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@Steve O 162387 wrote:

I agree that it can feel really uncomfortable taking the lane, but it is truly the safer thing to do. Being buzzed is much worse than being honked at. Independence has, like, three lanes, so the cars can move over and around you. But you can’t be halfway; that’s even worse. If someone thinks they can squeeze by you, they will.

+1

My overall experience with cycling has improved immensely ever since I started aggressively taking lanes whenever I ride streets like this. Yes it can still be rather uncomfortable at times. But it helps to know that 1) drivers are far more likely to struggle with spatial reasoning (i.e. misjudge the distance between you and the edges of their vehicle) than they are to run you down intentionally, and 2) distracted drivers are far more likely to notice and react to the presence of a rider in the middle of a lane than one near the edge.

I find that when I ride in the middle of a lane, almost all passing motorists execute a complete lane change and give me 5+ feet of clearance. Plus, the few remaining buzzes are a bit less scary when you have ample bailout real estate to your right.

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@dasgeh 162384 wrote:

LAST DAY FOR COMMENTS. TRANSFORM66@VDOT.VIRGINIA.GOV

Here are mine, which are very much a combination of all the points made here

Thanks! Well-written and thorough summary of most of the points discussed here. The last day snuck up on me, so I plagiarized much of your letter. I shortened some parts, reorganized others, made a bunch of small tweaks and added several extra thoughts of my own.

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@VA2DC 162365 wrote:

You could report this to the White House (https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/06/28/vice-president-mike-pence-attend-wreath-laying-ceremony-korean-war), but I wouldn’t hold my breath for a response.

Spandex brigade terrorfefe whines about security on National Mall. Playing with kiddie toys in the street. Grow up and buy a car. SAD!!!

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@dasgeh 161677 wrote:

Has anyone figured out the distances between the entrances to the trail? It seems like one would only be able to get on/off the trail at interchanges — how far apart are those?

Thanks

Is that right? If highway interchanges are the only access points, this trail will be even worse than I thought. I’ll have to look more thoroughly at the design. I do know that the interchanges are anywhere from one to five miles apart. The longest gap between exits is from 29-Centreville to Sudley Road, about five miles.

Note too: the interchanges are all with arterials, and most of these arterials are themselves horribly hostile to bicycles and pedestrians. Trail connections to lower-volume streets that bridge over the highway without an interchange are desperately needed. Not to mention direct access into the neighborhoods and business districts that are near the trail.

Honestly, the Custis/W&OD from about McCoy Park to EFC is a 90% perfect example of how one can design a trail along a freeway ROW that offers a pleasant experience for almost all types of non-motorized users and is accessible to the communities it serves. The flaws of Custis/W&OD that we often complain about don’t begin to compare to the enormous problems with this asinine proposal.

How did Arlington successfully connect this trail into all of the neighborhoods it passes through? Perhaps it was easier because the highway took out so many homes that a lot of streets were left “one-sided”?

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FWIW, the homes on Barton are technically Columbia Heights, not Nauck. However, if you use that term, I would guess that no one outside your civic association will know where you are referring to. It would be confused with the bigger Columbia Heights in DC.

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I ride this part of the Pike often (whenever headed to 14th St or Memorial Bridge). I find it is not great but it is manageable. Admittedly my rides along this route are very rarely at rush hour.

Eastbound, I use the same strategy as Judd. If traffic is heavy, either hang out at S Courthouse or start to roll slowly down the hill on the south sidewalk, all while monitoring the light cycle behind. When the light changes, I move into the roadway and sprint down the hill in the right lane. I almost always reach the light at the bottom of the hill before the next herd of cars catches up. I move into the left lane if necessary (depending on traffic and the lane arrows). After S Queen, I climb the short hill in the center of the right lane, while most of the traffic heads up the ramp to 395/eastbound 27. I usually stay on the Pike all the way down to the Pentagon, but will take Orme to Southgate sometimes if traffic is heavy.

