[lordofthemark]

Rode the brand new PBLs on 17th Street NW yesterday. As a fan of BOTH PBLs, and of “streeteries” I was impressed at how they had been integrated on the blocks from P to R Streets. The curbits protect the bike lanes, and also make the streeteries permanent.

[lordofthemark]

@accordioneur 211135 wrote:

I have a skullcap similar to this which protects my shiny little head from the sun – though I do notice a comfort difference with the thing blocking the airflow through the helmet – nice in the cooler weather, not so nice in the summer. I recently purchased a similar skullcap that has a schmatteh hanging down in the back (more commonly known as a “neck drape”) to add neck protection. I keep meaning to order a Da Brim, but never get around to it. My next-door neighbor swears by it.

Of course, wearing a kipah has its advantages too, as it’s one less thing to pack when you bike to shul. The Bucharian style provides the biggest area of sun protection.

So I’ve been asking POTM to get me a Bucharian style kippah for non bike related, but definitely follicle related, reasons, for years now, and after two trips to Israel she has not returned with one. Of course I could probably find one around here or online and buy it myself. Maybe I could find a local Bucharian cycling club?

[lordofthemark]

My miles collapsed. 1. I lost my close to daily 20 mile round trip commute. 2. For most of it I avoided group rides, and rides to see friends. 3. I avoided eating indoors at restaurants, and avoided restrooms where I was not confident in low occupancy and good ventilation (hmm, that sounds weird, but I mean because COVID, of course, which made it hard to do long solo rides 4. When the pandemic was worst, esp before I was convinced how relatively safe outdoors was, I avoided riding on trails, both for personal COVID safety and to allow more trail space to others -m which also made long solo rides more difficult. 5. I no longer used transit, which was my bail out option if I was exhausted or had a mechanical I couldn’t fix (and Im not great at bike repair) In summary, I rode less recreationally than before (also my wife, deprived of other social outlets, was more intent on taking walks with me, which took some of my bike time)

OTOH – Both because I was avoiding riding on trails and sidewalks (of course I’m not a regular sidewalk rider, but use them as connectors in places, like the one on King from Park Center Drive to 30th near my home) and because at the beginning, there was so much less auto traffic, I began to ride in the road in places where I generally had not before. This revealed new routes to me, and generally made me a more confident rider than before. As an example to avoid the above sidewalk, I started going Ford>N Hampton>King>28th as my default route from home to Fairlington and beyond – I don’t think I had ever ridden in the road on that part of King before.

Also I used some of my stim $ to buy a new bike (well I’d been shopping for itbefore, but whatever) the first drop bar road bike I’d owned since I was in college (I THINK that old Motobecane was a drop bar, I don’t remember). That (in June 2020) was the first store I had entered since the pandemic had begun.

[lordofthemark]

@peterw_diy 210812 wrote:

It’d also be nice if the MUTCD clarified whether this sign only means bicyclists may start early, in the LPI phase, or if it’s also true that they must obey the Don’t Walk ped signal, which tends to appear earlier than the motor vehicle red signal. On its face it seems to say that bicyclists at such intersections must obey all ped signals — Walk and Don’t Walk because the “indications”, plural, “control” the bicyclists. I expect that’s not what was intended, that somebody in FHWA edited too agressively (or wrote too lazily). Certainly I think it seems potentially dangerous for a lane-taking bicyclists to come to a stop when Don’t Walk lights up, as any motor vehicle operators behind them likley won’t be paying any attention to the ped signals, and the roadway signal will be at least yellow, if not actually still green, when Don’t Walk appears. On its face, R9-5 seems to pit cyclists’ obligations to follow pedestrian controls against their obligation not to impede motor vehicle traffic. So, yeah, probably it’s just poor writing.

