Brendan von Buckingham
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Brendan von Buckingham
ParticipantI think the north steps of Jefferson Memorial will offer a great view out over the Tidal Basin. No obstructed view. Front seat to the banking turn over Lincoln.
ParticipantAll I can say, as a certified World War II history nut, the P-38 better not woosie out. And my office has a front row seat. I haven’t been this excited since Christmas 1978. Maybe the release of Empire Strikes Back.
April 21, 2015 at 5:16 pm in reply to: Proposed Capital Bikeshare Locations opposed by Bluemont Civic Association – vote #1028537ParticipantThat location is very near the Arlington Forest Swimclub, a very popular destination for this part of Arlington. My neighborhood list-serve always gets queries about selling/buying/trading memberships.
ParticipantIt happened on my outbound evening commute on Friday, but I needed the weekend to confirm it wasn’t a dream.
I cross Memorial on the downriver side and then head towards Iwo. That puts me on the south sidewalk of Memorial Avenue. Crossing the traffic coming up from GW Parkway is a little hairy because drivers generally roll that stop sign (right by the Arlington Cemetery Metro stop) and don’t expect a bike approaching from their right. So when they roll the stop sign they’re doing it with their neck locked in to 9 o’clock without even thinking of looking right. It’s a tricky spot that hasn’t tagged me yet.
But believe it or not, on Friday, a cop was squatting on the intersection. A car rolled the stop sign (while looking right at the squad car even) and the cop pulled him over. An NPS cop even.
Gobsmacked.
ParticipantOpen this link in the right format and you’ll find a dozen photos them moving the bridge. Engineering drawings too.
ParticipantProject manager is bragging, but he’s not right about being the largest in DC.
Before today’s concrete Calvert Street bridge between Woodley Park and Adams Morgan, there stood a 1,500 ton cast iron bridge between the two neighborhoods. They wanted to build the concrete bridge in the same location as the iron bridge, but wanted to keep the road open to traffic.
So they moved the iron bridge 80 feet downstream. Intact. With horses. People 80 years ago were smart too.
ParticipantYes I ran the red, in response to which the cop said I could if I used the crosswalk (for the record: that’s ridiculous from both legal and safety reasons). Based on that, and other experiences showing a general unfamiliarity with the code, I wouldn’t be surprised if a cyclist using the LPI to cross got a warning or ticket for not swinging over and literally using the crosswalk. The first person to bring up the Barnes Dance at 7th & H will be invited to leave this discussion permanently.
ParticipantI’m taking the meta view on this: this group here are the only people who know the bicycle code and consider it in their actions (not necessarily abide, but consider). Not even the cops know the code like we do. So be as precise and right with the code as you want, but understand, any numbnuts with a badge can mess it up anyway.
April 15, 2015 at 5:10 pm in reply to: Southwest Waterfront redevelopment, Water St. to be closed #1028149ParticipantI’m calling it. At 8:40 a.m. this morning, the paving integrity at Maine Avenue inbound before 9th Street is officially better than the paving integrity of Memorial Bridge downriver side.
ParticipantWhat I would do, in order of preference: 1. Filter left, 2. wait behind car, 3. Filter right. I never filter between a car and a curb. The car might accommodate me and wiggle over. A curb never will. If cars center themselves in their lane, giving for example 4 feet on either side, filtering between cars gives me an 8 foot space. Filtering along a curb only give me 4 feet.
What a DC cop has told me to do: In a similar situation on H Street, I Idahoed 15th (OK, not exactly an LPI situation, but…). At midblock, an undercover cop car paced me and yelled at me that if I want to go through a red, I have to use the crosswalk, literally shift my line to the zebra and then back to the roadway when I’m done crossing. An odd interpretation to say the least.
ParticipantApril 9, 2015 at 6:53 pm in reply to: Southwest Waterfront redevelopment, Water St. to be closed #1027810ParticipantSounds like the boardwalk at Ocean City NJ. Marked lanes for walkers, surreys, bicycles and joggers. That’s a lot of separated modes.
ParticipantMy route too and I’ve made the same observation. My theory is that at 8:30 everyone driving is going to work. No one is lost, everyone knows there’s a crosswalk there. In the evening though, there’s a good dose of tourists, taxis coming from the airport and people running errands, i.e. a drivers not necessarily familiar with the crossing. Sightlines are a factor too. Inbound cyclists are easier to see for all the reasons already mentioned.
April 2, 2015 at 4:09 am in reply to: Southwest Waterfront redevelopment, Water St. to be closed #1027273ParticipantStill riding it every day. Stay tuned. They’re pouring a lot of cement on the Maine Ave lanes inbound. My bet is be next week the road surface will be good to 9th Street. That gets you to G and 4th.
ParticipantYesterday evening. Road closed from Arlington Cemetery to Jefferson Memorial.
Them: Afghan delegation and a security brigade big enough to conquer Rhode Island
You (hundreds of you): dead stopped in your cars for over a mile
Me: puttering west splitting the lanes on Independence along the Tidal Basin.
You (and only you): As I passed, yelled out your open window (F*** yoooooou)
Me: Registered. Stopped. Turned. Eye-contact. Mouthed, “What did I do?”
You: Sarcastic thumbs up.Can you blame me when I believe, in the age-old question of whether drivers hate us because we “break the rules” or are jealous of us, I think its the latter. They’re trapped, frustrated and jealous. It’s that simple.
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