Improving the Bike infrastructure in Arlington

[chris_s]

@Gordon Whitman 124642 wrote:

Hi, I’m new to the list. Now that Ft. Myers is closed I’m experiencing the lack of a safe route into DC. And more generally frustrated by the poor bicycle infrastructure in Arlington. I’d like to connect with people who want to push for much greater investment and a more coherent set of connected bike lanes that connect to one another. And understand better who makes these decisions and what the timing is. Thanks! Gordon Whitman

Let’s get coffee or beer and chat. Look for a PM from me.

[dasgeh]

@Gordon Whitman 124642 wrote:

Hi, I’m new to the list. Now that Ft. Myers is closed I’m experiencing the lack of a safe route into DC. And more generally frustrated by the poor bicycle infrastructure in Arlington. I’d like to connect with people who want to push for much greater investment and a more coherent set of connected bike lanes that connect to one another. And understand better who makes these decisions and what the timing is. Thanks! Gordon Whitman

There is a group of people working on this. Join us! There’s an Arlington Action Committee (WABA-related) tonight at 7pm at Clarendon Presbyterian Church, and the next Bicycle Advisory Committee meeting is Monday, October 5, 7p, 2100 Clarendon Blvd, 3rd floor. All are welcome at both.

[Steve O]

I saw on the BikeArlington blog that the long-delayed signage project has picked back up. Should be really helpful, since signs for cyclists in general tend to be so poor or non-existent. So kudos to Arlington for working on this.

Quick focus group question everyone: Without reading the blog, what does this sign mean? That is, if you were riding along and saw it, what would it tell you?
@ginacico 129053 wrote:

You and DismalScientist were both using your prior geographic knowledge to figure out where you (and the sign) are.
My interpretation of the sign was without any such assumptions. As though I were lost or had dropped in from the sky…

Please use ginacico’s approach.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]10175[/ATTACH]

[DismalScientist]

It tells me that the sign makers don’t realize there is a Metro station at Courthouse as well.:rolleyes:

[ginacico]

@Steve O 129028 wrote:

Quick focus group question everyone: Without reading the blog, what does this sign mean? That is, if you were riding along and saw it, what would it tell you?

a) I’m in Rosslyn.
b) GMU is thataway.
c) Clarendon is 0.4 miles ahead, and there’s a Metro station there.
d) Courthouse is 1.2 miles ahead.

[DismalScientist]

Actually, you are nearer to Ballston, probably on Fairfax Dr., and you are on a Bike Route designated as “Rosslyn”.

I think the system would be better if it had numbered routes or something, with final destinations not on the Bike Route signs themselves since there are multiple ways of getting to Rosslyn from different parts of the county.

[lordofthemark]

It tells me that Court House is further from me than Clarendon. Ergo I am west of Clarendon, and headed east (in the general direction of Rosslyn? I can’t be in Rosslyn if the mileages are correct? Or are there things about the routes I do not know?) Which is even more confusing, because the corner of Braddock and Roberts Road (cause that is where GMU is, right?) is in the same direction.

Clearly I have entered a warp in space time.

[lordofthemark]

@DismalScientist 129032 wrote:

Actually, you are nearer to Ballston, probably on Fairfax Dr., and you are on a Bike Route designated as “Rosslyn”.

I think the system would be better if it had numbered routes or something, with final destinations not on the Bike Route signs themselves since there are multiple ways of getting to Rosslyn from different parts of the county.

Plus they might want to add words like “law school” or “Arlington Campus” to the GMU sign, to help confused people from Fairfax. Though I guess few such people would be in Ballston on a bike, seeking out GMU.

[ginacico]

@lordofthemark 129045 wrote:

Clearly I have entered a warp in space time.

You and DismalScientist were both using your prior geographic knowledge to figure out where you (and the sign) are.

My interpretation of the sign was without any such assumptions. As though I was lost or had dropped in from the sky, and was expecting the sign to tell me something useful about where I am and where I’m going. Isn’t that what signs are for?

Nothing indicates that “Rosslyn” is a route, instead of a place label; a small “To” between the bike symbol and “Rosslyn” would fix that. As mentioned, the other flaw is that Courthouse has a Metro station.

[kwarkentien]

I agree with ginacico. If I didn’t know that Courthouse was east of Clarendon and Rosslyn even further east, I would think I was in Rosslyn.

[lordofthemark]

@ginacico 129053 wrote:

You and DismalScientist were both using your prior geographic knowledge to figure out where you (and the sign) are.

My interpretation of the sign was without any such assumptions. As though I was lost or had dropped in from the sky, and was expecting the sign to tell me something useful about where I am and where I’m going. Isn’t that what signs are for?

Nothing indicates that “Rosslyn” is a route, instead of a place label; a small “To” between the bike symbol and “Rosslyn” would fix that. As mentioned, the other flaw is that Courthouse has a Metro station.

I use signs to tell me where there is a friggin’ way to get someplace on my bike, without being run over. Despite living in the region for 24 years, and being a map nerd with a very good sense of direction, on my bike I am still often left wondering which way to go (where is that trail entrance? Does that street become one way in a block? If the road becomes useless in half a mile, is the sidewalk rideable? Is that the street that leads to the Custis, or will it pass under it instead? How do I get out of the Pentagon parking lot? Where, oh where, is the exit from the Chinquapin loop road to the nearby neighborhood? ) Knowing which neighborhoods are east or west of which other neighborhoods is no protection against getting lost (and while a combination of my smartphone and paper maps usually helps, sometimes the problem is too micro even for them. I have decorated many a strava map with little loops and reversals, in places where I know the macrogeography almost perfectly.)

And yeah, of course it will be more confusing for those who don’t know the “macrogeography”

[mstone]

worst. sign. ever.

wait, are there more?

[Erin Potter]

When I first moved here, these signs actually helped me quite a bit. I pretty much knew two places existed in Arlington–Rosslyn (where my new work was) and Ballston (where I had an apartment). Those first few months, I could normally sort out where I currently was (metro stops, other signs, asking someone, etc)… but needed a ton of help figuring out how to get to where I wanted to go on my bike. A sign that merely proclaimed “Rosslyn” when I was in Rosslyn would have been affirming, but not necessary. Signs that lead me from one to the other and were clearly connected? Super helpful. Granted, it took me a beat to understand what they were communicating, but once I learned the language, they were more helpful. Follow these signs to the end, and you’ll reach Rosslyn. Reverse to come home.
Also, I had a buddy visiting from Philly who I gave careful directions on how to get from my new apartment in Cherrydale to the metro (which I thought would be somewhat confusing)…and he ignored them, in favor of the signs. In fact, he wondered why I had bothered to give him directions when there were posted signs. So he sorted it out without any coaching at all.
But this is an interesting conversation about how folks get around and navigate through a space, something that is super important for everyone, but especially for people riding bikes, as lordofthemark points out. Just wanted to share my experience as person who actually plunked down in the middle of Arlington with little prior geographical knowledge.

[KLizotte]

@ginacico 129031 wrote:

a) I’m in Rosslyn.
b) GMU is thataway.
c) Clarendon is 0.4 miles ahead, and there’s a Metro station there.
d) Courthouse is 1.2 miles ahead.

+1

[scoot]

That sign is very confusing. Why not move “Rosslyn” to the bottom of the sign and show the distance, in the same font size as the other destinations?

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