[dasgeh]

@DismalScientist 182477 wrote:

As I’ve said repeatedly, now the general travel lanes are narrower and do not support cars passing without having to leave the lane. This makes taking the lane less safe than before. Further, it gives the impression to drivers that bicyclists are scofflaws by not taking an allegedly good PBL right next to the general travel lane, not that this is illegal. I don’t like being told by drivers to take the bike lane when I considered more dangerous. This has happened many times and, frankly, I don’t think it is good for driver/cyclist relations..

As I’ve said before, with the 3 foot passing law, it’s not possible for a car to legally pass a bike without leaving the lane unless the lane is >12′ wide. There are few of those in Arlington. Thus, riding in the lane should be no different than before. Drivers who don’t know the law think cyclists are scofflaws for all sorts of things. The existence of a PBL doesn’t change that. I’ve been told to take the sidewalk, to go far out of my way to take the trail, to do any number of other things that are not legally required. Stupid drivers are not good for driver/cyclist relations. Enabling more people to bike is good for people relations, as people who bike tend to realize that “cyclists” are just people on a bike, even when behind the wheel of a car.

Note: most people refer to “taking the lane” as riding in the lane in such a way to make it clear a car needs to move into another lane to pass.

[dasgeh]

@zsionakides 182467 wrote:

The WWB path is next to a 10 lane expressway, the PBLs and sharrow Army Navy Drive path are next to 10 (soon to be 11) lanes of I-395 with no sound wall, and the Washington Blvd path is next to a 6 lane expressway. All of these are used modestly and in proportion to their usefulness for getting around. Better connected bike paths get more usage, which is the most important thing for the success of the I-66 path.

Army Navy Drive is at a different elevation from the highway. The Custis is only beside the highway for short stints, and then it is often at a (slightly) different elevation. The existing 27 trail is uncomfortable and, imo, underused given it’s usefulness. I know plenty of people who take the MVT to the CC connector, or even Pentagon Roads instead of taking the 27 trail. The new Washington Blvd trail isn’t open yet, but is not nearly as long (less than 1/2 mile, maybe more like 1/4 actually against the highway).

For a short distance, this design wouldn’t be fatal. But there’s a point at which it will be. IIRC, the next-to-the-highway portion isn’t really 4 un-interrupted miles, but 1 or 2 miles at a time. I suspect 1 mile is too long, but we’ll see.

[dasgeh]

@zsionakides 182438 wrote:

My gut is that the PBLs are better for slower riders that don’t want to interact with general traffic, and the serious injury risk is lower since a dooring incident doesn’t push them into traffic with the risk of being run over by another car. For faster riders who are more comfortable in general purpose lanes this probably isn’t much of an enhancement, if any.

*ding ding ding* The thing is, there are more people in the latter group, than the former, and the former can always just ride in the road.

[dasgeh]

@LhasaCM 182416 wrote:

Agreed – what is there now is much better than what was there before. Design could use a few tweaks to make sure the buffer is properly respected, but that shouldn’t take away from the improvement this represents. (Should’ve included this thought with the earlier post.)

Also, this seems like a flyer campaign (to hit the regulars) and a sign by the pay to park thing (to hit the occasional parkers) should go a long way towards fixing this.

[dasgeh]

We brainstormed during the October BAC meeting, and came up with this list:

A. Bring All Types of Cyclists Together (commuters, family, mountain, racers, etc.)
B. Columbia Pike/Lee Highway Focus (let’s focus on arterials!)
C. Driver Education (focus on educating drivers)
D. Neighbor Network (three quarterly meetings: one on external neighbors, one on Arlington neighborhoods, one on Arlington/Federal agencies)
E. Network Connectivity: Five Small Spots that Fixing Would Make a Huge Difference (five spots TBD)
F. Network Connectivity: Focus on East-West Connection (Fort Myer, Cemetery, Columbia Pike, Army/Navy)
G. Network Connectivity: Focus on Protected Bike Lane Connections (key connections to transform Arlington)
H. No Right on Red! (intersection focus)
I. Micromobility: Scooters/Scootees/Other electric vehicles
H. Safe Accommodation
J. School Education & Kids to School
K. Trails: Behavior & Design
L. Underserved Areas Need Our Attention!
M. Vision Zero

Elizabeth has us set up with a survey to collect opinions about how people would rank these.

We also encourage folks to discuss here.

