Park Police Giving Tickets to Cyclists Salmoning In Front of Jefferson This Morning

[pfunkallstar]

@dbb 18578 wrote:

I would be cool with “enhanced enforcement” if the Park Police enhanced the enforcement on all users of Park Service property. Getting sped by by motorists on the mall, cut off by busses, and enjoying the traffic mess that is the mall in the afternoon as it serves as a commuter route (all with no apparent enforcement enhancements), I get the idea cyclists are the only targets.

We aren’t the only targets, just the easiest – besides pedestrians that is. But Park Police ticketing lost tourists doesn’t go over too terribly well with the “DC is a Vacation!” crowd.

[2fitt]

I was stop by a PP in Hanes Point for not stopping at a stop sign. I disputed the incident but he gave me a ticket anyway. I just don’t understand, I was nearly hit by two cars and PP felt it was more important to give me a ticket for not stop at a stop sign. The PP is really tough on cyclist.

[SpokeGrenadeSR]

@2fitt 18956 wrote:

I was stop by a PP in Hanes Point for not stopping at a stop sign. I disputed the incident but he gave me a ticket anyway. I just don’t understand, I was nearly hit by two cars and PP felt it was more important to give me a ticket for not stop at a stop sign. The PP is really tough on cyclist.

Did you join to complain that you broke the law and got punished for it?

[dbb]

While I will not attempt to excuse the violation you mentioned, check your ticket. It is possibly a DC government ticket.

It appears that the fine will be $25. When I got stopped a couple of weeks ago in front of the Jefferson, the PP told me that the fine was $50. I suggested to the police officer that the fine was different but he wasn’t particularly receptive.

http://www.dcregs.dc.gov/Gateway/FinalAdoptionHome.aspx?RuleVersionID=3699597

[baiskeli]

@KLizotte 18573 wrote:

What in the world is NPS going to do when all the tourists hit town this summer and start riding CaBi all over their properties!!!?! It’s gonna be the wild, wild west out there. Start sharpening your spurs folks!

Yep – WABA ought to ask NPS for a few sign improvements, like there, and on the Va. side of Memorial Bridge, to name a few.

[dasgeh]

@pfunkallstar 18627 wrote:

We aren’t the only targets, just the easiest – besides pedestrians that is.

Don’t you think that a tour bus idling along the side of the road is an easier target than a moving cyclist? (Idling is illegal in DC, not that NPP enforces it)

[Rootchopper]

Rather than address the problem, the NPS decides to harass people instead. Wouldn’t it make sense to put down some markings to indicate where bikes are supposed to go when they come off the bridge? Now that I think of it wouldn’t it be a perfect place for a short cycle track? And while they are at it they could remove the ugly jersey barriers all over the grounds of the Jefferson Memorial. They’ve been there for ten years now. NPS could put up bollards, or a landscaped wall with plantings.

[dasgeh]

@2fitt 18956 wrote:

I was stop by a PP in Hanes Point for not stopping at a stop sign. I disputed the incident but he gave me a ticket anyway. I just don’t understand, I was nearly hit by two cars and PP felt it was more important to give me a ticket for not stop at a stop sign. The PP is really tough on cyclist.

You probably have lots of grounds to challenge the ticket. First of all, if you did stop, you should contest it. I don’t think there’s anything in DC Code that requires a foot down.

If you didn’t stop, it’s still likely that the NPP officer wrote the ticket incorrectly.

Unfortunately, “they aren’t ticketing cars” is not a valid defense. However, it’s a great point to make in a letter to policy makers (head of NPP, NPS, your representatives in Congress).

[JeffC]

I’ll continue the dog pile on the NPS theme here. I ride on the Falls Church City Streets, the W&OD, Custis Trail, and Mt. Vernon from Rosslyn to the 14th Street Bridge. My understanding is that the Mt. Vernon at this stretch is administered by the NPS. By far and away, this is the worst part of my ride in terms of trail quality. It’s narrow and badly rutted but there is plenty of space to accomodate widening.

I’ve often thought that getting in and out of DC is the worst part of my commute. One would think that DC and the NPS could come up with some better bike lane solution to get from the 14th St Bridge to say the Smithsonian or Metro Center. As it is, cyclists are forced to share crowded sidewalks or crowded roadways. It’s pathetic that on the entire National Mall, we could not have a narrow stretch clearly marked and cordoned off for cyclists across its length; it is easy enough to cross it width wise though. This would be nice for the tourists on their CaBi rides as well.

But on that stretch from the 14th St Bridge to the Mint Bureau, I would love to have a bike lane on the road going with the traffic flow and one on the sidewalk going the opposite direction. This would be safer for peds, bikers and cars. Why don’t I think it is going to happen soon?

[Author]

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