Also I think giving cyclists something like an LPI is at best a little silly. Between motorists being distracted by their phones and cyclists having better peripheral vision and, especially in the case of e-bikes, acceleration, there seems little reason for the people on bikes to start first — we usually cross the intersection first anyway. Add in Virginia’s new change-lanes-to-pass law (and two abreast law!) and it also seems like a setup for some dangeous and/or annoying leapfrog moves as the motorists try to pass the cyclists who just shoaled them (excercising their rights under § 46.2-841) as soon as the motorists get a green light. I know DC has had universal LPI rights for people on bikes for a few years, but does it also allow two bikes abreast? And require motorists to change lanes to pass even a single bicyclist? Allowing cyclists to shoal you at the red and then get a jump on you during the LPI wouldn’t be as significant an imposition on motorists if the motorists just had to hug the left side of the lane to overtake the single-file cyclists. In Virginia starting July 1, theoretically, my kid & I can ride two abreast and set the pace any time or place where the motorists can’t easily change lanes to pass — like on the sections of Commonwealth with big medians and heavily-uitlized on-street car parking. LPI + R9-5 just makes it easier for us to legally do things that effectively disrupt traffic.

In DC I find myself proceeding on LPI when I’m in a bike lane (eg Eye Street SE/SW) or where I’m turning shortly (eg at SB on 7th SW at Maine, just before turning onto the Wharf cycle track). If I’m just taking the lane, I proceed on LPI IF I am first at the intersection (so not shoaling). If I am not, I wait my turn behind cars, regretting the “wasted” LPI. To shoal one must filter which I rarely do. If I’m taking the lane, I (with a few exceptions) take the center of the lane, and expect cars to pass in the other lane. The shoaling problem is created, afaict,by riding to the right hand side of a normal width lane, something I avoid.

The main benefit of proceeding on LPI is to avoid getting right hooked if in a bike lane. Otherwise it’s to avoid potential conflict with left turning traffic and generally to proceed faster and to get away from following traffic.

[lordofthemark]

@peterw_diy 210805 wrote:

Are you saying that in Alexandria (or all of Virginia?) a cyclist can bike through a red light if the pedestrian walk signal is on? If so, please cite a reference! I knew that to be true in DC but I didn’t think it was the case in Virginia.

Thanks.

It is not legal for a cyclist to treat a red as stop or a stop as yield in Virginia. Even when an LPI is in effect. City of Alexandria has installed signs like this to make exceptions at particular intersections (I do not recall the issue for this particular intersection) though I am not certain what part of Va Code they are relying on.

[lordofthemark]

Here is my understanding

A. Virginia does not allow a bike to proceed on an LPI the way DC does

B. The City of Alexandria has said they will allow bikes to use ped signal (and thus to proceed on LPI) by signed exception. I do not know what part of Virginia code they are relying on, but they seem to believe this is legal

C. AFAIK bikes riden on sidewalks in Virginia are treated as pedestrians

D. I believe the sign there is for the benefit of bike riders in the bike lane. Since no right is allowed on red there, proceeding on LPI enables riders to avoid the danger of being right hooked by right turning cars.

E. In general changes to street layout are done in Alexandria, as in many other places, at the same time as repaving. I do not think Cameron is scheduled for repaving anytime soon, so I do not expect any changes.

[lordofthemark]

@Mark 210755 wrote:

I’m sure MStone is correct. I’ve been paying attention on my rides in Montgomery County. Less traveled streets have no marking in the cernter. More heavily used streets all have double yellow lines. I also discovered that in October Maryland passed a law that a) required cars to have at least 3 feet of space when passing cyclists and b) allows cars to cross the double yellow line when passing cyclists. (https://bikeaaa.org/2020/10/02/3-foot-passing-now-applies-to-all-maryland-roads/#:~:text=Wells%20and%20cross%2Dfiled%20by,required%20on%20all%20Maryland%20roads!) (I started this discussion by describing my conversation with a policeman, who said I was impeding traffic because cars had to cross the double yellow line to pass – he was clearly wrong. Even though I was riding next to another rider, I was well toward the right side of the road. And even if I had been on the shoulder, cars still would have been required to cross the yellow line to pass).

