Monday, December 10, 2012
Arlington cycling traffic greatly outnumbers automobile traffic at some intersections — and it's time the streets and signals reflect that.
One of the basic principles of road design and traffic management is that — at intersections, at least — bigger roads trump smaller roads. Streets with higher traffic get priority over less-travelled roads. This is why, for example, the lights on Glebe Road are generally set to accommodate the traffic travelling the length of Glebe and not the traffic trying to cross it. The idea is that priority is given to what benefits the most people. It’s just common sense, some would say. Perhaps, then, we should consider applying that principle to the Custis Trail in Arlington. Thanks to Arlington County’s trail counters, we know that thousands of people a day use the Custis to commute. Unfortunately, we also know that several of the intersections …
Monday, November 12, 2012
Now's a very good time to reassess your visibility on Arlington's streets and trails.
It's time for that semi-annual get-your-lights-out reminder. Eastern Standard Time is here, Bike Arlington is doing light-giveaways, and it's well past sunset when most of us are heading home from work. So what's the point of a reminder column? As BikeHugger recently asked — Do people not realize that it's time for lights? Well, no, they don't. Not enough of them, anyway. And by people, I mean everyone using our streets and trails. Cyclists and pedestrians are not as visible as we think we are, and this leads to unsafe situations. Ask any driver or cyclist who's happened upon a "ninja" runner — dressed all in black, save perhaps a small reflective stripe on his shoe — crossing the street or sharing the trail with them. It should go without…
Monday, October 22, 2012
The Arlington transportation chief’s response to last week’s concerns over temporary paving highlights the challenges of keeping a growing community’s streets safe.
Last week this column illustrated the dangers of a poorly maintained street construction site. The accompanying video showed a cyclist taken down by a dangerous parallel ridge cut in the pavement that was left in place and unmarked for months. Arlington Patch followed up with an interview of Dennis Leach, the county's transportation director, about Arlington’s street construction policies and practices. It was useful to hear about the systems Arlington has in place to manage street construction. But they’re clearly not working well enough. To be clear up front — Mr. Leach is to be commended for his leadership of the transportation department. Having had many conversations with him about cycling and Arlington, I think that this county is …
Monday, October 15, 2012
With so much construction involving Arlington's streets, the county must do a better job of ensuring that they remain safe for all users.
Last month, this column touched on the idea that pavement condition isn’t just a concern of motorists, but also of cyclists. In fact, bad pavement condition holds significantly more danger for the individual cyclist than motorist. In that column, I used the example of a recent crash caused by a temporary patching of a utility cut along Quincy Street. It turns out I’ve got video of that crash, and I’d like to show you what happens when Arlington County fails to ensure that those working on its streets fail to do so safely. What you’ll see in the video embedded at the right are a number of riders who have just crossed Lee Highway on Quincy Street heading south. A car comes up from behind, and a rider in front of it moves to the right to let …
Monday, October 1, 2012
Arlington County recently installed buffered bike lanes in busy Clarendon. That’s great! Now it’s time for more.
There’s a part of Clarendon Boulevard where — as it passes the Market Common Clarendon and Whole Foods — the normal rules of traffic appear to be mysteriously suspended. Drivers in the right lane swerve left to get into the Whole Foods parking lot on the left, and drivers in the left lane shoot right for the Starbucks entrance without even glancing in their mirrors. And through it all? One of Arlington’s busiest bike lanes. Arlington County recently installed a new buffered bike lane, moving cyclists further away from parked cars and other traffic further away from cyclists. It’s not a cycletrack — it doesn’t have a barrier between cyclists and other road traffic — but it provides many of the same benefits of increased separation. The …
Monday, September 10, 2012
Arlington's roads can present challenges to cyclists and drivers alike.
Silky smooth black pavement. It’s the kind of thing that brings a smile to my face, whether I’m behind the wheel of my car or leaning over my handlebars. There’s nothing quite like the feel of efficient speed over land that a good road gives you. It’s something that both cyclists and drivers can easily agree on, I think. Drivers and cyclists also tend to both dislike it when roads deteriorate. No one likes jarring potholes (or chipseal, for that matter). This common cause goes back a lot further than most might expect. It was the League of American Wheelmen (now the League of American Bicyclists) that launched the Good Roads Movement in the 1880s. The Good Roads Movement literally paved the way for modern streets, as cycling advocates …
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Arlington’s trail system is a recreational haven. But even havens require some care.
Arlington’s trails are a welcome respite from the noise and traffic of the street. They draw thousands of daily users from the whole of Arlington’s citizenry. Unfortunately that includes some of its lesser element, who take advantage of Arlington’s open and engaging nature. While violent and serious crimes are incredibly rare on Arlington’s trails, this week brought us an awful reminder that it is possible. While this shouldn’t turn us away from our welcoming approach to our neighbors, we do need to stay alert. So in the spirit of expecting the best while preparing for the worst, trail users – especially those who feel vulnerable – should take affirmative steps to stay safe. Among the most effective steps when using the trails alone is …
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Bollards are, in theory, intended to keep people safe. So why do people keep getting hurt by them?
Bollards. You know, those posts they put in the middle of the trails, usually at entrances? In theory, they’re there to keep vehicles from entering the trails and endangering pedestrians and cyclists on the trails. But in practice? It seems, lately, that they’re there to create one more hazard for the users they’re supposed to protect. Arlington cycling advocates have been pushing Arlington County to remove a number of useless and/or dangerous bollards on Arlington’s trails for a while, but there seems to have been an uptick of bollard-related injuries this year. It’s time for the County to formulate a coherent policy on where bollards should be used. Then, it needs to act to remove the bollards that pose an undue danger to trail users. If…
Friday, June 15, 2012
New warning signs will be installed beginning Friday.
The George Washington Parkway may soon become a lot safer for drivers and cyclists, thanks to improvements that will be implemented later this month. The National Park Service, United States Park Police, and Congressman Jim Moran (D-8th District) hosted a press conference Thursday to announce more details about the safety improvements at Memorial Circle. The National Park Service will begin installing 46 signs warning motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians on Friday. The signs will be installed on the George Washington Parkway and the Mount Vernon Trail by June 30. “One of the things that we can do in addition to having a good public transportation system is to encourage people to bike to work,” Moran said. “But right now it’s difficult and…
Thursday, June 14, 2012
A tragedy on Four Mile Run Trail should give all of us reason to recommit to safely sharing this common space.
On Monday morning, Ita Lapina was out for a walk on Four Mile Run Trail. According to the police, a cyclist travelling in the same direction rang his bell and called out “to your left!” as he attempted to pass. Lapina stepped to the left as she turned towards the cyclist, who struck her. She fell, hitting her head on the trail. She succumbed to her injuries Monday evening. This is my worst trail nightmare. Nobody seems to have done anything extraordinarily unreasonable, and yet someone died. We’ll likely never know with certainty all of the facts surrounding this collision, so I’m not interested in examining and assigning specific blame in this case. But I am interested in emphasizing just how frequently similar circumstances occur on the…
Mark Blacknell
7:16 pm on Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Good ideas, Rob. Might run out of paper making a list of authorities from whom cooperation would be required, though . . . Yoeun - I'm tired of inconsiderate cyclists, too. What I'm trying to do here is actually reduce conflict/injury, instead of just ineffectively wagging my finger at those who blow the intersection. Geof, cyclists on Lee Highway have the ROW, of course. But even if you were … more ›