[jrenaut]

I think the street is better – I do that stretch nearly every day. But I do it at about 2pm, so my experience may not be typical. I usually come down 14th Street in the mornings so I can ride with my wife, but on the way home I’m alone, and I like the short steep hill on 15th better than the interminable and slightly less steep hill on 14th.

The only real problem is that when you get the walk signal to cross H St, there is also a walk signal going perpendicular to your path, so you have to dodge pedestrians who actually have the right of way.

I’ve never had a problem with police and whatnot, though occasionally it’s tough to get through with some big construction truck getting inspected on its way inside the security barriers.

[jrenaut]

You take the sidewalk to head north through Lafayette Park? I’ve always gone up the street. I’d like to see markings on the street where the bikes are expected to go.

[jrenaut]

There is bike parking in the garage at 7th and D. I’m still doing Bikeshare at the moment, but a coworker parks his bike there almost every day. There are racks and a couple of cages, and it’s inside the garage, so you don’t have to worry about your bike disappearing. You might need to wait until you get a badge to start using the garage, though.

[jrenaut]

Columbia Heights DC need more bikes. The area right around the Metro is one of the busiest spots in the system, and there are regularly no bikes at four or five of the nearby stations by 815.

[jrenaut]

It’s easy to miss, but there is a left turn arrow at the “end” of the track on 15th. If you go left down PA Ave towards the White House and make your first right, the cycle track resumes once you cross I St. It is a little weird, and it’s not signed well at all, but it works okay.

[jrenaut]

I’d like to see the rates of crashes relative to number of bikes/pedestrians. Biking is up 68% in the last three years, crashes up 25% this year – we may not be looking at an increase in the actual rate of crashes, just more bikes out there. Not that any crash is a good crash, but when you look at misleading numbers, you often don’t come to the correct conclusion. I don’t want the city to start fixing the wrong problems.

[jrenaut]

I’ve had the opposite experience on 15th – when the lanes first opened, it was like the red left turn arrows were signs to turn faster. But recently, with the increased parking enforcement, 15th has been a really easy ride, though I am coming through at 2pm rather than rush hour.

You have a link to the WaPo article?

[jrenaut]

I was thinking about that, but hoping that maybe there was something already made. Maybe I should start manufacturing them . . .

[jrenaut]

People are still parking in the cycletracks anyway, so you might as well charge them. And maybe if there are tickets to be written (It doesn’t appear to actually be illegal to park in the cycletracks), the city might actually do some enforcement.

[jrenaut]

@tifat 2386 wrote:

Why not just defer to pedestrians, as motorists should defer to both cyclists and pedestrians?

I defer to pedestrians as far as attempting to avioid hitting them, but I’m not going to be polite about it when they walk out in front of me when I have the light. They’re putting me in danger because they can’t wait until it’s their turn.

[jrenaut]

Most of the confusion seems to be from cars – they seem to be under the impression that left turns with a red arrow are somehow okay, especially at Rhode Island.

I commute home on 15th most days, and for the most part I think it’s well signed. It’s just a little strange at first because I’ve never seen a similar bike lane, or similar “bikes follow pedestrian signal” signs.

[jrenaut]

I try to obey all traffic rules. It’s harder to be smug towards others when you break the rules, too. But it’s a struggle sometimes.

[jrenaut]

I might get little pedestrian safety cards printed up and hand them out to people who don’t seem to understand basic traffic laws.

[jrenaut]

They just tweeted that 15th Street is clear. That may or may not include PA Ave, as well.

[jrenaut]

I asked DDOT about plowing the 15th St cycletracks, which as of yesterday afternoon were pretty bad. Via Twitter, they said, “I will see what we can do”.

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