Woman Hit by Cyclist on Four Mile Run

[JeffC]

Unfortunately, although unlikely, this could happen to a regular commuter, something similar could happen while driving too. A few random thoughts in no particular order.

1) I find it unlikely the cyclist will be sued. At least with motor vehicle accidents my understand is that Virginia has a contributory negligence standard which means that so long as one party is even a bit at fault, the other party cannot recover. It sure seems like the pedestrian was partly at fault and that would bar recovery.

2) I have noticed the trails get worse over the past five years of bike commuting, more crowded, especially in the afternoons. It’s exhausting in the afternoon, always trying to time passes, scanning for other users, it can be as stressful as driving. I’ve started riding the streets home in the afternoon once I get up the hill in Rosslyn (mornings are never so crowded). As soon as I get off the trail, it’s like the stress is removed. No more road bikers trailing me, no more peds two abreast. It’s like going from driving on a crowded interstate to a quiet country road.

3) Arlington likes to think it is bike friendly but I cringe when I hear somebody call MUPs a “bike path”. It’s anything but. That term would suggest bikes alone had the sole use of it. I have seen much better bike facilities in college towns in California and Colorado and of course Western Europe.

4) Speaking of which, I doubt we’ll get a bikes only path anytime soon but given the restrictions on I66 use, one would think we could have something similar on many stretches of the Custis and W&OD, especially when there are sidewalks a block away that pedestrians and joggers could easily use. Would it be so unreasonable to make the Custis bikes only from 4 to 7 pm on weekdays from say April through October? And since Artlington has specific dog parks, would it be too much to ban dogs altogether from MUPs, given the narrow lanes and length of leashes? I’m not anti-dog, I have one and love dogs but would never take him to walk on a MUP, especially in the afternoon.

5) Still I am perplexed, what is so fun about walking/jogging on Custis and W&OD? Somedays I walk to the EFC Metro to/from my house and purposely avoid the W&OD because let’s see how many ways it is unpleasant: no shade, no scenery, powerlines over head, bikes roaring past, in places next to loud roads or freeways. I undesrsatnd why people would want to walk on the MVT and see the monuments across the river and I am unfamiliar with trails in Maryland so cannot comment. The Custis and stretches of W&OD I use have to the be the least scenic, almost ugly stretches of trail I have seen. At least biking on the Custis I can quickly pass riding next to I66 but I could not imagine walking next to I66 is pleasurable. In most places of the world, walking next to a freeway has a pejorative connotation, in North Arlington, it becomes a parody of nature in a “Stuff White People Like” kind of way. I’m trully baffled.

[KLizotte]

Since NPS is looking into posting signs on the MVT, perhaps we should ask them to post signs that say “no headphones” – that goes for peds and cyclists alike?

[dasgeh]

@JeffC 22273 wrote:

4) Speaking of which, I doubt we’ll get a bikes only path anytime soon but given the restrictions on I66 use, one would think we could have something similar on many stretches of the Custis and W&OD, especially when there are sidewalks a block away that pedestrians and joggers could easily use. Would it be so unreasonable to make the Custis bikes only from 4 to 7 pm on weekdays from say April through October? And since Artlington has specific dog parks, would it be too much to ban dogs altogether from MUPs, given the narrow lanes and length of leashes? I’m not anti-dog, I have one and love dogs but would never take him to walk on a MUP, especially in the afternoon.

+1 for banning dogs. Please. Pretty please.

And even if we can’t get bikes only, clear signage indicating that the MUPs are for bikes along with everyone else, that everyone should stay right, expect to be passed, and when being passed, people should walk single file and keep pets and children close and under control.

[KLizotte]

If you want to ride MUPs that are largely well maintained, shaded, pretty and almost entirely ped free even on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, try the trails east of the Anacostia. It’s an entirely different world over there.

This is the route I take from DC to get to the trail system:

Metropolitan Branch Trail to the end
Straight up 8th Street, NE
Right on Monroe St, NE
Cross Rhode Island Ave
Continue on Monroe
Cross Eastern Ave to pick up 34th Street
At the roundabout, take the first right on to Perry Street (there’s a big sign)
Continue on Perry Street
Right on 38th Street to cross the bridge
Immediately after the bridge, take the first left on to Cottage Terrace
Cottage Terrace turns into Bunker Hill Road
Near the end of Bunker Hill Road you will see the NE Branch trail on your left

You can walk your bike down the gravel path to the trail or else continue on the MUP over the bridge ahead of you and take the paved path down to the trail.

The route described above allows you to avoid the horror of Rhode Island Ave and takes you through some nice residential areas with quiet streets. Unfortunately the return trip does require going up Monroe which features a long incline but I’ve discovered the parallel streets are also uphill.

[GuyContinental]

@KLizotte 22278 wrote:

Since NPS is looking into posting signs on the MVT, perhaps we should ask them to post signs that say “no headphones” – that goes for peds and cyclists alike?

Might be reaching 50% too far- when I have the ear bud conversation with someone I usually say something along the lines of “keep your left ear in the clear.” In this self-absorbed world it’s a big ask to ask people to totally disconnect, whereas they at least sort of “get” the one ear clear thing, particularly if they hadn’t heard my multiple calls of “On your left” or my freewheel.

