[arlrider]

The problem is, as with so many legal questions, where is the line? On one end of the continuum you have these very basic e-bikes that people putter along on. But then on the other hand they are currently making electric motorcycles that exceed 100 mph. So where do you draw the distinction? Sure, it’s easy for a person to qualitatively say “Oh arlrider, you’re being silly, EVERYONE knows those aren’t the same!” But that’s not how regulations and laws work – there has to be a metric and the ability to enforce. Wattage, top speed, what? Do you put a speed limit on the trail and then require all conventional cyclists to have speedometers? Due to the can of worms that is opened up by doing otherwise, I am personally in favor of retaining language that says no “motorized” vehicles on trails.

My other issue with e-bike cyclists (note, I have not voiced this on other forums so I’m not one of the aforementioned trolls) is that they tend from my experience to be people who have just jumped into this and have very low levels of situational awareness and motor control when on the bike. They have skipped the steps that most of us take, where we build power, conditioning, and control (over years, typically), and instead have just lept right to ELITE speeds but without any of the experience that accompanies it. So in that respect I often find them dangerous – fast moving, uncontrolled objects.

[arlrider]

@Harry Meatmotor 97435 wrote:

I think there’s also an underlying view of cycling as a childish activity

Soooo very much agree with this. Which is why, personally, I push back against a lot of cycling “activism” that makes cycling look even more childish. Referring to the street corner sign waving crowd. Sorry to say it, but I don’t view you as helping our cause to be taken seriously.

The flip side of this is that, while a lot of absolutely TERRIBLE behavior riding comes of this, I think that CaBi has made a net positive impact on the perception of cycling in our community. It has taken a huge step towards humanizing cyclists. CaBi riders don’t wear spandex and cleated shoes; you often see people in suits with portfolios, or bags of groceries, etc. This is a big step in changing this existing American mindset towards the way people think about cycling in much of the rest of the world – an extremely pragmatic, functional, and versatile mode of transit that a lot of people utilize in their daily lives.

[arlrider]

@Kolohe 97183 wrote:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dr-gridlock/wp/2014/10/16/traffic-alert-cowboys-headed-to-d-c/

I wonder if that horse went through the intersection today.

“Horse”? There were about 20 of them! The article says they went over the Key Bridge, so I’m sure that involved the IOD in one way or another.

I ran up against them on M Street, with a whole bunch of cyclists also backed up behind them. I crept along until Wisconsin, then took a left, followed by a right on N and rode like a madman and was able to cut back to M and just beat the rolling roadblock before it got onto Pennsylvania.

I understand rights of assembly or protest or whatever, and I also understand that these guys got all the proper permitting, police escorts, etc. But I do wonder where the limit is. Would DC need to grant the right to do this to everyone who is mad about something or another? Honestly, this being DC, I am sometimes amazed how rarely we do see these sorts of crazy protests.

[arlrider]

@jnva 96990 wrote:

I’m very happy they were there this morning as I almost was run over by a car turning right towards key bridge. I yelled at the driver and then she was immediately pulled over. Hopefully got s ticket.

Now this is good to hear!

[arlrider]

@LBSki 96942 wrote:

Rider in front of me slipped and wiped out on the teddy roosevelt boardwalk this morning. He was fine, just a bruised ego. I know almost everyone claims to know this, but riders still wipe out there ALL the time, so PLEASE, slow down at the corner! Like, really slow down, like basically stop your bike before taking that turn if there is any moisture on the ground. I took a very nasty spill there early this year, and it makes me cringe nearly every ride.

Also – if you are cutting back on the boardwalk leaving the TR bridge to go south on the Mt. Vernon trail (so you have to do a 180 from the TR off-ramp to SB Mt. Vernon), there is ONE gap between two boards that is just big enough to eat a wheel and 25mm tire down to the hub…

You can ask me how I know this, but I’m sure you know the answer…it involved me standing in the middle of the boardwalk with no bike under me…

[arlrider]

@dasgeh 96931 wrote:

Quick poll: do people think a sign, such as the digital traffic sign below, instructing drivers to look for peds/bikes would be helpful in the interim? Click “Like” for yes or “Elite” for no. Any suggestions on what it should say? (reply)

No, because the last thing that that intersection needs is more distractions. Driver: “Hmm, a big orange sign! Let me look up from texting and try to see what it says.” *Squint*…*Crunch*…*Screaming from beneath car*…”Gosh, what’s that squishy thing under my car?”

[arlrider]

@Steve O 96926 wrote:

I just rode in the Custis and noted slowdowns on I-66 all the way back to Spout Run. This seems to happen 3-4 times/month. My best guess is it has to do with the construction in Rosslyn having some sort of spillover effect, but that’s just my theory.

Regardless, I most definitely feel a sense of superiority as I cruise by the cars crawling along. BWAHAHHAAHHAHAHA!!

66, though, was FLYING compared to Lee. They were jammed up as far as I could see, at least to Adams. And all of Rosslyn was flooded and jammed from Rosslyn heights down as people were trying to cut off Lee to no avail.

[arlrider]

@jrenaut 96916 wrote:

I had to drive today because I’m going straight from work to Dulles to pick up my family. I am reminded once again why I never do this.