Maryland and Virginia having the same law should simplify things for motorists 😉

I paid more attention in my weekend rides, and also note that in Alexandria and Arlington it appears double yellow is mostly striped based on volume, not on road geometry.

[lordofthemark]

@baiskeli 210753 wrote:

Ah, I get your point now.

It’s possible that the traffic engineers know something you don’t, or that they’re being overzealous.

Maybe I will go out hunting for this, but from my recall, and a bit of checking on google street veiews, I believe MStone is correct. Two lane roads in built up suburbs (at least around ALX and Arlco, and probably elsewhere in the region) and in cities, simply do not get dashed yellow lines regardless of road geometry. The choice is either a double yellow or no center line at all, depending on the nature of the street. If the expected volume is above a certain level they stripe the double yellow.

[lordofthemark]

@ImaCynic 210748 wrote:

Of course. One should avoid doing so and refrain from mis-quoting others.

“If you think someone quoting me about the internet is actually misleading people about what I said, you might need to reflect a bit”

Abe Lincoln

[lordofthemark]

@ImaCynic 210736 wrote:

“Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man.”

Henry Adams

“Trolling internet bike forums is a huge waste of time”

Abe Lincoln

[lordofthemark]

@ImaCynic 210733 wrote:

Here you go, if you believe in the data published by the US government:

https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/data/Pages/Data_Stats.aspx

I suspect many new traffic laws were added every year, and yet overall fatalities, still rose.

This is not the quality of research that will get you published or create a stir at TRB.

[lordofthemark]

@ImaCynic 210710 wrote:

I can assure you that this is not the only law being ignored by motorists.

More bicycle laws are NOT going to make things safer; they simply add to confusion and ignorance.

If you can back this statement up with data, you should publish it. You’d create quite a stir at TRB (Transportation Research Board)

But simple assertions on this forum are worth the paper they are printed on.

Traffic laws are regularly violated, but, IMO, do matter. Many people do NOT want to get a ticket. They also don’t want to be the party at fault in a civil suit. And, yes, being able to recover in a civil suit matters. And showing a pattern of violations by motorists helps us as we argue for better infrastructure I think (for example the notion of unmarked crosswalks, helps to disarm the “well the pedestrian was outside of a crosswalk, ergo jaywalking meme)

[lordofthemark]

So in the last couple of days I have made more of a point of noticing double yellow lines. Plenty of them on streets in Arlington and Alexandria that are straight with fairly gentle grades, and generally good visibility. Localities just paint them where they expect significant volumes I guess. I was passed by cars going across the yellow several times on Army Navy Driver, for example. I believe I was right to take the lane, and it all happened without incident.

[lordofthemark]

@baiskeli 210659 wrote:

Wait, slow down – where does 14 feet come from?

Maximum width of a non oversized vehicle is 8.5 feet, including mirrors. https://vacode.org/46.2-1105/

IIUC that is also the standard width of a parking lane.

3 feet to pass safely. about 2 to 3 feet width for a bike and rider?

I guess?

[lordofthemark]

@Mark 210656 wrote:

I just used a tape measure to measure off 14 feet. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lane that wide.

I then did a google search on lane width and found the following in Wikipedia: “In the United States, the Interstate Highway standards for the Interstate Highway System use a 12 ft (3.7 m) standard lane width, while narrower lanes are used on lower classification roads.” So if lanes less that 14 feet are considered to be substandard width, one can always take the lane.

One reason you rarely see 14 feet lanes anymore is that lanes that wide encourage speeding. Local govts like to put in ” low hanging fruit” painted bike lanes instead. Doesnt remove a travel lane, doesn’t remove parking, makes the neighbors happy, and they can say “bike network ” though you’re riding in the same place you’d be required to be anyway.

Nonetheless you can still occasionally find a really wide lane. A short section of Ford going south from North Hampton is that wide, and I dutifully ride to the right on it, as much as the potholes allow.

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