Westbound from Pentagon, I come off the 27 trail and take the lane past the bad sidewalk and under the freeway. I usually get on the sidewalk at the first curb cut thereafter and take Southgate up the hill alongside the cemetery to Orme. I take the lane westbound on Columbia Pike from Orme until past all the intersections bringing in traffic from Washington Blvd; I can go that far without picking up tailgaters because there isn’t much traffic coming from further east on the Pike and the traffic signal stops it anyway. Turning drivers do tend to ignore people on the wide sidewalk, but they will yield to me in the lane. From there I ride up the north sidewalk to Rolfe while the Pike thru traffic has a green. Once the Queen light stops them, I take a lane from Rolfe, past the part with the narrow sidewalk, typically going back to the sidewalk somewhere around Columbia Crossing Apartments. Or I’ll just stay in the lane if traffic doesn’t seem too heavy or aggressive. Once you reach Courthouse you have options. If headed to Barton south of the Pike I would probably stay on the Pike, take the lane (downhill now!) to a right on S Adams. Then left through the parking garage entrance to Barton and cross the Pike at the light.

I’ve never tried to go through ANCC, as it’s rather out of my way from north of the Pike.

I wish there were a better solution to the Columbia Pike problem. But hey it could be worse:

@KLizotte 161608 wrote:

Wish they were putting in a streetcar!

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@GovernorSilver 161331 wrote:

I was riding on the street when a wind gust nearly blew me into the path of 2 lanes of cars. … So, no to “always ride the street” for me.

If you do choose to ride on streets in gusty conditions, it’s advisable to be more assertive about taking the lane than you would in calmer conditions. When you make it obvious to drivers that they need to use another lane to get around you, they almost always fully move into the next lane. As a result, you’ll get much wider passing distances, as well as fewer passing drivers overall. When many drivers are already passing too close (a typical situation if one rides near the edge of the right lane), the extra uncertainty in your position due to the wind gusts can be disastrous.

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@ginacico 161288 wrote:

At this point I wish I could ride one way in the morning and magically teleport out of the city after work, it just sucks to deal with that gauntlet.

It’s rather indirect if you’re heading to 14th St bridge, but have you considered riding M St west to Rock Creek trail? The connection is admittedly a bit awkward (I’d try either 26th or 28th to Pennsylvania), but at least motor traffic congestion shouldn’t be a big problem.

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@Judd 161025 wrote:

Preliminary response from WABA is that it’s from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Thanks. That would suggest that the 24% might be a simple fraction of people, i.e. 24% of people who self-identify as cyclists are women. If so, it would not include any weighting for time spent riding or total distance traveled.

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@Judd 160953 wrote:

24% of cyclists who are women as WABA states

I’m curious about this number. Did WABA share how they generated that?

I figure the result would vary greatly depending on how it is defined. Is it normalized per person, per mile, per hour, etc.? On top of that, each of us would come up with a different anecdotal percentage based on where and when we are making observations. If one person is counting riders at midnight on Wilson Blvd, and another is watching the 15th St cycletrack at rush hour, I wouldn’t expect them to get the same gender ratios.

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@GovernorSilver 160598 wrote:

We were just talking about salmons in bike lanes. Today was the day for my first encounter with one – on Braddock St. by the metro station.

Common occurrence there, I would assume. Someone heading to Metro from the southern end of Del Ray might somehow think that’s a better idea than making multiple left turns in traffic (or riding on a busy sidewalk).

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@Emm 160586 wrote:

Here’s a general map.

How difficult is that turn from Capitol Square Place onto 9th during rush hour?

@CykelFlicka 160582 wrote:

Would prefer not to have to use the 14th St bridge

You might try using Emm’s route to Case Bridge, then Ohio Dr – 23rd – Memorial Bridge, rather than 14th – MVT. You’ll encounter some tourists around the south side of the Lincoln Memorial, but it won’t be nearly as bad as crossing the Mall. Yes the trail along Ohio is extremely bumpy, but the roadway is very comfortable IMO. Especially when headed northwest (extra lane, no parked cars).

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In some places, that idea should be taken a step further. For instance, at the W&OD / Buckthorn intersection, the two-way stop signs should be facing the dead-end street, and the trail users should have persistent right-of-way.

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@Crickey7 160364 wrote:

In Maryland, there is a drafting error in the motor vehicle law that makes it advisable to dismount, in certain circumstances, when in a crosswalk.

Some background on this:

http://www.thewashcycle.com/2016/07/maryland-judge-reportedly-rules-that-its-not-illegal-to-crash-into-a-cyclist-in-a-crosswalk.html

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8:40am Freshbikes, Ballston:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14805[/ATTACH]
9:06am Falls Church (W&OD at Little Falls):
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14806[/ATTACH]
9:21am another pic before departing Falls Church (W&OD at Little Falls):
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14807[/ATTACH]
9:27am East Falls Church Metro Station:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]14808[/ATTACH]

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