[dasgeh]

@VikingMariner 182393 wrote:

Agree! Same on Wilson Blvd climbing up the hill into Courthouse. No room to maneuver now when someone opens a passenger side door. Almost got hit several times since the new installation as those doors can completely block the path. Drivers have also started parking partially into the bike lane. J-walking pedestrians are also difficult to see and reaction time for hard braking is reduced with no room to maneuver around. Good intentions for sure with the new design but it was not carefully thought out. The design also forces you to ride through debris that the County does not clean up, increasing the risk of flats. I’m taking other routes now that decrease the probability of flats and car doors smacking me down.

If a passenger side door can open in the bike lane, either the buffer area is too narrow, or the cars are parking incorrectly. I don’t head through there daily, but if those who do could report back, we can pass the note along to staff. Both are fixable. FWIW, I LOVE the PBL on Veitch. More parents are biking kids to school at Key because of it.

[dasgeh]

@Oldtowner 182341 wrote:

I appreciate the extra space, but this looks like somebody designed it specifically to cause accidents. Some paint might help, but wow, that looks dangerous.

It’s the stairs I fear the most, when I’m biking in the Virginia-bound direction with my kids.

[dasgeh]

@scoot 182248 wrote:

I think he may be taking RCP southbound toward Ohio Drive and the Tidal Basin, and doesn’t want to go all the way up to Peters Point to access it.

Ok. But that’s the routing of the trail, so it’s not the biggest detour. Alternatively, you can just zip around the Lincoln and take the road down.

[dasgeh]

@phog 182247 wrote:

Sorry- I meant Rock Creek Pkwy to Roosevelt bridge. I’ll make the edit.

Yeah, maybe that’s better, though the Roosevelt Bridge path is super narrow. It’s basically a “pick your poison” situation.

[dasgeh]

@phog 182243 wrote:

Now that I know what’s happening there , it looks as if Lincoln Memorial, to the Rock Creek Parkway headed North, to Memorial Bridge, to the Mount Vernon Trail would have been the better option than taking Memorial Bridge.

Huh?

[dasgeh]

@Brendan von Buckingham 182236 wrote:

I then figure-8 my way to the RCP trail which requires a dismount and quick cyclocross by the vollyball courts and abandoned (?) tunnel. I’ve always wanted to do cyclocross, but this is going to get old fast.

What? To get from the upstream Memorial Bridge sidepath to the RCP trail is super easy — when you get to the ramp from RCP to Memorial Bridge (first road crossing, no light), just turn left on that first sidewalk. Down the hill and you’re on the RCP trail.

[dasgeh]

@phog 182218 wrote:

So…. commuters heading into Virginia to the Mount Vernon Trail to the are supposed to cross Henry Bacon Drive, 23rd Street, the Rock Creek Parkway (TWICE), Route 50/Arlington Boulevard (TWICE), and finally, Memorial Avenue? And then, to top things off are supposed to Washington Boulevard, then cross the Washington Memorial Parkway?

I think you get all those crossings from looking at the map. There are bridges involved, so, e.g. you cross over Rock Creek Parkway.

You do have to cross Bacon & 23rd, both at lights, ramp from RCP to Memorial Bridge, then the murder-crosswalk where cars are exiting the bridge and think they’re already on 395, then you cross Memorial Ave at the new temp crosswalk, then the 27-Memorial Bridge ramp, the 27-GWMP ramp, then the GWMP. 8 crosswalks, 2 of which are lights.

To be fair, without the detour, you still have to cross from the Lincoln to the south side path, Ohio Drive, the off ramp from the bridge to RCP, the 27-GWMP ramp, then the GWMP. 5 crossings, no lights, none as bad as the murder-crosswalk.

[dasgeh]

Trashcans are just something residents need to figure out. I have a friend who lives on the Veitch PBL and she said it took 2-3 trash days for folks to get used to the change.

[dasgeh]

There’s a pump track in Richmond, too. I am no MTB expert, so I don’t much more than that.

We will discuss this at November’s BAC meeting (Nov. 5 7pm 2100 Clarendon Blvd). Please come.

I have some spots in Arlington in mind that seem like they would work for a pump track. — Big Walnut Park, Woodstock Park, Stewart Park, the north end of the bridge to nowhere, are what come to mind now.

[dasgeh]

@dbb 182177 wrote:

It occurred to me that we might be able to link Mayor Bowser’s recent Vision Zero initiatives with the Memorial Bridge issues at Memorial Circle. Memorial Circle is in the District after all.

Just say’n.

I’ve had this thought, though it’s NPS land. It’s worth adding to the conversation.

[Author]

Posts