[baiskeli]

Seems to me the law says you can take the lane for certain reasons, but if there is traffic behind you, wanting to ride two abreast is not a valid reason for taking the lane. The only question is whether you can take the lane for a valid reason while riding two abreast or if you have to do it in single file. The effect, of course, is the same, but if you ride two abreast, the appearance will be different and motorist might presume you’re only doing it to ride next to your buddy and not for a valid reason.

[baiskeli]

@ArlingtonVA 218844 wrote:

ADVICE NEEDED:
I would be VERY grateful for any suggested routes from Curtis Trail to Union Station with safety and speed in mind.

BACKGROUND:
I’m working up toward a bike commute from Ballston to my office near Union Station. I did a test ride Saturday. Curtis Trail was great, but getting across the city was a nightmare. I was either in a 2mph slog among cherry blossom loving tourists or nearly getting myself killed riding on the edge of traffic on Constitution Ave. I stumbled on the bike lanes on Pennsylvania Ave. for a quarter mile which offered a brief reprieve.

Thank you!!

We have almost the same origin and destination. You’ve already received good advice, so I’ll offer to ride in with you some day. I’m sure others here might join you too.

[baiskeli]

@chris_s 214294 wrote:

Senator Norment reportedly went on a screed about cyclists and then withdrew the bill from consideration.

Damn, I was looking forward to telling Norment that if his bill really was about public safety and not just about bike hate, he should add motor vehicles to it. Impound any car that runs a stop. That’ll do the trick.

[baiskeli]

My latest purchase is an adult trailer-trike for my daughter. It ships from the UK and has been delayed for several months. The shipping squeeze is really bad.

[baiskeli]

The cyclist survived and posted about it on Nextdoor:

https://nextdoor.com/p/-wjq7Z5dqwbB?utm_source=share&extras=NzU4MDgwNA%3D%3D

[baiskeli]

@dkel 211068 wrote:

I can’t see how having or not having the ROW justifies the actions of the ped in this scenario.

Everyone who commented has been careful to acknowledge that fact.

[baiskeli]

I also use a combined bag/phone holder. The phone goes inside behind a clear cover so it is protected from rain, and I can swipe the screen right through the plastic, though I had to cut a small hole for the fingerprint sensor. Also, I can’t get to the power or volume buttons when it’s in the bag – I use on-screen controls for volume. Having a small bag on the handlebars is really nice for small things like sunglasses, mask, sunscreen etc.

[baiskeli]

From what you describe, it sounds like the pedestrian had the right-of-way and you were in the wrong. Not sure why you would think otherwise. That said, you were assaulted and your property damaged, and that was clearly much worse on his part.

[baiskeli]

@Judd 210738 wrote:

Rode past last week and it looked like the County had poked a hole in the dam and put in a plastic culvert. I have mixed feelings. Beavers are my spirit animal but this lodge exacerbated some major seepage issues from this pond on to Four Mile Run Trail. I used to live directly across Four Mile Run from this pond and the seepage was causing lots of icing in the winter.

The county plans to renovate the pond (again) and if the beavers aren’t gone by then, they have to be killed – state law doesn’t allow relocation. So this is a good thing for your spirit animal. They plan to make the pond deeper so that should be good for future beavers.

[baiskeli]

@peterw_diy 210618 wrote:

I don’t even see these signs mentioned on https://www.alexandriava.gov/VisionZero , which touts other, similar changes made in recent years.

Here it is.

January 15, 2019
New Leading Pedestrian Intervals Installed as Part of Vision Zero Initiative

In order to increase traffic safety, City of Alexandria staff recently installed 17 new Leading Pedestrian Intervals in high crash intersections or corridors as part of the implementation of the City’s Vision Zero Initiative to eliminate traffic-related deaths and serious injuries by 2028.

https://www.alexandriava.gov/tes/info/default.aspx?id=107668

[baiskeli]

@Brett L. 210798 wrote:

Is Alexandria a jurisdiction where cyclists on the sidewalks are considered pedestrians but on the roadway considered vehicles? .

That’s state law. It applies to all jurisdictions, except where it has specifically added signs forbidding bikes on a specific sidewalk.

[baiskeli]

@Mark 210724 wrote:

That’s the problem. On the streets I mentioned in my post, there is a double yellow line throughout their entirety, whether or not there is sufficient visibility to pass. The double yellow line on these streets is not being used as a guide when to and not to pass.

Ah, I get your point now.

It’s possible that the traffic engineers know something you don’t, or that they’re being overzealous.

[baiskeli]

@Mark 210714 wrote:

In the case I’m referring to, the double yellow line should be ignored because it unfortunately provides no useful information.

Not sure what you mean, but a double yellow most definitely provides useful information. It says that if you begin to pass another vehicle across it, you will probably not have enough visibility to see if it is safe to complete the pass.

[baiskeli]

@Judd 210633 wrote:

Basically you can take a lane when it less than 14 feet.

Wait, slow down – where does 14 feet come from?

[baiskeli]

@Judd 210632 wrote:

This is in Virginia Code 46.2-905

https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-905/

§ 46.2-905. Riding bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, electric power-assisted bicycles, motorized skateboards or scooters, and mopeds on roadways and bicycle paths.
Any person operating a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, motorized skateboard or scooter, or moped on a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place under conditions then existing shall ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway, except under any of the following circumstances:

1. When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction;

2. When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway;

3. When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes that make it unsafe to continue along the right curb or edge;

4. When avoiding riding in a lane that must turn or diverge to the right; and

5. When riding upon a one-way road or highway, a person may also ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of such roadway as safely practicable.

For purposes of this section, a “substandard width lane” is a lane too narrow for a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, motorized skateboard or scooter, or moped and another vehicle to pass safely side by side within the lane.

Persons riding bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, electric power-assisted bicycles, or motorized skateboards or scooters on a highway shall not ride more than two abreast. Persons riding two abreast shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, shall move into a single file formation as quickly as is practicable when being overtaken from the rear by a faster moving vehicle, and, on a laned roadway, shall ride in a single lane.

That’s actually the law that was amended. The last sentence, “Persons riding two abreast shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic, shall move into a single file formation as quickly as is practicable when being overtaken from the rear by a faster moving vehicle, and, on a laned roadway, shall ride in a single lane,” was removed.

So it seems that one may ride two abreast and not have to “not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic” but must still ” ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway” as required in the first paragraph. Seems contradictory, or maybe it simply means you have to try to do both at the same time.

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