Protected bike lane in Georgetown – close call

[Steve O]

I am posting this on behalf of a co-worker
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Last night on my bike ride home I was very lucky that my (new) brakes saved me from a head-on collision with a car. I was riding in the bike lane at the Georgetown Waterfront (see screenshot) when a car quickly drove into the bike lane and completely blocked it right where I was going, presumably to save a parking spot. The protection for bikes there is not good. I took a photo of his license plate and would like to make those who can put better protection for bikes there aware of the very dangerous situation.

Do you know who I should contact? I am thinking of the police, but maybe you have better advice.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30798[/ATTACH]

[ImaCynic]

Expect the unexpected is the norm and not the exception when it comes to urban riding, better get used to this.

[arlcxrider]

To be honest, I just take the lane in both directions underneath the Whitehurst. The PBL is not worth the trouble due to encroachments from car drivers and inattentive pedestrians. I like to have room to maneuver when the feces inevitably hits the fan.

[Judd]

@Steve O 225884 wrote:

I am posting this on behalf of a co-worker
=================
Last night on my bike ride home I was very lucky that my (new) brakes saved me from a head-on collision with a car. I was riding in the bike lane at the Georgetown Waterfront (see screenshot) when a car quickly drove into the bike lane and completely blocked it right where I was going, presumably to save a parking spot. The protection for bikes there is not good. I took a photo of his license plate and would like to make those who can put better protection for bikes there aware of the very dangerous situation.

Do you know who I should contact? I am thinking of the police, but maybe you have better advice.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]30798[/ATTACH]

Greg Billing is the Georgetown BID transportation director. They’ve had some success with getting stuff done.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Steve O]

@ImaCynic 225886 wrote:

Expect the unexpected is the norm and not the exception when it comes to urban riding, better get used to this.

And thus we should expect that the percentage of people cycling as a transportation option will forever remain in the low single digits.

[NoVaNoobGA]

@Steve O 225893 wrote:

And thus we should expect that the percentage of people cycling as a transportation option will forever remain in the low single digits.

This is unfortunately true. Reading neighborhood chatter in the suburbs it’s all about the dangers that prevent people moving up from round-the-block-ers to transportation bikers.

[Steve O]

@NoVaNoobGA 225894 wrote:

This is unfortunately true. Reading neighborhood chatter in the suburbs it’s all about the dangers that prevent people moving up from round-the-block-ers to transportation bikers.

It only has to be true if we accept the status quo as the forever future. If instead we imagine a different and better system, set our sights, and continue to push for change – both incremental and large-scale – then perhaps it will not always be true. So I do not accept the admonition “better get used to this,” since it is the cry of the defeated, not the rallying call for the visionary.

[ImaCynic]

@Steve O 225893 wrote:

And thus we should expect that the percentage of people cycling as a transportation option will forever remain in the low single digits.

Yes, and a “cycling as a transportation option” really only applies in the context of urban mobility and going beyond this is simply not an option for majority of the population. Furthermore, I’d argue that most sees cycling as an activity, not a mean of transportation.

[Steve O]

@ImaCynic 225896 wrote:

Yes, and a “cycling as a transportation option” really only applies in the context of urban mobility and going beyond this is simply not an option for majority of the population. Furthermore, I’d argue that most sees cycling as an activity, not a mean of transportation.

What is your point? That my friend should not report it to anyone? That we should accept drivers doing anything they want, because that’s just the way it is?

[viennabiker]

In my experience, this is the most problematic PBL — or least protected PBL — in the area. It has gotten better; there are no longer ice cream vendors parked in the lane. But besides parked cars and strolling pedestrians, those walking to or from parked cars are often problems. But I think most dangerous are cars pulling out from one of the side streets and either looking the wrong way or–yes, this really is routine–pulling out and waving as if to thank a bicyclist for slamming on the breaks–are common. It is probably worse in the summer when Georgetown and the river draw a lot of weekend traffic. Glad you weren’t hurt.

