[baiskeli]

@pfunkallstar 8153 wrote:

You were far more humane than I would have been in the same situation. One warning is normal, two for the distracted, and three I just give up and fly by.

It became amusing to see how far from reality they could talk themselves into. Having a kid with Down syndrome has also taught me to be patient and repeat myself for people who don’t get it the first time, I guess.

On a completely different note, I was keeping a mental tally of the number of bicyclists riding with earphones in while on the way home yesterday (metro center – falls church). Once the count go above thirty I stopped paying attention. Am I being overly critical thinking that biking with earphones on is RIDICULOUSLY unsafe? It is hard enough yelling “on your left” at joggers with their tunes cranked up nonetheless the guy swerving on his beach cruiser after an extended happy hour.

You don’t try to give them a little scare when you pass them, do you? I certainly wouldn’t do that. Nope, not at all.

[baiskeli]

@DSalovesh 8074 wrote:

GW at Key Bridge – you mean they were coming toward the city?

Yes. From northbound GW. Though they could have just been using the road as a crossing from a trail or something – I didn’t see how far they had come.

[baiskeli]

@JeffC 8044 wrote:

I think I was right behind you. I saw those three ladies, it was a few minutes before 8 am. They had a Southern drawl and one kept going on about why they had fewer rights than others. Then I talked at the next light (Lynn) with somebody about not flying through that with the red hand flashing. I usually cut out of towners some slack, especially in that stretch of Rosslyn and on the MVT, the rest of Custis is more locals who should know the rules.

That was me you talked to. Nice to meet you.

I was nice to them. I was trying to keep them safe (and to not run into, literally, a cyclist less friendly than me). They didn’t seem to fathom that I had told them all they needed to know – just stay to the right. It was funny how the more I told them the simple rule, the more they convinced themselves that there weren’t any rules.

I think it’s funny to watch the local pedestrians on the Custis because they know the drill and stay WAY to the right, single file. I’d be terrified to walk on that section. Heck, I’m scared to ride it sometimes.

[baiskeli]

I saw an idiot fly through that intersection today. The don’t walk signal had already counted all the way down. Stupidity all over the place.

[baiskeli]

@jabberwocky 7820 wrote:

I also wonder whether its legally ok to ride through such intersections when the walk signal is lit (as opposed to walking). I know I tried to figure it out a few years ago, but I couldn’t find anything definitive in the Virginia code at the time.

The code says you’re the same as a pedestrian when you ride through a crosswalk. That implies that you can ride through it:

“A person riding a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, motorized skateboard or scooter, motor-driven cycle, or an electric power-assisted bicycle on a sidewalk, shared-use path, or across a roadway on a crosswalk, shall have all the rights and duties of a pedestrian under the same circumstances.” § 46.2-904

P.S. I see this has already been posted.

[baiskeli]

@KLizotte 7840 wrote:

I’m certainly not a civil engineer but it does make one wonder if NPS couldn’t replace the boards with those new plastic (fiberglass?) boards that they use to make benches, picnic tables, etc that are guaranteed for life (see LL Bean). They could be manufacturered with striations built right into the boards (to provide texture) and/or have grip tape applied (like those strips applied to public stairways).

The walkways on fiberglass boats have coatings to make them less slippery and keeping a boat “sticky” seems a lot harder than the kind of bridges we are talking about.

Those are composite boards made of plastic and sawdust. They tend to be slippery and the striations tend to wear down to a smooth surface. They’re low-maintenance, don’t grow much slime on them, and don’t buckle or split or splinter, but they’d probably be slippery without grip tape or paint. I think the ultimate solution is paint with grit in it – lots and lots of grit.

[baiskeli]

Hi Sophie, I’m signed up and already got a few donations from the kind people on this forum!

[baiskeli]

I walked my bike through a couple weeks ago, in clear view of some rangers, and had no problem.

These guys just make crap up as they go along.

[baiskeli]

@Dirt 7733 wrote:

The comment about “once you enter the intersection you become a vehicle” is not exactly right either. It isn’t legal for “vehicles” to drive in the cross walk across the street.

Exactly – even if bikes are vehicles on the street and subject to vehicle laws there, this is a joint bike/pedestrian trail crossing controlled by a walk signal that can’t really be used any other way. Saying you’re a vehicle there makes no sense.

[baiskeli]

Is there really a stop sign there? I’ve never once noticed it.

Are we really supposed to stop for it?

It’s ambiguous and confusing, and it should be fixed.

My new policy is to never cross there except on the green part of the walk signal, so I should be okay anyway, legally and bodily.

[baiskeli]

@consularrider 7687 wrote:

baiskeli, we must have been on the trail at the same time. They passed me heading south near milepost 17, the lead gave me a hello as he approached.

yeah, they were nice guys.

I’ll bet Greenbelt is right – they’re training while Congress is out of session. Nice job to have right about now.

[baiskeli]

Saw four Capitol Police on bikes this morning on the MT. V. They didn’t seem to know the trail well – they went through the lot at Roosevelt Island and got stuck at the temporary barriers, then they crossed the GW at the dirt trail north of the Mem bridge.

[baiskeli]

Very cool, thanks!

[baiskeli]

Crossing today, I thought of the best fix for this crossing.

Reduce the road to one lane. That would eliminate the two-lane stopping problem, narrow the crossing, and slow traffic down all at the same time. I don’t think it would cause car congestion, there isn’t enough traffic to do that.

The car people would go insane when they heard about it, but they always do that. The Park Service would probably reject it anyway. But it would work.

[baiskeli]

@LilBit 7266 wrote:

Hi. I am always weary of the wooden bridges.

Now I am too.

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