular left, or to pass a slower cyclist (IME there are almost never enough users for the latter to be a problem). While in theory car protected bike lanes can have visibility problems at intersections, the ones on Eads are pretty well “daylighted”.

[lordofthemark]

@DismalScientist 168094 wrote:

There is no N Eads Street in Arlington. In North Arlington, the single syllable streets only go down to Kent.

The answer is parking “protected” (cough, cough) between 15th and 23rd.
Southbound at 23rd lane is poorly designed with cars making right turns crossing perpendicular to the bike lane and not merging through the bike lane.

Actually the part leading up to that intersection is “protected” by a CaBi station, instead of parked cars. so visibility both ways (cars to bikes and bikes to cars) is particularly good there. There is also a completely open section earlier, just past the bus stop, so someone who really doesn’t want to engage in the combination of slow speeds and higher vigilance to deal safely with 23rd street, has a place to switch into the general travel lane (carefully, of course).

But yes, if ArlCo wants to make that particular intersection safe for “Isabella”, and can’t manage to shift the bike lane left of the right turn lane, they should change the signalling – put in a bike signal, allow right turns only on a right turn signal, and have the right turn signal be red when the bike signal is green.

[Judd]

@lordofthemark 168102 wrote:

Of course car protected lanes also make it more difficult to swerve out, either to position for a vehicular left…”.

This could be fixed with a bit of green paint and a bike box at the intersections.

[lordofthemark]

@Judd 168105 wrote:

This could be fixed with a bit of green paint and a bike box at the intersections.

I don’t think you can do that where the intersection is not signalized or signed as at some three way intersections (yeah, I am thinking of 13th street, just south of Whole Foods, where a turn into the street and then onto the wide Eads sidewalk avoids messing with the pedestrians at the 12th Street crosswalk. No car protection there, so its easy. That is the only place on Eads where I ever end up making a vehicular left – of course I realize other people have reasons to do vehicular lefts elsewhere)

[DismalScientist]

@lordofthemark 168104 wrote:

Actually the part leading up to that intersection is “protected” by a CaBi station, instead of parked cars. so visibility both ways (cars to bikes and bikes to cars) is particularly good there. There is also a completely open section earlier, just past the bus stop, so someone who really doesn’t want to engage in the combination of slow speeds and higher vigilance to deal safely with 23rd street, has a place to switch into the general travel lane (carefully, of course).

But yes, if ArlCo wants to make that particular intersection safe for “Isabella”, and can’t manage to shift the bike lane left of the right turn lane, they should change the signalling – put in a bike signal, allow right turns only on a right turn signal, and have the right turn signal be red when the bike signal is green.

As a cyclist, I just merge into the general travel lane on the other side of the bikeshare station. I want drivers who potentially will turn right to see me, so I get right in front of them.

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