[Emm]

@Judd 190644 wrote:

I’m headed out in a few minutes.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

On my way in a few min…

[Emm]

Check their facebook page. They’re open, but with VERY restricted hours. https://www.facebook.com/bikerackdc

[Emm]

I took the Little Falls-E. Columbia- N. Van Buren detour Friday heading eastbound. About a mile before hitting the detour I was passed by someone I know who was definitely riding faster than I was.

He caught up to me about a mile AFTER the detour, very confused about how he somehow got that far behind me. According to him, the posted detour was pretty slow, while I very comfortably rode through the detour I learned about here.

No idea how this translates to daily commuters going through this area, but I at least found my super-fast detouring to be pretty amusing. I found the Columbia detour to be easy, direct, and low stress.

[Emm]

@Judd 190397 wrote:

I’m having trouble thinking of an intersection in Arlington that has an LPI. I jump the gun at the ones in Alexandria before remembering I’m not in DC frequently.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There’s one at Potomac Ave and Crystal Drive heading into Alexandria I think. I’ve jumped the gun on that one before.

[Emm]

@KWL 190307 wrote:

Nector Coffee & Wine Bistro at Hume & Mt. Vernon & Commonwealth (it’s a fun intersection) is probably closer to your work than that Starbucks. Less corporate too. And they have bike racks, though there would be no reason to lock up.

AND they have an awesome selection of waffles… yum yum yum

[Emm]

Good: biking on 395

Bad: Insanely crowded course, especially at the beginning. I was towards the start of the “advanced” group 2 years ago, and had to weave around children and people who really shouldn’t have been up front. It definitely takes some good bike handling skills to feel safe. And you really won’t go fast. Too many potholes and people.

It was fun to do once and if you haven’t, you should totally ride it. But I have no desire to do it again. I find smaller group rides, or the WABA rides to be more fun.

[Emm]

@jrenaut 190214 wrote:

Bikes go on the LPI, including Barnes Dance. Cyclists should go walking speed and yield to pedestrians.

Exactly this. I have one right outside my office. I proceed through the LPI, SLOWLY if there are pedestrians crossing, and always yield right of way to them.

Keep in mind they likely don’t know cyclists have the right to proceed on LPI. I’ve gotten snarky comments from pedestrians and the capitol police on this move even when I’ve been going walking speed and yielding to pedestrians, so you’ll need to politely and kindly educate them if this comes up.

[Emm]

@peterw_diy 190189 wrote:

I expect a bunch of us today received emails from the nice folks at the Crystal City BID reminding us to register for the best Bike To Work Day “event” — the Crystal City Bike To Work Week

Details and a link to the registration form are on the CC BID site: https://www.crystalcity.org/do/bike-to-work-week9

The email also requested volunteers. Volunteering is great since if you volunteer, you can mark down as attending on a day you cant make it. So I’ll be volunteering Wednesday, so that I can get my sweet “attended all week” swag, even though I wont be able to make it Friday due to volunteering at a pit stop in Alexandria…

Per the email
“If you are interested in volunteering on one or more days, contact Cassie Hurley at churley@crystalcity.org. “

[Emm]

@rcannon100 190026 wrote:

Nope.

The “About Us” page of ABPAC does not state that it is a non profit. It says ABPAC has a “Charter.” Non profits dont have “charters” – they have by laws. The Charter does not state that ABPAC is a non profit.

ACT for Alexandria is a non profit. The ACT webpage where it discusses current grants does not mention ABPAC. It does mention the Walking and Biking Fund as a field of interest fund.

The Walking and Biking Fund donation page, where it talks about where the money goes to, talks about Alexandria schools – but not ABPAC. Donations are collected through a third party site “Mighty Cause.”

The normal is that an “advisory committee” is a creation of the government, who convenes a committee who are able to answer and provide advice on a questions from the government to the advisory committee (See the Federal Advisory Committee Act). The committee derives its authority and its existence from the government host.

On a side note, non profits, that is 501 (c)(3)s, volunteers are protected from liability under the federal Volunteer Protection Act. One of the reasons its helpful to establish a 501c3. On the other hand, 501c3 are generally not supposed to engage in advocacy.

In this case, I dont see anything readily apparent that indicates that ABPAC has a legal existence.

As the treasurer of Alexandria BPAC, I can help clarify this.

BPAC is incorporated (as of a week or two ago!), and in the process of becoming a non profit. I expect this to be done within the next month or two, depending on processing times. The walking and biking fund is controlled by BPAC, and will fold into BPAC’s “general fund” once BPAC becomes a non profit. At the moment, the walking and biking fund is used ““to promote walking and biking, primarily in Alexandria, VA”. Primiarily it is used to help support the biking in schools program BPAC runs. ACT for Alexandria administers the fund for BPAC.

