baiskeli
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baiskeli
Participant@eminva 7237 wrote:
Have you ever noticed how poor the signage is on the “parkways” around here generally? I think I remember long ago learning that that was because they are not supposed to be like highways or interstates, they are more of a recreational byway for touring the park (which also explains the unrealistic and unenforced low speed limit). As if the GW Parkway was the equivalent of the drive around Yellowstone.
You hit the nail on the head.
Participant@Brendan von Buckingham 7199 wrote:
You describe pretty much what I do. As I approach, if I see both lanes slowing and creating a safe yield to me, I’ll cross before they even have to come to a stop. Everyone’s happy.
I’m not so sure about that. A car that rams the one behind the one that’s stopping, like it did in this accident, could push the stopping one into you, or a car could swerve to avoid a collision like the accident that killed the jogger in that spot earlier this year.
If the near lane stops so I cannot see through it to the far lane, I’ll bring my bike to a stop in front of the car in the near lane. Now it’s clear I’m crossing and at least I have one lane yielded. I’ll “peer around” to make sure there’s no one flying through in the slaughter lane.
Yeah, I usually do that too in the other crossings. Just not this one.
My morning crossings of GW are easy: all the cars are regular commuters and know the drill. My evening crossings are all over the map with taxis screaming into town with people fresh from National airport, and non-commuter errand runners and tourists. Lots of extra caution then.
My evening commute avoids this crossing altogether. Maybe I should do the same in the morning. Death is not an option for me right now, I’m too busy.
Participant@Brendan von Buckingham 7184 wrote:
Depends how fast the vehicle was going. You can tell by the vehicle’s speed if they’re yielding to you. If they’re yielding to you, better to get going and out of the way rather than prolong an ambiguous Laurel & Hardy situation (“After you.” “No after you.” “No no. I insist. After you.” “Oh really I’m not in a hurry. You go ahead.” “You’re too polite, but no, you first.”
The problem is that there are two lanes. Usually, the right lane clearly yields by coming to a complete stop before anyone in the left lane does. Traffic in the right lane may not. The stopped cars in the right lane obstruct the ability of cars in the left lane to see you in the crosswalk, or for you to see them coming. And it’s awful hard to tell if they are slowing to yield unless you’re in the intersection peering around the other car.
If you do get both clearly stopped, then you have to be sure the one on the right isn’t about to give up in frustration and start again as you finally begin to cross.
There are several double-lane crossings in that area, and most aren’t a problem though. This one is a big problem, and it’s because of the high speed cars are going on that stretch.
And hey, I like Laurel & Hardy.
Participant@pfunkallstar 7183 wrote:
No the cyclists ahead of me waited until the BMW came to a complete stop to enter the intersection. The van was also stopped by the time they had crossed that section of the crossing. Unfortunate situation all around.
Okay. But basically, the guy in the right lane stopped first. That seems to be how it usually happens.
Participant@pfunkallstar 7168 wrote:
I was the cyclist waiting to give the police report.
Hey, pfunk, nice talking to you!
I witnessed the whole thing from just before the slope up to the crossing. Three cyclists were beginning to cross the intersection after a BMW had come to a complete stop in the right lane.
So the cyclists began to cross before a vehicle had come to a stop at the crosswalk in the left lane? Wow, that’s dangerous. After all the accidents this summer, I’ll never do that.
Participant@5555624 6846 wrote:
Wood gets slick when wet (or covered in snow or slush), so I slow down.
Now you tell me.
ParticipantAwesome, dude.
ParticipantJust last night I ran into (figuratively) this problem.
On my way home from manning the BikeArlington booth at the county fair, two joggers were in the bike lane on Fairfax Drive. In the dark. With headphones on. That’s dumb even without a bike coming your way.
I called out a warning loudly several times. I was trying to make a point about their safety more than anything, since auto traffic there is really light and I could easily go around them. They finally got the message, when I was right behind them. After I passed one gave me their excuse: “I didn’t hear you.” Um, yeah, with headphone on running in the street at night, that’s gonna happen.
Participant@americancyclo 6938 wrote:
an exclusive cyclist/pedestrian phase doesn’t dissolve the right of way for peds and cyclists when they have a walk signal though, right? the longer wait times would be only for those that weren’t comfortable crossing with the traffic signals. At least that’s how I interpret it.
Yeah, as I went through that intersection today, it dawned on me (finally) that the problem is traffic turning right on a green, not the opposite traffic waiting at the red, which complicates the signal mightily.
Participant@brendan 6915 wrote:
Thanks.
The road was recently repaved, so I can’t even start to guess what kind of loop it is and where the loop is. I just move up past the stop line (which, thankfully, is recessed quite a bit from the highway) and gesture to my “rescue car” when it finally arrives that the driver should pull all the way up to the stop line. They figure I’m being crazy until they finally pull up and the light starts to change…so either it’s a not-very-sensitive loop system or there’s a lot of coincidences…Brendan
Good luck.
I’ve also seen some kind of device you can carry with you on your bike that you put on the pavement to do the same thing. Don’t know if that’s still out there.
Participant“The volume through the intersection of N. Lynn St. and Lee Highway WB is extremely high, especially in the morning and evening weekday peak hours. With about 4,500 vehicles traveling through the intersection during the peak hour, there is no capacity in the signal cycle to allow for an exclusive pedestrian and cyclist phase.
Maybe they could if it wasn’t part of every cycle, but rather every third or so. That would mean a much longer wait time – and cyclists would have to respect that.
Participant@brendan 6899 wrote:
Any regular MD->VA passengers of the ferry at Whites Ferry notice that the signal from Whites Ferry Road across James Monroe Parkway, where you have to make a left to get into Leesburg, only seems to change when a car (finally!) comes up behind you (or comes to the non-turning lane on the other side of the highway)?
Brendan
Try this:
http://www.wikihow.com/Trigger-Green-Traffic-Lights
Participant@brendan 6896 wrote:
Oh and lastly: I’m still not entirely comfortable with the road position while navigating in urban traffic. I feel like, and this may just be psychological, a higher position make me more visible and/or gives me better views around me.
Yes, that’s true. I commute with a road bike, but my handlebars are a bit higher than most for both comfort and handling. It came with an adjustable stem.
Participant@BethesdaRider40 6640 wrote:
Why is riding upright bad? At this point, I prefer it. I realize all the speed racers ride bent over (i’m sure that’s not the cycling term) but I don’t need to go super fast, just to ride to work 2 or 3 times a week, and enjoy it enough to keep doing it.
I rode a hybrid for a while and now I’m a roadie. It’s not only more efficient, but it’s more comfortable when you’re riding longer distances. In an upright stance, your spine and rear end are pressing straight down on that seat. On a road bike, your weight is a little more on your arms and your legs. It’s worth a try. It will feel strange when you first do it, if you’re not used to it, but get it adjusted right and you may like it better.
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