[S. Arlington Observer]

Without getting into whether our County deserves the gold (my thought is “perhaps”), I will note that when a bike lane is blocked by a vehicle it as likely as not to be either an Arlington Transit bus (that could pull over more if it tried) or a County vehicle. Not to mention the way the County makes alternate provisions for cars when either (a) doing its own construction work in roadways or (b) permitting private contractors to impeded traffic lanes, but rarely makes provisions to retain the bicycle lane.

[S. Arlington Observer]

@Crickey7 121865 wrote:

I make do with lobster gloves and glove liners, though it does get a wee bit cold when you drop into the teens. A good set of lobster gloves will run you at least $50, on deep sale.

I will be looking into the Barr and Moose mitts. But glove liners seem interesting as well. Where does one get those?

[S. Arlington Observer]

Hi all,

I just realized that I recently passed the one year mark as a bicycle commuter. On August 1 of 2014, after plotting a route via the Capital Bikeshare webpage, I took a Capital Bikeshare bike from Ballston Metro home to Shirlington via the Bluemont Junction and W&OD trails. Over time I expanded my range by riding all the way home from Courthouse (still via Ballson) and then adding a partial morning commute as well (from Shirlington to Crystal City, where I use a bus for the remainder of the trip.) Most days I now use my own bike (saving CaBi for days when the trip is likely to be one way due to my schedule or weather.) Now morning and evening commutes, that used to be “wasted” time on the bus, are adventures and cardio opportunities. I particularly like noting the tidal changes in lower Four Mile Run in the morning.

I was happy to learn that I could bike after dark in the winter with a helmet light on the W&OD. (When I started I feared I’d have to give up the ride for the winter as it is dark by 5.) But I also learned not to tangle with ice and to Really, Really appreciate the road and trail conditions posts on this forum. As I head into year two, my only concern is finding a way to keep my hands warmer. My body core never gets cold, but even with the best gloves I’ve found, I can’t keep them warm when the temperature is below about 30 degrees in the late afternoon. (Which, thankfully, even in the winter, is fairly rare in DC.)

I’ll never be the kind of expert biker that many here are. But I after a year it is a very comfortable way to get around (to the gym and grocery in addition to work). Having a knowledgeable community to offer news and advice is invaluable. Thank You!

[S. Arlington Observer]

@Steve O 121635 wrote:

Saw this on the ATP blog this morning.
This is another of those problem spots for people who ride between DC and Arlington.
http://www.arlingtontransportationpartners.com/pages/blog/how-i-commute-to-work-brendan/

This highlights the importance of knowing exactly where Boundary Channel is located. In this case, based on the writer’s statements, he was in Virginia. While the Park police may have jurisdiction, they can’t apply DC traffic laws. My experience with Park Police is that they aren’t very well trained and not terribly interested in professionalism.

In any event one can’t be charged with violating a District law in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

[S. Arlington Observer]

Honest question. Does anyone see a difference between stop signs (especially on less traveled non commercial streets) and stop lights? I always stop for stop lights and obey the signal. But on many streets there is a stop sign at every intersection (mainly as a traffic calming tool). Key Boulevard and 11th street in Arlington are examples. Coming to a complete stop at each one would make cycling the routes prohibitively inefficient. I don’t want to reflect badly on cyclists but I do tend to treat such neighborhood stop signs (as opposed to stop lights) as yield signs. Any thoughts on that conundrum?

[S. Arlington Observer]

There are some great comments (so far) about the relative costs of bikeshare infrastructure and road building (and Metro costs) not to mention the “cost of air pollution and congestion from other forms of transportation. These points are important and it would be good if bikers reinforced them in the article’s comment section – and in other forums as the cost is discussed.

[S. Arlington Observer]

@elbows 120668 wrote:

I searched for a discussion of this and missed it so apologies if I am restarting something that has been completely dissected. I ride CaBi but am an ignoramus. Anyway, I’m finding that Clarendon is starting to be the new area where I can’t count on a bicycle in the evening. I used to easily get a bike there when I took the Orange line and now I often don’t. Or I see that there is one bike, which often means the bike is unrideable but still on spotcycle. I’m often coming from the Dupont-Logan area or DC where obtaining a bicycle already requires a couple of blocks walking in the wrong direction due to many empty stations.

(My pattern, if you care, is one or two nights a week I CaBi to Orange line, metro, and then CaBi home. I already have to walk several blocks from the CaBi station, so walking several blocks to get a bike twice is pushing my time to get home to annoyingly inefficient levels.)

Is a lack of bikes around the Orange line in Clarendon a pattern others have observed or discussed?