Also, you need to clarify what you mean by “advocacy”. Nonprofits can educate lawmakers, and promote activities, which many would consider advocacy. But they are not allowed to use a “substantial” % of their budget on “lobbying” (influencing legislation). (https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/lobbying)

[Emm]

@DismalScientist 189998 wrote:

If you look at the first video, there was, in fact, a green arrow for southbound traffic to turn right. With the protected right turn, the cyclist did have a “do not walk” signal, which is also clear in the first video.

I sadly think this is one of those “both people did something they shouldn’t” situations. The cyclist entered the intersection when there was a “do not walk” signal. The officer did NOT pay attention, and blew through a red light without double checking to his right (or possibly checking at all) because he simply assumed no one would be there.. in a crosswalk, or on a sidewalk 😡

IF we pretend everyone is equal, the fact they only ticketed the cyclist, when it very clearly appears to be a shared responsibility issue is just ridiculous.

But keeping in mind that pedestrians and cyclists are more vulnerable, it really is the duty of drivers to PAY CLOSER ATTENTION, and look carefully before they do risky maneuvers like turning right on red. The officer did not pay close attention, and therefor caused a crash.

[Emm]

Fairfax PD charged the cyclist in the crash. From their report, the cyclist had a “do not walk” signal. From the video, it’s also clear the police officer had a red light, so I’m a bit lost on how the officer can also claim to have the right of way.

[Emm]

@lordofthemark 189976 wrote:

On WABA’s advocacy page

3. Enacting laws and policies that protect bicyclists

◾Holding DC accountable to enforcing its Safe Accommodations Policy
◾Vision Zero implementing regulations
◾Recent victories: ◾Bicycle Pedestrian Safety Act of 2016
◾Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2016 (Contributory Negligence reform law) – in effect as of December 2016

They also mention pushing for accountability on VZ in DC, MoCo and Alexandria, and supporting adoption of it elsewhere. VZ includes many things other than infra.

I think the point Judd and others are trying to make is yes, each of the local groups SAY they are working for these things and put it in their strategic plan, but their actual resource allocation is not split evenly across all of the activities included in these plans. So WABA may have in all its plans that enforcement is key and important, BUT they are not dedicating much staff time and funding towards working towards those goals, and are instead using those resources on infrastructure and other (important) issues.

As someone who does ALOT of strategic planning as part of their day job, I can tell you from experience putting something in your strategic plan is meaningless unless you then follow it up with actual work. And honestly, many organizations put things in their strategic plan to pay lip service to certain constituencies or issues, while knowing full well they do not plan to dedicate many resources to that specific section of their plan.

Side note–I think when it comes to WABA issues, you need to trust Judd, who holds a position on their Board and therefor has a good amount of insider knowledge. Not sure any of us can really claim to more more than him about WABA’s current activities… (unless you too are also as involved as he is with the organization)

[Emm]

I used to live in the neighborhood directly across from that shopping center. That parking lot and entrance/exit were a NIGHTMARE. People regularly ran the stop signs and red lights around and within it. I saw numerous near misses between pedestrians and cars at the exact location this crash happened. The shopping center was probably only a mile away from my house, but I would bike to the grocery store 3 miles away vs bike to this one because of how dangerous the Route 1 crossing and shopping center parking lot are.

That’s not overall unusual for that area though–the neighborhoods around there are very bike friendly, but anything along Route 1 in this area is a nightmare for pedestrians and bikes.

[Emm]

It was a stolen van, and now a murder charge it appears. So incredibly sad

https://dcist.com/story/19/04/19/cyclist-killed-by-driver-of-stolen-van-on-florida-avenue-in-northeast/

[Emm]

@Tania 189794 wrote:

I did Croatan on WTB Riddlers (45 up front, 37 in the rear) set up tubeless. They were fine. Except they ABSOLUTELY SUCK on the road. First time I’ve had an “ick!” moment with a tire. I kinda hate them now but they’re set up tubeless and it’s so messy to switch.

I have those on my steel gravel bike which I rode the Croatan on, and also use to commute. I use 37s on both front and rear. I found they perform pretty well in both situations, although I should clarify I am not, and never will be, in the running to win a race (although I win my commute every day ) so speed isn’t the biggest factor in my decision making. Overall I found they provided a good amount of grip, and were comfortable to ride. The lower PSI during Croatan meant they sucked on the road segments, but on my commute when they’re inflated to a higher PSI they’re fine. I don’t notice any major difference between them, and the tires the renegade came with (Clement X Plor MSO).

[Author]

Posts