L St. Cycletrack Woes this morning

[jnva]

Today’s fun on L street.

http://youtu.be/4vra3qudsW0

[elcee]

I had not biked in the city in months so I was delighted to discover the L St cycletrack a couple of weeks ago. That said, it’s massively confusing for drivers and cyclists the first time around. For me, it just doesn’t pay to bike aggressively; if I wanted to go quickly, it’s almost better to be on the street among the cars.

[bobco85]

@jnva 49949 wrote:

Today’s fun on L street.

http://youtu.be/4vra3qudsW0

You got a two-fer today! Er, not you, but the cyclist in front of you.

[Terpfan]

About every other time I ride the L-Track, I have someone try the left hook. I started expecting it and looking right. That’s when I almost got whacked from the left when someone decided they weren’t supposed to turn there and just starting coming right at me.

[KLizotte]

@bobco85 49951 wrote:

You got a two-fer today! Er, not you, but the cyclist in front of you.

I think this video shows how American drivers are still not used to bike lanes/cyclists sharing the road. It’s probably also an indication of how much they do not pay attention to what is going on around them.

I like the design of the 15th street cycletrack instead.

Perhaps it is time to re-think the L street cycletrack? I haven’t ridden it yet but it seems like riding with traffic may be a much better idea.

[eminva]

@elcee 49950 wrote:

For me, it just doesn’t pay to bike aggressively; if I wanted to go quickly, it’s almost better to be on the street among the cars.

elcee is exactly right. The analogy I make is that before cycletracks, L Street was like a frogger game and after cycletracks, it’s like a lazy river ride. If you have no expectation of going fast, it’s actually okay. If you want to play frogger, you can still take the lane and are entitled to do so.

@KLizotte 50011 wrote:

Perhaps it is time to re-think the L street cycletrack? I haven’t ridden it yet but it seems like riding with traffic may be a much better idea.

I would disagree — I never minded riding with traffic but I like the cycletrack better and default to that now (except when I have to swing out into traffic around a trash truck). I think there are upsides and downsides to both. Riding in traffic through that stretch is no piece of cake, especially for beginners.

This is probably a conversation I should be having with WABA staff and my fellow LCIs, but I think the Confident City Cycling curriculum would benefit from some discussion of how to avoid the pitfalls of cycletrack use (jnva’s video would be a good case study).

Liz

[jnva]

Please use the videos as you want, that’s why I’m making them! I hate to admit this, but I always hang behind other bikers on the cycle track. I think it makes both bikes more visible to cars. I also do this on the road.

[Xarici]

Forum newbie here- had a great L St. cycletrack interaction on my way home last night: A car was blocking the bike portion of the merge so I and some others were waiting for them to clear. A fire truck was next to us and he had his window down- He said it was rude of them to block the lane, to which I agreed and he then proceeded to get on his megaphone telling the car that they were blocking the lane- “Hagerstown Honda Plate ____, you are blocking the bike lane and being rude!” Awesome.

[jrenaut]

Note to all forum newbies – THIS is how you join the forum.

@Xarici 50259 wrote:

Forum newbie here- had a great L St. cycletrack interaction on my way home last night: A car was blocking the bike portion of the merge so I and some others were waiting for them to clear. A fire truck was next to us and he had his window down- He said it was rude of them to block the lane, to which I agreed and he then proceeded to get on his megaphone telling the car that they were blocking the lane- “Hagerstown Honda Plate ____, you are blocking the bike lane and being rude!” Awesome.

Welcome, Xarici.

[elcee]

The strange thing about the L St. cycletrack is that I found it awkward to set up for a right turn. You have to leave the track and then cut across a couple of lanes of traffic. I’m much more accustomed to biking on the right-hand side of a street, then cutting across to make a left turn; I think my neck is more flexible looking to the left and back than to the right.

[baiskeli]

@Xarici 50259 wrote:

Forum newbie here- had a great L St. cycletrack interaction on my way home last night: A car was blocking the bike portion of the merge so I and some others were waiting for them to clear. A fire truck was next to us and he had his window down- He said it was rude of them to block the lane, to which I agreed and he then proceeded to get on his megaphone telling the car that they were blocking the lane- “Hagerstown Honda Plate ____, you are blocking the bike lane and being rude!” Awesome.

Very cool story!

[brendan]

@elcee 50271 wrote:

The strange thing about the L St. cycletrack is that I found it awkward to set up for a right turn. You have to leave the track and then cut across a couple of lanes of traffic. I’m much more accustomed to biking on the right-hand side of a street, then cutting across to make a left turn; I think my neck is more flexible looking to the left and back than to the right.

I had trouble with that as well. I ended up just putting the pedestrian hat on and using the crosswalk to go south. There’s a bike staging area in front of eastbound traffic at some intersections, but what happens if you try to get there from the cycletrack and the light changes on you?

At this point, I try to remember to get over in traffic a block or two early. And I remain confused.

Plus merging into the general traffic lanes from the cycletrack feels more dangerous than merging from traffic lane to traffic lane. I doubt the cars expect me to come over from the left, ever.

Brendan

[elcee]

@brendan 50298 wrote:

Plus merging into the general traffic lanes from the cycletrack feels more dangerous than merging from traffic lane to traffic lane. I doubt the cars expect me to come over from the left, ever.

Yah, I just ended up channeling my inner Cavendish.

[vvill]

I often look behind on both sides, so hopefully my neck isn’t getting even more jacked up than it already is. I already spent 25+ years looking the wrong way whilst driving/riding, right?

[DismalScientist]

Saw a near left hook collision with cyclist and car turning into a parking garage across the cycletrack. Obscenities were exchanged. Driver claimed, IMHO correctly, that cyclist was in the driver’s blind spot. At next intersection, cyclist vented to me. I responded that he was partly at fault for getting himself in this situation as the driver had his signal on for one half block before turning. Needless to say, the cyclist wasn’t happy with my comment.

Turns should be made from the lane closest to the curb to prevent this left hook or right hooks through a right-side bike lane. The design of the L Street cycletrack (primarily the separating plastic bollards) precludes this for left turns not at intersections.

[Author]

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