Moving Van in Bike Lane

[Guus]

I haven’t bicycled there but from the photo that seems like an excellent spot for a physically separate bike lane. That would prevent this from happening for good.

[chris_s]

Arlington Police non-emergency # gets the fastest response.

[Raymo853]

I am trying to not feel hopeless this type of parking behavior can be changed. I hope tickets, chiding, message campaigns will help.

I think one protest idea sounds great at first, but would probably backfire and make people more anti-bike. Hold a bicycle flash mob protest until the vehicle is moved. Have bicycles and riders cluster and block the adjacent travel lane until the parking vehicle is moved. Keep on the message that until the lane is clear, the bicycles riders have no other way to traverse that section of road and must wait until the lane is clear. Of course, I do not believe that latter part, I often ride in the main travel lanes on roads with bicycle lanes due to a number of factors.

[hozn]

I realize this will be an unpopular sentiment, but that looks like a pretty calm street; riding around the van — into the actual lane [shudder!] — looks like it would probably not result in instant death. At least in this one case.

I find it amusing how people get so worked up over a car parked in the lanes and so simultaneously indignant when cars express impatience at bikes taking the lane and slowing car traffic down. But at UVA they taught us that what may look like hypocrisy is really just “complexity” (“Thomas Jefferson was a complex man.”). So we’ll go with that. I do think bike lanes should be respected and cars should be penalized for disregarding any road markings/signs. But I’m not gonna throw rocks from this glass house; I roll through way too many stop signs [after slowing and looking both ways] to be quibbling over drivers parked over the solid white line.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I have mixed feelings about this. I mean, we live in an urban area and it seem like there comes a point where you gotta just roll with it, since it affects everyone. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to be a delivery driver and find a place to unload and all that stuff, so I try not to get too worked up when this kind of thing happens. And it happens just as often when driving, so it’s not just riders of bikes that have to deal with it. Of course, there are some seriously egregious examples of people doing idiotic stuff in bike lanes, where I might say something as I ride by or whatever, but I also try to keep in mind that oftentimes drivers have to slow down and wait because of me, and so I figure that just makes us even.

Sorry if that seems directed at you…It’s more that I get frustrated by cyclists who get upset over any intrusion by drivers into bike infrastructure (and I am guilty of being one of those cyclists). Yes, bike infrastructure is for bikes, but shit happens and we live in a busy place and no road users are immune from these types of intrusions…but frankly, cyclists tend to be the ones who are the whiniest about it and I don’t necessarily think that’s productive.

[lordofthemark]

@hozn 124543 wrote:

I realize this will be an unpopular sentiment, but that looks like a pretty calm street; riding around the van — into the actual lane [shudder!] — looks like it would probably not result in instant death. At least in this one case.

It can actually get pretty busy – it is the only direct road from Shirlington into nearby North Fairlington, and the most direct route from I395 to to the big apartment buildings on the hill. It also has some bus routes (but I think some turn right onto the street a bit further ahead, near the Windsor) So not instant death, but also not your quiet residential street bike lane either.

The other problem with a truck parked in a bike lane (and this truck is really blocking the whole lane – cars parked a couple of inches into the lane are far more common) is that, unlike someone blocking it to drop off/pick up say, this is going to be there for quite some time. The time impact makes it different from bikes slowing motor vehicles by taking a lane.

Note also one of the reasons we have bike lanes, is not for the folks who post to this forum regularly, who are comfortable taking a lane on a street like this. It is also for those who are not so comfortable, and who will ride only if there is a bike lane. When those bike lanes become more difficult to use, a few of the folks may discover their inner vehicular cyclist, but more I think will either ride less, or ride on the sidewalk more.

[lordofthemark]

@TwoWheelsDC 124544 wrote:

I have mixed feelings about this. I mean, we live in an urban area and it seem like there comes a point where you gotta just roll with it, since it affects everyone. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to be a delivery driver and find a place to unload and all that stuff, so I try not to get too worked up when this kind of thing happens. .

This is not some 19th century street in DC. This is Shirlington, with lots of loading docks and alleys designed in particular to keep deliveries off the main commercial sidewalks, AFAICT. And that appears to be a residential moving truck. Not sure why they were there, but I would bet it was not a good reason.

[dasgeh]

@lordofthemark 124550 wrote:

This is not some 19th century street in DC. This is Shirlington, with lots of loading docks and alleys designed in particular to keep deliveries off the main commercial sidewalks, AFAICT. And that appears to be a residential moving truck. Not sure why they were there, but I would bet it was not a good reason.

Or they were there asking directions to the loading dock…

I don’t think motor vehicles should be parked in the bike lane or in the (non-parking) travel lane. But I’m with hozn – some examples of this are worse than others. I have no idea which one this falls into.

