[NickBull]

Sign is wrong. Cars _don’t_ have right of way. The more complicated truth doesn’t fit on a sign. Cars do not have to slow down just because they see someone standing by the side of the road, but they have a duty to stop for someone entering the crosswalk if it is reasonable and safe to do so, and people entering the crosswalk have a duty to check that it is reasonable and safe for drivers to be able to stop.

Since that won’t fit on the sign, the sign as currently stated is incorrect, and should be removed. If they want language warning pedestrians that cars are driven at high speed they should say so. If they don’t want to do remove the “Cars have right of way” sign, then big signs should be put up on the roadway saying “Pedestrians have right of way”, just to be parallel. Sort of like one-lane bridges that have signs on both sides saying “Yield to oncoming traffic”.

[NickBull]

@Tim Kelley 30697 wrote:

Peeps are back on the case! I bet that if a concerned citizen wanted to make a few phone calls, it might add a little motivation…

Thanks, Tim,

Who might such a concerned citizen call and where would they find that person’s number?

Nick

[NickBull]

@Tim Kelley 27140 wrote:

My peeps on the inside successfully pulled off a covert intel gathering mission. Reports suggest that it will get done in the next couple of weeks.

Hi, Tim,

Any word on this? When I rode through a few days ago it was still not fixed.

It’s hard to understand how it improves bicycle safety to narrow the road significantly, forcing us closer to the cars, while simultaneously removing the bike lane markings! Seems to me like a lawsuit waiting to happen; I would think Arlington would want to get this completed.

Thanks,

Nick

[NickBull]

@baiskeli 24737 wrote:

Hmm. I thought it was to prevent curb-jumping. Do we know this for sure?

That’s what they claimed at the time, but I always thought it was BS and the whole thing was just to establish a barrier. And that seems to be exactly what they have done.

I’ve ridden through that area every work day for about a decade, and I never once had issues with either pedestrians or cars riding through the parking lot.

The current configuration results in many near misses. If it is their intention to make this permanent, they need to spend money to make a proper, safe trail, not a 4-foot wide curb cut that forces oncoming cyclists to have to try to avoid each other while simultaneously checking two directions for auto traffic.

They should have speed bumps on each side of the “trail” (not just on one side) with stop signs for cars before the first speed bump they get to. It’s just a matter of time before some driver who is distracted by his 4-year-old runs into a cyclist crossing the street there. Who would be expecting cyclists to suddenly come out from behind a tree to cross the road right there?

[NickBull]

@kt543 2449 wrote:

Thank you all for the replies! I’ve only been up and down the W&OD trail, and I’m pretty comfortable with that. I think I’d be comfortable with all the trails. It’s the bridges and the DC part I’m scared of. …

I commute everyday to capitol hill from near where the W&OD and Custis split. Happy to meet you and guide you there. I hate traffic, so my route is very low traffic and is probably a mile longer than necessary as a result. W&OD -> Custis -> Mt Vernon -> bike lane on 14th St Bridge (AKA 395) -> past Jefferson Memorial -> under 395 bridge on sidewalk along Maine Ave -> through parking lot next to fish market -> Water St SW (frontage road near Maine Avenue) -> left on 7th St SW -> right on I St SW -> left on 6th St SW -> right on G St SW -> left on 4th St SW -> right on E St SW -> left on 3rd St SW. I work at 3rd and C. I can suggest routes from 3rd and C to the capitol hill complex.

Given your other questions, the cycling classes that some have mentioned would be a good idea.

Basically, on a bike, you have to follow the same traffic laws as a car. There are some sidewalks that you can ride on, but there is an “exclusion” area downtown so you’ll need to know where that is. Riding the opposite way from traffic makes you a “bike salmon” and puts you at serious risk — cars and pedestrians are not expecting you there and have no reason to look that direction before turning or changing lanes or, for pedestrians, stepping into the street.

Nick

[Author]

Posts