Hit my first car today. Thank you, Rossly Circle o’ Death!

[TwoWheelsDC]

Well, “hit” the car…it was more like a gentle brushing against the car. I was coming up from Roosevelt Island and there was a large landscaping truck with a long trailer turning right on Lynn to cross Key bridge…he was being very conscientious and the other guys in the truck were spotting for him. He had pulled up in such a way that he was waiting at the crosswalk, but blocking about two lanes worth of Lynn, so I proceeded through the intersection slowly. Because he was so nice about making his turn, I looked at him and gave him a wave, but just as I was almost clear of him–still with no line-of-sight to my left because the truck was so big–a car screams around to the left of the truck and appears magically in front of me. Had I been about .25 seconds further into the intersection, he would’ve broadsided me, but thankfully I was able to slow down just enough (remember, I had one hand off the bars to wave to the truck driver) to have my tire just barely rub his rear quarter panel as he sped off toward the bridge. Un-freaking-believable.

**edit, pretend I spelled Rosslyn correctly in the title

Topic

[KelOnWheels]

Eek! Glad you are OK! I bet you are VERY AWAKE now.

Props to the nice truck driver.

[vvill]

Good to hear you (and your love bike) are okay! Yikes.

Must be a bad week for that intersection! I had an almost-ran (over) a couple days ago, also coming up from TR island, and also a vehicle turning right onto Key Br:
http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?2730-some-things-i-love-about-my-commute&p=27253#post27253

[jrenaut]

That’ll teach you to be nice to people.

I had to drag my bike and the trailer containing my daughter up on the sidewalk as some truck driver turned onto a road that was much too small for a truck that size. That’ll teach me to wait at a red light.

[pfunkallstar]

Glad to hear that you are okay. Remember the old bike adage – “Two lanes of traffic – one of kindness, one of anger.”

[consularrider]

Glad to here it was nothing worse than that!

Something was up with the pedestrian crossing lights there this morning. There was along line waiting to cross coming east and the solid red hand of doom was lit for what seemed an inordinately long time. I cross the onramp going south and had the same thing happen with the pestrian light. Makes me wonder if the timing cycle has been changed to try and give drivers more of a chance to turn right, although that wouldn’t apply to traffic on Lynn St.

[Rootchopper]

I had exactly the same experience twice this year. I have to take that right on Lynn every morning and it’s scares me to death (forgive the expression). I am glad to hear you are okay. It is just a matter of time before somebody gets killed there. V

[Greenbelt]

If this is the area I’m thinking about, two lane right turn should just never be allowed. Anywhere.

Two lane left is bad enough for pedestrians, but the lines of sight are slightly better. But two lane right turn — never.

Whatever genius at AASHTO or wherever roadway engineering standards decided it was a good idea to put in multi-lane turns has obviously never been a pedestrian or cyclist.

[btj]

@consularrider 27281 wrote:

Glad to here it was nothing worse than that!

Something was up with the pedestrian crossing lights there this morning. There was along line waiting to cross coming east and the solid red hand of doom was lit for what seemed an inordinately long time. I cross the onramp going south and had the same thing happen with the pestrian light. Makes me wonder if the timing cycle has been changed to try and give drivers more of a chance to turn right, although that wouldn’t apply to traffic on Lynn St.

When I went through this morning I waited with the red hand while traffic coming from 66 had a green light. Then a red light for 66 and the Lynn Street traffic had a green light. Then the 66 traffic had a green light again with a red hand for peds/bikes. I was a scofflaw and crossed with a safe break in traffic… though I think the 2 cycles or 2 minutes law must apply in that situation.

[OneEighth]

I really don’t like that the walk light doesn’t come on before the green anymore at the Lynn Street crossing. Needlessly increases the risk of collisions between those in the crosswalks and traffic turning right from I-66 onto the bridge.

[dasgeh]

@OneEighth 27335 wrote:

I really don’t like that the walk light doesn’t come on before the green anymore at the Lynn Street crossing. Needlessly increases the risk of collisions between those in the crosswalks and traffic turning right from I-66 onto the bridge.

I wrote in about this, hoping the Bat Signal would alert the Arlington County folks. so HEY ARLINGTON COUNTY FOLKS – WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE TIMING OF THE PED LIGHTS?

Thanks

[Tim Kelley]

Who did you write to? If you’re not getting a response, feel free to email info@bikearlington.com and we can see if we can pass it along.

In any event, it sounds like the signals guys made a few changes to the timing splits about 6 weeks ago but shouldn’t have removed the “Leading Pedestrian Interval” that it sounds like it’s being reported as missing. They’re looking into it.

[consularrider]

My impression is that there is still the same delay from when the light turns red for Lynn St before it turns green for Lee Highway, just no corresponding “leading” walk light. I need a stop watch to see how long the the pedestrian signal is a solid red hand before the Lee Highway light turns yellow. My unscientific impression after a couple days experience is 20 to 30 seconds. So far is seems most cyclists and pedestrians are honoring the don’t cross light.

[rcannon100]

Yeah, no leading light for the cross walk.

And today the crossing pedestrian lights went solid red WAY before the car traffic lights went yellow. There was a long period when the crossing light was solid red – and the traffic lights were green.

That is a recipe for having cyclists just ignore the crossing lights – and given how dangerous that intersection is – that is not good. Cyclists need to know that the traffic signal is meaningful – if it is not, then that’s brewing trouble.

[baiskeli]

@dasgeh 27400 wrote:

I wrote in about this, hoping the Bat Signal would alert the Arlington County folks. so HEY ARLINGTON COUNTY FOLKS – WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE TIMING OF THE PED LIGHTS?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1491[/ATTACH]

[dasgeh]

@Tim Kelley 27409 wrote:

Who did you write to? If you’re not getting a response, feel free to email info@bikearlington.com and we can see if we can pass it along.

In any event, it sounds like the signals guys made a few changes to the timing splits about 6 weeks ago but shouldn’t have removed the “Leading Pedestrian Interval” that it sounds like it’s being reported as missing. They’re looking into it.

I just wrote in on the forum. Regardless, it sounds like they did take out the leading ped interval — it certainly wasn’t there last week (I didn’t go through there Friday or this morning).

If the plan is supposed to be leading ped interval + a period of time at the end of the cycle where Lee Hwy (ramp traffic) gets green and peds have red, I can see the logic in that. BUT it needs to be signed. It’s an abnormal cycle, and without a sign, peds/cyclists will just think it’s a mistake and ignore it.

[Author]

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