BUT I do think documenting that there’s a problem with non-enforcement is a good thing, and documenting that cars and trucks are more likely to block a bike lane than a regular travel lane is a good thing. Take pictures. Tweet them at the police (@arlingtonvapd) and the people that design and build infrastructure (@arlingtonDES). Show them that (1) we need better enforcement, like we have of “double” parking and (2) we can’t just put down a strip of paint and assume that creates a safe place for cyclists. This gets back to the bike lane thread, but I’m starting to form the unified theory of bike infrastructure:
> on super-comfy streets (25mph or less through neighborhoods with low volume), we don’t need bike-specific infrastructure (though wayfinding signs could help);
> on mostly-comfy streets (maybe 25 mph through commercial districts with low car/truck volume), painted bike lane (I’m skeptical whether any streets really fall into this category)
> on not-so-comfy streets (30mph or 25mph with high volume), protected bike lanes, though protection could be flex posts or even maybe a painted buffer in some cases
> on the least-comfy streets (40mph +), full on, off road, protected bike lanes or completely separated paths with protected intersections.

[lordofthemark]

@dasgeh 124553 wrote:

Or they were there asking directions to the loading dock…

I don’t think motor vehicles should be parked in the bike lane or in the (non-parking) travel lane. But I’m with hozn – some examples of this are worse than others. I have no idea which one this falls into.

BUT I do think documenting that there’s a problem with non-enforcement is a good thing, and documenting that cars and trucks are more likely to block a bike lane than a regular travel lane is a good thing. Take pictures. Tweet them at the police (@arlingtonvapd) and the people that design and build infrastructure (@arlingtonDES). Show them that (1) we need better enforcement, like we have of “double” parking and (2) we can’t just put down a strip of paint and assume that creates a safe place for cyclists. This gets back to the bike lane thread, but I’m starting to form the unified theory of bike infrastructure:
> on super-comfy streets (25mph or less through neighborhoods with low volume), we don’t need bike-specific infrastructure (though wayfinding signs could help);
> on mostly-comfy streets (maybe 25 mph through commercial districts with low car/truck volume), painted bike lane (I’m skeptical whether any streets really fall into this category)
> on not-so-comfy streets (30mph or 25mph with high volume), protected bike lanes, though protection could be flex posts or even maybe a painted buffer in some cases
> on the least-comfy streets (40mph +), full on, off road, protected bike lanes or completely separated paths with protected intersections.

I am not sure PBLs can be physically accommodated on every high volume 25MPH residential street. You pretty much have to either eliminate parking, or put the lane on the curbside of parking. Unless your protection is only the painted buffer. Eliminating parking is not always feasible and can be quite controversial (I doubt the City of Alexandria is eager for too many more parking battles.) Either a buffer, or a curbside bike lane (depending on the size of the gutter) can involve additional street real estate, IIUC. Some streets can accommodate that with lane diets, but not all have the space. (and note, only a buffered lane is relatively easy for cyclists to swerve out of when necessary)

Plus protected bike lanes generally involve higher costs and more public involvement. A painted bike lane is relatively easy to stripe. We can get wide networks of painted bike lanes, while the PBLs go in slowly and painfully one or two a year.

I think striped bike lanes will continue to have their place.

[S. Arlington Observer]

@lordofthemark 124550 wrote:

This is not some 19th century street in DC. This is Shirlington, with lots of loading docks and alleys designed in particular to keep deliveries off the main commercial sidewalks, AFAICT. And that appears to be a residential moving truck. Not sure why they were there, but I would bet it was not a good reason.

Agreed,

There really isn’t any reason for this vehicle to be parked illegally in Shirlington at all, much less in a bike lane. It is not parked at or near a residential building for immediate unloading.

I wonder if the police and parking officials would be more proactive if it was blocking a lane of vehicular traffic? Arlington cannot claim to be bike friendly or to be creating a system of bike lanes if the bike lanes are just nice suggestions to drivers with no practical reality.

[hozn]

@S. Arlington Observer 124563 wrote:

I wonder if the police and parking officials would be more proactive if it was blocking a lane of vehicular traffic? Arlington cannot claim to be bike friendly or to be creating a system of bike lanes if the bike lanes are just nice suggestions to drivers with no practical reality.

I don’t see this as qualitatively different than a car double parked in a double lane (i.e. blocking the right lane). Pretty frequent occurrence (granted, especially in the city). It’s not like the bike is left without any options here (take the damn lane like any other vehicle or walk on the sidewalk!). I rather doubt the behavior of the police would be any different.

I stand by the assertion that this here is simply “not a big deal”. I’ve ridden that road a number of times; the lanes have plenty of room and taking a moment to slow down and check behind before going around the truck is no more dangerous than any other maneuver on the street. If someone isn’t confident enough to do that safely, they probably shouldn’t be on the road by themselves .

[TwoWheelsDC]

@lordofthemark 124548 wrote:

The other problem with a truck parked in a bike lane (and this truck is really blocking the whole lane – cars parked a couple of inches into the lane are far more common) is that, unlike someone blocking it to drop off/pick up say, this is going to be there for quite some time. The time impact makes it different from bikes slowing motor vehicles by taking a lane.