@rcannon100 96917 wrote:

@#$%@#$#@!@*&*(**$#@#()&@$#&***&&

[ATTACH=CONFIG]6810[/ATTACH]

Why does anyone drive?

Saw the nightmare walking back from Rosslyn to the North Highlands this morning along Key blvd and Lee. Any particular cause or just volume? Or could it possibly be the IOD feeding all the way back through – I know there were suggestions of that being the case the other day.

It would be an incredible feat of karmic irony if the revenge of the IOD were to screw drivers all the way back to Falls Church on a daily basis.

[arlrider]

Heard them Sunday. From the sound I would have sworn about 200′ AGL (though probably not the case). A shame they only did one pass. They definitely needed at least two – one to get attention, then the second for show. That said, I can only imagine the regulatory hoops they had to jump through to even get what they did.

[arlrider]

So does anybody know if these lights have a “holiday schedule”? Either way, today was a big step backwards. Leading interval of maybe 3 seconds for pedestrians, then about 20 seconds total of walk/countdown, then at least 20 seconds of cars only, in both directions. Looks like the drivers are winning this one.

[arlrider]

@bobco85 96770 wrote:

Just curious because I do not know legalese, could litigation be used against the County/Fed/NPS/VDOT/etc. in the event of an accident?

To be frank, the treatment of the Intersection of Doom seems to be negligence on their part, even with the piecemeal solutions (sometimes having a cop stationed there isn’t going to do it). At some point (I think it’s past already), it will be shown that the inaction to fix this dangerous intersection after years upon years of the issue being brought up at county board meetings, formal requests, and even on-site meetings was a willful inaction. Purposely keeping an intersection dangerous by not fixing it seems to be willful negligence.

Obviously, I would hate if this was the only way to get this intersection safer, but considering the evidence would it be even possible?

Great post. I have wondered this same thing over and over. Given the long history of issues at this specific location, and the admission by the County and others that it’s the design of the intersection itself that’s the problem (which is obvious, because you’re not seeing the very same drivers and cyclists getting into incidents at other locations), then isn’t a lack of action indeed negligence? Should the next victim of an incident bring a large suit against the County?

@bobco85 96770 wrote:

Obviously, I would hate if this was the only way to get this intersection safer, but considering the evidence would it be even possible?

I wouldn’t hate it at all. It’s the reason why this country has a civil justice system. I’d love to hear an attorney’s perspective on this.

[arlrider]

@TwoWheelsDC 96649 wrote:

Remove a lane, drop the speed limit down to 35 and you might then have a roadway that is more appropriate (but still probably too big) for that area.

Add a toll plaza on the fairfax county line and then you’d be speaking my language.

[arlrider]

Ok, sounds good. I don’t think either thing needs to exist in a vacuum. You can work in the big picture to try to change things, and that can effect change, but when there’s a lapse in accountability or there’s bad behavior, sometimes it needs to be called out, because that’s how you shine light on things. So I guess neither of us should marginalize the other’s actions.

I’ve about exhausted what I have in me for this thread. I’m sure Hokie will come back with some protracted writeup about how I can’t read, and how I was actually throwing pickles at the cop while telling him that I was the Pope and calling his mother a dog, but whatever, that’s fine. Thanks for listening.

[arlrider]

Ugh, so sad to hear. I was getting the Arlington Alert messages last night and from the way it was phrased, I had this bad feeling that it was a bike or ped struck.

Those route 50 at-grade crossings are awful and terrifying to all modes of transportation. And to the post #2 from dasgeh, agreed, part of what makes them so awful is the blatant disregard for the law by so many. People shouldn’t have to fear for their lives when obeying the law. But at those intersections, today, they must do just that.

I will say this if we are trying to see a silver lining (trying to be more positive after my previous thread) – kudos to ARLnow for a headline that states the facts as they are, and kudos to ACPD for supplying those facts rather than just saying that the matter is “under investigation” or whatnot.

But also thumbs down to ARLnow for closing the story talking about traffic impacts. Talk about trivializing the value of a human life.

[arlrider]

@dasgeh 96613 wrote:

I have certainly not “marginalized, doubted, accused” you or “compared [you] to a murderer”. In fact, I don’t see that from others either.

Um, ok, I’ve been told that I did things that I didn’t do, told I had a certain look on my face from people who weren’t there, told that I should have done a bunch of other things, and been linked to an article suggesting that I may have been perceived as targeting a cop for an attack. But go ahead and make that statement.

@dasgeh 96613 wrote:

If all you want is validation, then just say so. If you want to talk about how to effect real change in ACPD, then please don’t attack the people who have been working hard on this very topic.

I didn’t ask for validation. I wanted to start a discussion. What I do know is this – little community meetings don’t get much attention; stories about bad police behavior do. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. Look at times when there has been actual governmental response to issues. It usually isn’t after years of stakeholder meetings where things are “taken into consideration”. It’s usually after stories break, get some buzz and some views, and attract negative light on an issue. I’m sorry it’s not the feel-good that you’re looking for, but it’s one way to attract results.

I’m sorry that I took issue with your posts. But your first post just basically came across as – we have been working very hard on this in our little meetings so you should be happy and just put up with whatever ACPD feels like because things are moving in the right direction. And that wasn’t really what I wanted to hear – I am more of the mindset of holding people accountable, rather than feel-good talk.

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