[ImaCynic]

@Steve O 225897 wrote:

What is your point? That my friend should not report it to anyone? That we should accept drivers doing anything they want, because that’s just the way it is?

Just responding to your comments on the prospect of cycling as a form of transportation. The sad reality is that drivers WILL do whatever they want – Lane markings? yield/stop signs? traffic lights? speed limit? bike lanes? Meaningless. Why are there so many speed, red light, and stop sign cameras in DC? Certainly not because everyone is a model driver.

Expecting traffic laws to protect and others to obey is the most dangerous thing a cyclist can do. Should he report this experience? Well, what’s the crime? The driver *almost* hit him?

[lordofthemark]

@ImaCynic 225896 wrote:

Yes, and a “cycling as a transportation option” really only applies in the context of urban mobility and going beyond this is simply not an option for majority of the population. Furthermore, I’d argue that most sees cycling as an activity, not a mean of transportation.

A. It’s certainly a transportation option in many inner suburbs, and some urbanist islands in the suburbs, especially combined with transit

B. Doesn’t have to be the majority. If you go from 9% to 18%, say, that’s a huge change, especially if combined with changes that increase walking and transit (and changes to urban form that shorten car trips, changes to road pricing and parking policy that encourage car pooling, etc)

[lordofthemark]

@ImaCynic 225900 wrote:

Just responding to your comments on the prospect of cycling as a form of transportation. The sad reality is that drivers WILL do whatever they want – Lane markings? yield/stop signs? traffic lights? speed limit? bike lanes? Meaningless. Why are there so many speed, red light, and stop sign cameras in DC? Certainly not because everyone is a model driver.

Expecting traffic laws to protect and others to obey is the most dangerous thing a cyclist can do. Should he report this experience? Well, what’s the crime? The driver *almost* hit him?

In fact there are studies showing speed limit changes do lower average speeds, even in the absence of accompanying changes to infrastructure. Certainly traffic signals make a difference. There are lots of scofflaw drivers, but also many who are not. When counseling someone on how to ride, I’d suggest caution, and assuming drivers will break the law. When advocating for policy change, I would not assume that changes to speed limits and traffic signals don’t matter. (I won’t get into the paint only bike lane debate – probably will save that for my substack)

As for reporting, there are close calls reporting sites for bike/ped, which operate on the same idea as close calls reporting for other modes, like aviation. Added data helps policy makers consider priorities for solutions.

[secstate]

@arlcxrider 225887 wrote:

To be honest, I just take the lane in both directions underneath the Whitehurst. The PBL is not worth the trouble due to encroachments from car drivers and inattentive pedestrians. I like to have room to maneuver when the feces inevitably hits the fan.

That’s smart if you have any desire to go through there quickly. That whole stretch of road is chaos whether on a bike or in a car and the two-way PBL has significantly increased the complexity of the traffic pattern. I mostly use the PBL but take it slowly, and skip it altogether and use the boardwalk on “bad” weather days when there aren’t many pedestrians about.

[Steve O]

@ImaCynic 225900 wrote:

Just responding to your comments on the prospect of cycling as a form of transportation. The sad reality is that drivers WILL do whatever they want – Lane markings? yield/stop signs? traffic lights? speed limit? bike lanes? Meaningless. Why are there so many speed, red light, and stop sign cameras in DC? Certainly not because everyone is a model driver.

Expecting traffic laws to protect and others to obey is the most dangerous thing a cyclist can do. Should he report this experience? Well, what’s the crime? The driver *almost* hit him?

(for clarification, co-worker is a she)

I think the whole point she was making, being from Germany and seeing how things can be different, is that the infrastructure itself could be improved in ways to protect vulnerable road users from whatever the drivers want to do.
So, yes, likely nothing the police can do about this, but we have already seen improvements that provide better separation for different users over the last decade. And that has happened because people have spoken up.

Her question was both specific to her incident, but also more broadly, “how can this infrastructure be improved to keep this from happening to others?” I share her consideration for future users.

[Author]

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