Progress on 15th Street Cycletrack

[KLizotte]

Rode the entire length of it on Saturday and nothing beyond patching some potholes appears to have been done. Didn’t see any evidence that repaving is imminent. Very disappointing. Yesterday I had to head the same way north and resorted to taking 14th Street at N to avoid the bumpy ride.

*sigh*

[PotomacCyclist]

Workers were drilling the pavement closest to the curb on the cycletrack, just north of L St. It doesn’t look like they are working on the entire block (L to M St.), just one section. I don’t know if this is an unrelated project that just happens to be located next to the cycletrack and the work includes a minor improvement to the cycletrack. A couple weeks ago, there were large lighted traffic signs indicating that work was being done on the cycletrack. But those signs have been gone for a while. And then I saw the workers today with the jackhammers. So I don’t really know what’s going on, except that the cycletrack is temporarily unavailable on that block.

Maybe they are adding brick work to that block. If so, that’s not really an improvement. More of an aesthetic change.

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[PotomacCyclist]

DDOT posted yesterday on Twitter that they expect to complete the resurfacing of the cycletrack by the end of the month. (Retweeted on The WashCycle.)

[PotomacCyclist]

Looks like they were repaving the cycletrack between L and M St. after all. Someone posted this photo on the WashCycle Twitter acct. today:

https://twitter.com/PuckBuddys/status/393795822946893824/photo/1

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This is the same block as in the photo I posted last week.

[Terpfan]

It’s paved up to Mass and down as far as the CVS at K I think, maybe further, I don’t quite recall.

Does anyone know if they are going to reinstall the plastic bollards or leave them off? I ask because I’ve seen a lot of confusion by drivers and today I explained to two that no, in fact it wasn’t a parking lane (in fairness, English was not the first language of one couple). Meanwhile I also saw a guy on a cabi rightfully squabbling with a cab who was just hunkered down in the lane without a fare. The cabbies and some of the delivery trucks usage of it as their personal parking lanes I find appalling because I know that they know better.

DC has the “emergency no parking” signs out, but they’re attached to the meters, which doesn’t seem to help things. Maybe if they put a few cones running down the side of the lane adjacent to traffic, the point would be more noticable?

[jrenaut]

DDOT has been extending a large middle finger to all of us who use the cycletrack for the duration of this project

I advise all of you to do what I’ve been doing – pretend that DDOT did the right thing and closed the cycletrack for the repaving. I’ve been doing 14th SB (lovely flat tire from the constructiong this morning) and taking a lane on 15th NB. These are both far from ideal, but the cycletrack is NOT SAFE right now. Don’t use it.

And yes, the bollards are coming back.

[PotomacCyclist]

I haven’t been to 15th St. this week, but in recent weeks (before there was even work being done on the cycletrack), drivers were using the western-most traffic lane of 15th St., between K and L, as a parking lane. The entire block would be occupied by parked cars throughout the day. I never saw any lane closure signs anywhere or anything else indicating that people were allowed to take over a regular car traffic lane. And yet, there they were, day after day. I saw police officers nearby and they didn’t seem to mind or notice. Some of them were parked in that lane too. They left the cycletrack free and clear, but not that car traffic lane.

Maybe I didn’t see the temporary signs, but I don’t think there were any.

[jrenaut]

@PotomacCyclist 67816 wrote:

Maybe I didn’t see the temporary signs, but I don’t think there were any.

There are some no parking signs, but they’re the “the person who put these up can call and get you towed” signs, not the “you get a ticket for parking here” signs. No ticket means no enforcement. DDOT doesn’t care, so nothing’s been done.

[Terpfan]

Literally as I started typing, I looked out my window and saw a black vehicle park there (in front of Carribou). Argh. I wonder if it’s a crime to print fake DC parking tickets? I’ll start putting them on people’s windshields. Or maybe I can just write notes “you’re in a cycletrack and the sign next to you reads no parking, what are you thinking?”

[Terpfan]

Maybe DDOT is reading this. I just saw two parking enforcement officers going up and down the block. So it’s free again of cars (minus the US Post Office van).

[lauraemills]

I was walking down 15th today and saw that they have the pavement torn up, up to Swann Street and have paved up to Corcoran.

[Terpfan]

They now have cones up for part of the stretch between M & L that have no parking signs on them. I’m presuming this is because they intend to install those bollards very soon. That would be extremely helpful as folks were bombing down southbound this morning and passing a parked vehicle without considering anyone may be coming northbound leading to some close games of chicken.

[PotomacCyclist]

http://wamu.org/news/13/11/14/resurfacing_of_15th_street_bike_lane_wraps_up

‘Two months after starting to lay asphalt, the District Department of Transportation is just about done resurfacing the busiest bike lane in D.C.

From K to Swann Street Northwest, the 15th Street bike lane looks brand new. Fresh asphalt smooths out and covers up old potholes and bumps. Bright yellow and white painted stripes clearly mark where bikes should be, and green hashes warn cyclists about alleyways. Bollards and a parking lane protect bikes from traffic.

Two months after the project began — and one year since ANC commissioner Kishan Putta began lobbying DDOT to do it — the 15th Street bike lanes are just about done.

“It was extremely bumpy before and bikers were swerving out of their lanes into oncoming traffic to avoid potholes and parents were not taking their children to day care by bike because of the potholes,” says Putta.

Mike Shenk is one cyclist who appreciates the change. “It was a mess before and now it is fantastic now that the city has fixed it up,” he says.

There is a little work left to complete at the bike lane’s southern end, between K and L Streets Northwest.’

[Terpfan]

Finally back up on my bike after being knocked off by a cold for almost a week and a half, but I would like to thank DDOT for the repaving here, putting bollards back up, and also the beautiful new green paint in some spots. I think it’s helpful for riders and drivers and should bring some more awareness of the cycletrack. Plus, I really think it will go a long way toward aholes not parking in the lanes. Anyway, really glad to see it this morning.

[Subby]

@Terpfan 69453 wrote:

Finally back up on my bike after being knocked off by a cold for almost a week and a half, but I would like to thank DDOT for the repaving here, putting bollards back up, and also the beautiful new green paint in some spots. I think it’s helpful for riders and drivers and should bring some more awareness of the cycletrack. Plus, I really think it will go a long way toward aholes not parking in the lanes. Anyway, really glad to see it this morning.

A buddy of mine and I went for a ride yesterday and part of it included coming south on the 15th street cycletrack. Having never used it for commuting (other than the part below where New York ends) I was duly impressed by all of it. Other than not having bike-specific signals it was how I would envision all bike lanes to work (ok maybe a *touch* wider). There was a truck parked in the lane and we were going to yell at the crew, but they were painting bike lane symbols…so we let it go.

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