[peterw_diy]

Last year Alexandria put King Street between Janney’s Lane and the high school on a road diet – removed an auto travel lane, added bike lanes and pedestrian crossing islands, etc. Yesterday the city reported that while this section had averaged 7 collisions per year for the last decade, there have been (knock on wood) ZERO collisions in the year since undertaking the road diet.

https://twitter.com/AlexandriaVATES/status/913076033607397376

[peterw_diy]

+1 on anomad’s suggestion. Don’t cut until you’ve road tested thoroughly and are certain of the size. Also I’d plan on a 5mm spacer above the stem so you have more flexibility if you ever replace the headset and want to use one with a taller stack height.

A shop (or coop) will have a tool to guide the hacksaw and keep the cut perpendicular to the tube. I wouldn’t risk freehanding the cut, you have too many inexpensive options around here for doing it right.

Personally I run an unfashionable 25mm of spacers above my negative rise stem, so I could easily raise my bars up as much as 40mm or so just by flipping the stem and moving the spacers. Function beats form in my book.

I hope you love the bike.

[peterw_diy]

@rcannon100 165357 wrote:

Any time I sit next to my bike, I get asked if I am okay, like I am enfeebled. Its an aspersion. It is an intrusion. It is a statement that sitting next to your bike means you are in distress. Utter bullshit. And yet it happens over and over and over. And it really needs to stop. As I said, earn your Good Samaritan merit badge somewhere else.

Bob, if you find the kindness of strangers so unbearable, I think you should buy yourself some rollers and stay indoors. You’re starting to sound beyond grouchy.

[peterw_diy]

Bobco, best of luck to you on the left coast. We have never met, but I have been grateful for your presence in and contributions to our communities, in Alexandria and beyond. I hope this move is very good for you and your family.

[peterw_diy]

@lordofthemark 161584 wrote:

What they will do (as DC is doing) is add storage tanks/pipes that will hold enough of the combined stuff, after storms, that it can all be treated without a surge that overwhelms treatment capacity.

Do you know how much increase in demand they’re designing for? Council keeps approving big residential and hotel development in the combined sewer area and I imagine climate change will likely increase the volume of storm water peaks…

[peterw_diy]

I now find myself a little disappointed each time I go for a long ride and don’t see rcannon by the trail.

[peterw_diy]

@Steve O 161762 wrote:

I may give you the Commonwealth Avenue location in its current form. I believe a redesign, however, could fix it without need for a middle-of-the-trail obstacle.

The signage that exists at 4MR and Commonwealth is not installed per MUTCD standards. Most significantly, the new signage was installed past the asphalt in question (on the left side rather than the right side) and is closer to the 4′ concrete walkway than the asphalt. The fix should be easy but I can only speculate why Alexandria T&ES hasn’t fixed this signage.

[peterw_diy]

@peterw_diy 161286 wrote:

Thanks. BTW do you know if they think those steep drop-off shoulders, like the ones from the bridge to Mt Vernon Ave, are acceptable? I nearly wiped out the other day because of that…

Ray Hayhurst was kind enough to look this up. AASHTO trail construction standards, which apparently VDOT endorses, say the shoulder grade should be no more than a 1:6 height:width ratio (about 9.5 degrees). Many of the shoulders west of Wayne Anderson to me look more like a 6:1 ratio.
🙁

[peterw_diy]

@streetsmarts 161487 wrote:

And then if no one claims it…do they clean out their warehouses sometime?

Apparently, though their information online really isn’t helpful oh that question: https://www.alexandriava.gov/police/info/default.aspx?id=54370

[peterw_diy]

@streetsmarts 161452 wrote:

There’s one locked up in old town (old steel bike) that looks like it’s been there for a few years. Wonder how they make it from locked/abandoned to the police station.

Old Town Alexandria? Submit a Call.Click.Connect. service request and the police department will likely remove it pretty quickly. Last time I reported an obviously abandoned bike (rusty chain, flat tires) I think it was just a couple days before they removed it.

[peterw_diy]

@CaseyKane50 161278 wrote:

The City is planning to repave the section of the trail (Wayne Anderson Bikeway) from Route 1 west to the bridge this summer.

Thanks. BTW do you know if they think those steep drop-off shoulders, like the ones from the bridge to Mt Vernon Ave, are acceptable? I nearly wiped out the other day because of that…

[peterw_diy]

@KWL 161127 wrote:

Paving has started! The asphalt work is looking to be as good as that of the TRI MVT work.

It’s not THA-DUMP punctuated with THA-DUMP seams every 75 THA-DUMP feet like the detour THA-DUMP on the Alexandria side?

[peterw_diy]

Has anyone talked to Ray about this yet?

[peterw_diy]

@Judd 160676 wrote:

I wouldn’t drive a car without power brakes so I probably shouldn’t ride a bike without power brakes either.

Good news, Judd, you’re nowhere near as heavy as you seem to fear. 👍

Bad news, your engine is weaker than an old Karmann Ghia. 🤷

[peterw_diy]

I ride Cameron often and am not sure I like the change from sharrows to door zone paint-defined bike lanes. While it’s nice that it’s now easy, in some stretches, to ride past backed up autos, I also now find that a significant portion of people driving don’t give me three feet when overtaking me.

They behave as if they think staying in their auto lane suffices. I find this a little odd since on other streets like Commonwealth motorists are pretty good about giving cyclists more space. Anyhow, motorists passing too close now happens fairly often, but didn’t in the old design, where I would take the lane.

I think this street, while smoother, is likely less safe for people on bikes than before.

(I hope this post doesn’t end up in my obit or on a gofundme page.)

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