[consularrider]

@JeffC 22273 wrote:

Unfortunately, although unlikely, this could happen to a regular commuter, something similar could happen while driving too. A few random thoughts in no particular order.5) Still I am perplexed, what is so fun about walking/jogging on Custis and W&OD? Somedays I walk to the EFC Metro to/from my house and purposely avoid the W&OD because let’s see how many ways it is unpleasant: no shade, no scenery, powerlines over head, bikes roaring past, in places next to loud roads or freeways. I undesrsatnd why people would want to walk on the MVT and see the monuments across the river and I am unfamiliar with trails in Maryland so cannot comment. The Custis and stretches of W&OD I use have to the be the least scenic, almost ugly stretches of trail I have seen. At least biking on the Custis I can quickly pass riding next to I66 but I could not imagine walking next to I66 is pleasurable. In most places of the world, walking next to a freeway has a pejorative connotation, in North Arlington, it becomes a parody of nature in a “Stuff White People Like” kind of way. I’m trully baffled.

My best guess is that there are no/no street crossings from VanBuren St to Scott St on the W&OD/Custis combination, about five miles. That’s a good distance to not have to worry about dealing with motor vehicles (other than the Arlington County trucks and police vehicles). Also, while you are next to the Interstate the entire way, you see very little of it. Finally, most of the people running or walking this combination are not out for sightseeing, like you and me, they live there and this is easy exercise, and the alternatives are worse.

[GuyContinental]

@JeffC 22273 wrote:

5) Still I am perplexed, what is so fun about walking/jogging on Custis and W&OD?

I dunno, Custis is reasonably pretty for 90% of it’s length, especially the canopy of tress on the off-66 sections. My wife jogs there all the time (admonished to be careful, stay right and not wear earbuds lest her husband mow her down . Without driving there aren’t a whole lot of great options if you aren’t cool with jogging in the street at rush hour. Sure, there’s a retaining wall with a hidden freeway but it’s better than most of the urban areas in the vicinity. What truly baffles me (even more than running in general) are the runners that insist on cruising up the crowded sidewalks through the heart of Clarendon when Key blvd is a block away.

[mstone]

I’m happy as long as they’re not doing their crazy ninja thing in the street.

[GuyContinental]

@mstone 22342 wrote:

I’m happy as long as they’re not doing their crazy ninja thing in the street.

No. Joke.

I had my worst daylight Crazy Ivan ever yesterday on the WO&D way out in Loudoun- mindful of recent events and this thread I warned, warned again and then slowed way down freewheeling and swung wide around an ear-budded runner who, completely out of nowhere, planted his right foot, pivoted left and CHARGED into a turn. I said something between holys&*% and SQUEAAAK and went off the left side of the trail. Usually they do that u-turn thing at a mile marker, a bridge, a road or even some significant trail crack. Not this guy. He hit some point in his run and it was time to go the other way right now.

Had he been in winter ninja mode he absolutely would have taken me (well, both of us) out, had he done this near the lady on the 4MR- he would have taken her out too.

[KLizotte]

Yikes! I wonder if a coordinated effort to politely tell local runners how to properly do a U-turn on a MUP is in order via runner stores and social media. That said, I’m always baffled that this hasn’t occurred to the runners already….

[chuckb]

@KLizotte 22123 wrote:

It would certainly be useful and safer if the peds acknowledged the warning with a handwave.

That’s exactly what I do when I’m the walker instead of the rider.

[vvill]

Does anyone think this is a bit much? I was riding home on the Custis yesterday when I heard something to my left, and as I turned my head left, a cyclist came whizzing by and kept going. Zero warning or acknowledgment. I was in the middle of the right lane and a bit peeved.

I *think* it was this guy http://app.strava.com/rides/10824777
Riding 22mph average on the Custis, deliberately, just to re-take a Strava KOM with no signalling or warning? Not much margin for error for this rider to hit a pedestrian/runner methinks. Or another cyclist.

[Arlingtonrider]

I got buzzed by someone like that on the MVT last night, just north of Gravelly Point. The guy whizzed past me at high speed with very little clearance between me and two side-by-side pedestrians coming from the other direction. Idiot! I think that Thursday evenings at Hains Point tend to attract a lot of good riders, but also some of these inconsiderate yahoos.

[eminva]

I know it’s bad when I look over my shoulder before passing a pedestrian or slower cyclist, move to the left, and discover I am simultaneously being passed by someone who wasn’t even in my peripheral vision yet when I looked over my shoulder moments earlier. It’s not a daily occurrence by any means, but it does happen often enough.

In fairness, I do think most regular commuters and leisure cyclists maintain a safe speed on the trails, but a few should probably do a little better job of taking trail crowd levels into consideration. There is a time and place for everything.

Liz

[GuyContinental]

@vvill 22376 wrote:

Riding 22mph average on the Custis, deliberately, just to re-take a Strava KOM with no signalling or warning? Not much margin for error for this rider to hit a pedestrian/runner methinks. Or another cyclist.

I was thinking about Strava in this context last night- if this guy did hit someone, does his public Strava record (down to the ride title) create a history of hooliganism? Worse, are you Will, now implicated as being the “one other” on the ride (doubtful after a side by side comparison)? Looking closely at my own ride profiles I can see my yields for peds (abnormal dips on downhills), road crossings (down to 4-5 mph or 0) and busy trail days (endless quick acceleration, quick braking and lower times). But I also see crazy data errors (55mph at Brandywine Castle) and overall some pretty fast travel (early in the morning). I like to think that I’m a safe and courteous rider but I’m not sure that my profile couldn’t be spun against me.

To this guy’s credit it looks like post Custis he was on streets (weird route- Cutsis to Bluemont connector trail to George Mason to 4MR, I’ve never even thought about going that way) and he was stopping at lights and crossings.

One plus of Strava is that you can give him some public guilt- rider to rider in his ride comments.

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