Not sure if it will help you, but it is only about .7 of a mile between Courthouse Metro and Clarendon Metro. There are usually bikes at Courthouse and at at least three racks very close to the Metro station. If heading outbound, getting on a bike at Courthouse instead of Clarendon will only add about 4 or 5 minutes to one’s commute. (And using Key Boulevard allows one to avoid Wilson Boulevard, though I don’t find the ride – with its dedicated bike lane – to be particularly dangerous.)

[S. Arlington Observer]

There is a major hole in coverage in that area and stations would really be helpful. I hope this does go through.

[S. Arlington Observer]

I have reported this to Arlington Transit this morning. Yesterday was not the first time this particular us driver has done this. Yes, parking the bus would always take up some of the bike lane, but not all of it. Taking it all is merely her choice. About 5:20 p.m on N. Veitch Street in Courthouse. And this is not just a stop. The bus remains parked there for some time (probably to calibrate its schedule).

[ATTACH=CONFIG]8964[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]8965[/ATTACH]

[S. Arlington Observer]

@Tim Kelley 118820 wrote:

Your comments have been heard and have been passed along to the appropriate people.

We have Top Men working on it.

I appreciate that.

[S. Arlington Observer]

I actually wasn’t all that upset about it since I found the new location within a few moments on my own. In fact, I was more amused about my mental state upon arriving as usual and not knowing what to make of the missing station. (“Did I take wrong turn?” “Am I losing my mind?” “This is the right place… surely I didn’t imagine that a station was here every other day…? etc.) I am over 55 so that was a bit of a concern.

I do think a sign saying something like “Notice – This docking location will be moved within the same block soon to accommodate construction” a short period before the planned move would have been helpful. That does not tie down a specific time but alerts regular users of what is to come. There was no “pre-warning” sign as of last week. Also, a sign near the old site (construction permitting) directing one to the new location would be helpful.

I am all for high tech communications but there is nothing wrong with a low tech sign — or perhaps a notice at the top of the Capital Bikeshare webpage. I really don’t want a twitter account and don’t see why it should be mandatory when a simple sign will also work.

[S. Arlington Observer]

@chris_s 118779 wrote:

Looks like you spotted it even before Cabi could tweet it.

https://twitter.com/bikeshare/status/613379582075498498

a) I’m not on twitter and b) since that is an obvious commuting point (at a Metro station) they could probably have done a better job of advising on the change. A tweet at 9:14 is a little late for the morning commute. But not harm done. I found it and now we know.

[S. Arlington Observer]

@PotomacCyclist 117921 wrote:

I started out with a triathlon bike, then a mountain bike too. But most of my rides over the past two years have been on CaBi. It’s so much more convenient in a lot of ways. I just wish that the time limit was a little longer than 30 minutes per ride (before the over-limit fees get added).

That reminds me of an important point for new users. You can “restart” the 30 minutes at any docking station along the way. My commute home takes more than 30 minutes. So I pull into a station about 1/4 of the way into the ride, dock the bike for about 30 seconds and check it out again. It’s like filling the tank with gas on one of those old fashioned modes of transportation. At first I thought I’d need to change to a different bike, but I found that the SAME bike can be recharged. I don’t even remove my gym bag from the front compartment. Stand there for a moment, admire the sunset, reinsert the key and I am on my way.

Whenever one needs to travel a distance that might take more than 30 minutes she/he should scout out the docking stations along the way for recharging purposes.

[S. Arlington Observer]

@PotomacCyclist 117779 wrote:

I’m registered by party (although I don’t really vote along party lines).

Seriously, one cannot be “registered by party” in Virginia. It’s the law. Here is a link (one of many) so nobody has to take my word for it. https://votesmart.org/elections/voter-registration/VA#.VXiKjflVhBc. Clearly you may identify with a party (I do too…. mostly) but we cannot register as Democrats or Republicans in Virginia. (Different in DC and MD).

[S. Arlington Observer]

@Steve O 117766 wrote:

My thoughts? Two seats up. Ostensible pub gets in.
Even in Arlington, close to 40% of the population is registered repub I think. ALL of them will vote for McMenamin and will at least partially split elsewise (or may leave one spot blank–an interesting strategy for a clever voter). I agree it will be interesting to watch.

First, voters in Virginia don’t register by party. So nobody in Arlington is registered Republican or Democrat. The Republican share of the vote usually hovers between 25% and 35%. Second, there is no defining issue like the streetcar this time. A very large chunk of regular Democratic voters voted for Vihstadt in the past two elections as a proxy for an actual referendum on the streetcar. They won’t have any reason to do that this time. Third, Dorsey opposed the streetcar and is seen as a moderate and Christol is a very popular new face. So, they are not exactly weak.

Given all that, I don’t see how a non Democrat gets much traction. The two candidates who are likely to win, however, should be very supportive of cycling.

[Author]

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