South Eads Street workshop, Wed. May 21, 2014, 7-8:30 pm

[bobco85]

@PotomacCyclist 86303 wrote:

(awesome & detailed meeting notes)

Good write-up! Thank you for attending and taking notes of the meeting. They are very informative.

[CaseyKane50]

@PotomacCyclist 86245 wrote:

I’m glad that County staff are aware of some of the major safety problems along the road, including the drivers who take right turns on red at high speeds from Eads. I’ve seen this myself. It’s simply astonishing and frightening to see. I’ve seen a few drivers take those right turns on red, traveling at maybe 30-40 mph, without slowing down at all to see if there are pedestrians in the crosswalk. Such behavior displays a complete lack of concern for the safety and lives of others. Everyone knows that the area is busy, with many pedestrians on local sidewalks and crosswalks. Apparently County police have written up loads of tickets because of this, but they can’t be stationed at every intersection, every hour of every day.
.

I am not sure this is true at all intersections all Eads, but the county recently installed “No Turn on Red between 7 am – 7 pm Monday – Friday” signs at the 18th and Eads intersection. Of course the idiots who don’t stop on red are just as likely to ignore this sign.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5696[/ATTACH]

[PotomacCyclist]

@CaseyKane50 86332 wrote:

I am not sure this is true at all intersections all Eads, but the county recently installed “No Turn on Red between 7 am – 7 pm Monday – Friday” signs at the 18th and Eads intersection. Of course the idiots who don’t stop on red are just as likely to ignore this sign.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5696[/ATTACH]

Is there a similar sign for drivers on Eads, not on 18th St.? The drivers I saw were racing along Eads and turning onto 18th and other streets on red lights.

[CaseyKane50]

@PotomacCyclist 86339 wrote:

Is there a similar sign for drivers on Eads, not on 18th St.? The drivers I saw were racing along Eads and turning onto 18th and other streets on red lights.

Yes, here is what the northbound drivers on Eads would see. (I was on 18th when I took the picture.)

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5699[/ATTACH]

[PotomacCyclist]

That’s a little better, though I agree that those who are aggressive scofflaw drivers will ignore this sign.

[consularrider]

Well, it is particualarly irritating at 7:45 am when I am having to detour off the cycling infrastructure and I’m told I can’t turn right on red when there is no traffic coming in any direction. Besides, you can almost never hit both lights on 18th heading to the CC connector no matter when you make your right turn.

[KLizotte]

@CaseyKane50 86332 wrote:

I am not sure this is true at all intersections all Eads, but the county recently installed “No Turn on Red between 7 am – 7 pm Monday – Friday” signs at the 18th and Eads intersection. Of course the idiots who don’t stop on red are just as likely to ignore this sign.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5696[/ATTACH]

I used to bike through that intersection every day on my commute (before I discovered the Pentagon alternative) and face this sign. I’d say only about 50% of the drivers obeyed the sign. Never understood why the sign doesn’t ban it 100% of the time given the high number of peds in the area due to the hotels nearby.

[Tim Kelley]

BUMP!

The survey on this closes soon: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s_thankyou.aspx?sm=rtSz0SKEx4XStifSZDBElgK2KochKrz96aVq6QQLwO0%253d

[PotomacCyclist]

I think work has started on the repaving and the cycletracks. Crews have begun to scrape off the old asphalt.

[PotomacCyclist]

Cyclists may want to avoid Eads St. between 15th and 23rd Streets, until the repaving and cycletrack installation is complete. The road is in very rough shape. I wouldn’t ride on it, especially with skinny road tires. The good news is that once the work is finished, the road will be in much better condition than before.

[vern]

@PotomacCyclist 94436 wrote:

Cyclists may want to avoid Eads St. between 15th and 23rd Streets, until the repaving and cycletrack installation is complete. The road is in very rough shape. I wouldn’t ride on it, especially with skinny road tires. The good news is that once the work is finished, the road will be in much better condition than before.

Yup, I ran into that yesterday, but it didn’t seem the milling grooves are as deep as they sometimes can be, so I was able to ride on it ok.

[PotomacCyclist]

The sensors in the road (that detect cars so the lights will change more quickly) have also been exposed. I’ve seen a couple of loose wires sticking out of the scraped pavement at intersections. Be careful of those too.

[vern]

@vern 94438 wrote:

Yup, I ran into that yesterday, but it didn’t seem the milling grooves are as deep as they sometimes can be, so I was able to ride on it ok.

and now they’ve come in with the deeper milling grooves which are an anathema to skinny road tires…so back to MVT for that final mile in to Crystal City for the next week or so.

[PotomacCyclist]

There may be work at the 1720 S Eads site, from 9/23 to 10/4. There are no parking notices along the street at the corner of 18th and Eads. The former post office is scheduled to be demolished soon. A new apartment building will take it’s place. The project includes improvements to the intersection and to the 18th St underpass, near the Metro entrance.

[PotomacCyclist]

There’s also a lot of asphalt dust in the air right now. Another reason to avoid the road during the repaving. I try to hold my breath as much as I can while walking by there.

[Author]

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