[sjclaeys]

Yes, lots of fun this morning:

1) Arlington County van parked on the Custis Trail at the intersection with the W&OD at 7:30. A conveniently dangerous place to park.
2) Cat 6 racers passing on the right at the Custis Trail intersections near Rosslyn.
3) NPS cones in the middle of the cut-out for the sidewalk in front of the Jefferson Memorial.

Nonetheless, a nice ride overall.

[sjclaeys]

@5555624 21192 wrote:

Or they’re just clueless. It seems that I notice the same number of called passes year-round, which means the percentage plummets with nice weather. If so many cyclists are cluelessa about red lights, why would they know anything about calling their passes? (Recently I’ve been counting cyclists at traffic lights in Ballston — 13 of 19 running red lights.)

I always wonder what is meant by “running a red light”. In my mind, going through a red light without stopping or looking for cross traffic constitutes running a red light. I sometimes see cyclists do this, but it is the most prevalent form of red light running by motor vehicles (and the most dangerous). Another form is slowing or stopping at a red light, seeing that the crossing is clear, and then making the cross against the light. In my experience, this is the form mostly done by cyclists and rarely done by motor vehicles. Although both acts are illegal, the first creates far more risk than the second. I am not advocating going through red lights, but some clarity about which behavior is being discussed would be helpful.

[sjclaeys]

This morning I noticed a 10 mph sign a few yards before this stop sign and do not remember seeing it before. Is this a new sign? I definitely agree that cyclists need to be careful and go slowly through that area. However, the sign seems to be another example of traffic control authorities’ default presumption that the best way to solve any safety issue is to slow down or stop cyclists. Will we be seeing Arlington Police with radar guns to catch anyone going over 10 mph?

[sjclaeys]

I have a pannier bag for suits from Two Wheel Gear, which I am very happy with. It fits over my rear rack like a garment bag, so no rolling up or folding of clothes. I need to bring everything in and the bag has plenty of room. It is not 100% waterproof, but I put my suit and shirt in a dry cleaning bag, which also keeps them clean and fairly wrinkle-free.

[sjclaeys]

True, but there was one in February where Rat said that he was going to run over a cyclist and it created a bit of a kurfluffle in the cycling community.

[sjclaeys]

While riding home on Key Blvd tonight, it struck how quiet it is not being on the Custis next to 66. Another reason to stay off of the trail.

[sjclaeys]

@JeffC 15660 wrote:

I always take the Custis in the morning, it’s never much of a problem then. There is a big upsurge in walkers once daylight savings time starts in a few days which also usually coincides with warmer temps. The alternate way to Falls Church is really useful in those nicer temp days, especially Tuesday through Friday. Monday for whatever reason is not so bad.

Hmm, the route I took never required me to go down Wilson, perhaps you live farther south. I live about 1.5 miles from EFC Metro and took the route I indicated in an earlier email, basically Veitch, Key, 13th, Quincy, 15th, 16th and then behind Westover I take Lexington to 22nd to Sycamore to get to EFC and then take some side routes to get on to Hillwood.

I found this to be a great route. Even though I still need to take the MVT to get from the 14th Street bridge to Rosslyn, knowing that I will soon leave the madness makes it much more bearable. Thanks for sharing.

[sjclaeys]

@americancyclo 13705 wrote:

I totally support anyone’s use of strobe or blinky while on city streets if it makes you feel safer and more noticable. My beef is only with blinking on trails. This is from the perspective of a cyclist and trail walker.

I second americancyclo’s statement. Blinky lights on the trails are almost as dangerous as those ninja riders who don’t use lights.

[sjclaeys]

I believe that the next Arlington Bike Advisory Committee meeting is February 6.

[sjclaeys]

I am at a loss on what to do about this situation. My emails to Arlington County have gone unanswered and Bike Arlington does not seem to care. How do we get across the message that supporting cycling is more than painting sharrows, having nice websites and handing out knickknacks at Bike to Work Day? It means having every County office and department recognize the needs of cyclists and the impact of the County’s activities on cyclists.

[sjclaeys]

This morning’s report. The tree crew mentioned by slowtriguy was blocking the trail by 7:40 with no detour or warning. The question remains why they could not park on Fairfax Drive, which would place them just as close to the work. However, the most fun was being behind an Arlington County truck for about half a mile on the trail. The truck would abruptly stop when trail users came toward it, but made no effort to allow the line of bikes behind it to pass. It also passed several street access points, indicating that the truck did not have to drive so far on the trail. Arlington County continues to underwhelm on this issue.

[sjclaeys]

@americancyclo 13022 wrote:

Tree work hadn’t started yet when I rolled through this morning, but I did notice a detour sign at the ramp that leads down to Lee highway. What was really a surprise was the two cones and pile of wood chips that were at the bottom of the S curve of death. made for an exciting morning!

Here is what I found this morning between 7:30 and 8:00. As americancyclo noted, there was a large, 1 inch thick pile of woodchips in the middle of the switchback decent after crossing Lee Highway. I cannot believe the negligence of leaving such a dangerous condition that could have been easily cleaned-up in a few minutes. Of course, if someone wiped out while trying to avoid or go around it, the county would probably admonish them for going too fast. Also, two trucks were parked in the middle of the trail near Harrison Street. They had their doors open, so they completely blocked the trail. There is a parallel road only 6 feet away, so I do not see why they had to sit there. It is part of an apparent trend of vehicles using the trail when it is convenient, rather than necessary. On the whole, this shows that Arlington County is not even paying attention to what is going on.

[sjclaeys]

This response from the county is inadequate. First, the country completely failed to communicate with the Custis Trail-using community about the tree work and the detours. Second, the county said in December that the work would not be done during rush hour and the response gives no reason for the change in this policy. Third, the response completely ignores the county’s failure to establish safe, well-marked detours and gives no indication that they will remedy this. The fact that the county adds at the end the admonition to travel at safe speeds and give pedestrians the right of way is a slap in the face to cyclists given the county’s failure to provide us a safe means to travel.

[sjclaeys]

It seems that we’ve established that there is a problem here, or at least a significant lack of communication from Arlington County about what is going on regarding the tree work. I thought that raising this issue on this forum would generate a response, but so far I guess not.

[sjclaeys]

The rules for when the tree work is done have apparently changed. Both today and Friday they shut down part of Custis Trail by 7:30 am. The detour on Friday was not that bad, but today’s detour sent trail users on to Lee Highway during rush hour and did not have good signage on how to get back on the trail.

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