Police presence at Van Buren & 19th St. 4-way stop

[Steve O]

@vern 138698 wrote:

So, be discrete as you ride through this intersection.

Yes, be a single entity. Also be discreet.

[consularrider]

Yes, there is a problem with VEHICLES running that stop sign. I certainly hope the officer is also giving the same lecture to the car drivers that almost never come to a full stop there as well.

[vern]

@Steve O 138699 wrote:

Yes, be a single entity. Also be discreet.

yeah, be that, too.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Pull over the same proportion of cars and bikes and I guess that’s fine. Also, assess fines based on vehicle weight. I propose $1/pound on all vehicles over 200lbs.

[Subby]

@vern 138698 wrote:

I spoke to this cyclist afterwards, and she told me the officer said that a resident adjacent to the intersection has video of cyclists blowing through the stop signs, so, the police are going to be present there for a while until things calm down.

Nice. I wonder which resident.

[consularrider]

@Subby 138722 wrote:

Nice. I wonder which resident.

Maybe this one?

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[Judd]

@TwoWheelsDC 138713 wrote:

Pull over the same proportion of cars and bikes and I guess that’s fine. Also, assess fines based on vehicle weight. I propose $1/pound on all vehicles over 200lbs.

Do I count as part of my bike vehicle weight? I’m going to be looking at a bunch of 223 dollar tickets.

[Terpfan]

So they are watching the videos. Awesome, I have some to send their way then, albeit I’m not a resident of the District.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Terpfan 138729 wrote:

So they are watching the videos. Awesome, I have some to send their way then, albeit I’m not a resident of the District.

This is in Arlington.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Judd 138727 wrote:

Do I count as part of my bike vehicle weight? I’m going to be looking at a bunch of 223 dollar tickets.

Net weight, not gross weight (used only as a technical term, your weight is not gross, as that would make my own weight gross, and I’m not into weight-shaming).

[Subby]

Maybe ride through that intersection with both hands up and middle fingers extended? I don’t know. I’m lame. And old.

[OneEighth]

Betcha no hands on the handlebars gets ya a reckless riding ticket.

[trailrunner]

@OneEighth 138788 wrote:

Betcha no hands on the handlebars gets ya a reckless riding ticket.

When I was young (14 years old maybe?) I received a ticket for riding with no hands on the handlebars. True story.

[Steve O]

@Subby 138776 wrote:

Maybe ride through that intersection with both hands up and middle fingers extended?

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[viennabiker]

Police enforcement is back.

I rode through yesterday morning and slowed but did not stop at the intersection (I was going faster than an Idaho stop but slower than my normal speed–I would guess I slowed to about 5-7 mph). Immediately after passing through the intersection, I was pulled aside by a police officer. As shawnofthedread noted, the intersection is actually in Arlington, though I think of it as Falls Church.

He was extremely polite in tone but his content was stern: there have been numerous complaints from neighbors and a couple accidents. He said he had pulled aside nine bikers in 45 minutes. He also said–without my raising the point–that he stops cars as well. (In my time riding there, I have actually never seen one single car come to a full stop unless there was another car at the intersection–what I was raised to call a “California stop” is the norm).

I did mention to him that I knew of the periodic enforcement from this site and word of mouth. He seemed surprised and interested.

I got the impression that periodic enforcement will continue.

In my case, I was given a warning.

[Author]

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