Note also one of the reasons we have bike lanes, is not for the folks who post to this forum regularly, who are comfortable taking a lane on a street like this. It is also for those who are not so comfortable, and who will ride only if there is a bike lane. When those bike lanes become more difficult to use, a few of the folks may discover their inner vehicular cyclist, but more I think will either ride less, or ride on the sidewalk more.

But it would be impossible to ensure that bike lanes will remain unobstructed 100% of the time, whether it’s a moving truck, or utility work, or whatever. While I hope that bike lanes encourage potential cyclists to get out an ride, we can’t put bike lanes everywhere and cyclists absolutely need to learn how to ride defensively and deal with situations where either the bike lanes are blocked or non-existent. If people only ride where there are bike lanes, they just aren’t going to get very far (particularly outside of the city core). And frankly, I think there comes a point where having a lot of bike lanes–particularly on roads that don’t really need them to ensure cyclists’ safety–sends the wrong message, namely that bikes need to stick to the small strips of pavement expressly provided for them and not ride anywhere else. Traffic calming, speed enforcement, and education are actual solutions to the problem. Bike lanes are (mostly) a band-aid.

Based on the photos above, the bike lane probably wasn’t put there out of any necessity…that lane is wide as hell and traffic speeds are relatively low. That bike lane almost certainly was put there because it was easy (economically and politically), and then the county gets to say it’s expanding bike infrastructure.

Also, I think if cyclists start calling about every minor violation of the bike lanes, the county is probably just going to stop painting them rather than increase enforcement.

[Terpfan]

This is a daily issue for me when I ride down 34th St on the way home (should add–this is in DC, I only take the Arlington Bike Lanes in the winter for the most part). Sometimes they’re parked, but often they’re just self-centered drivers who decide for whatever reason they like occupying half of the bike lane. I would say on average, I probably go around 3-4 vehicles in lane. On bad days, 10-20, especially in the last block. This morning there was a cement truck parked in the bottom of the 33rd st lane heading north. And then a woman double parked in her car further up. Granted it’s a slower road, I long ago gave up caring beyond trying to point down to the lane to educate them.

[lordofthemark]

@TwoWheelsDC 124569 wrote:

But it would be impossible to ensure that bike lanes will remain unobstructed 100% of the time, whether it’s a moving truck, or utility work, or whatever. While I hope that bike lanes encourage potential cyclists to get out an ride, we can’t put bike lanes everywhere and cyclists absolutely need to learn how to ride defensively and deal with situations where either the bike lanes are blocked or non-existent. If people only ride where there are bike lanes, they just aren’t going to get very far (particularly outside of the city core). And frankly, I think there comes a point where having a lot of bike lanes–particularly on roads that don’t really need them to ensure cyclists’ safety–sends the wrong message, namely that bikes need to stick to the small strips of pavement expressly provided for them and not ride anywhere else. Traffic calming, speed enforcement, and education are actual solutions to the problem. Bike lanes are (mostly) a band-aid.

Based on the photos above, the bike lane probably wasn’t put there out of any necessity…that lane is wide as hell and traffic speeds are relatively low. That bike lane almost certainly was put there because it was easy (economically and politically), and then the county gets to say it’s expanding bike infrastructure.

Also, I think if cyclists start calling about every minor violation of the bike lanes, the county is probably just going to stop painting them rather than increase enforcement.

I don’t expect bike lanes to be unobstructed 100% of the time. I regularly commute on the Eye Street lanes, which, in the block approaching S Capitol from the east, at PM rush hour almost always have at least one car picking up/dropping off. Every single time I ride. Often two cars, sometimes three.

But each violation of the bike lane is one more thing making it less useable, and discouraging the kinds of riders who rely on them.

As for needing lanes everywhere – no we do not need lanes on every single quiet residential street. This street is not that. As I pointed out above it connects Shirlington, one of Arlington’s “urban villages” with North Fairlington (and I think some take it to get to South Fairlington, and it is an alternative to I395 to get to Park Center) and it has several bus routes. There are lots of people who can ride on a quiet residential street, who will appreciate a bike lane on street like this.

I have noted elsewhere my skepticism of enforcement and education as “solutions”. As for traffic calming, I do not think you will get traffic calming other than what already exists on this road – it is not “residential” and I do not see anyone who would lobby for it.

As for what ArlCo will do if they get complaints, I don’t know. I hope they are better than that.

[americancyclo]

@S. Arlington Observer 124563 wrote:

There really isn’t any reason for this vehicle to be parked illegally in Shirlington at all, much less in a bike lane. It is not parked at or near a residential building for immediate unloading.

Stopping for Breakfast? Van won’t fit in a parking garage? Not enough parking to accommodate a 23′ moving truck?

[Author]

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