Fwd: Alexandria police enforcing traffic laws on Commonwealth Ave. to protect bicyclists
Steve Palincsar
palincss at his.com
Thu Aug 14 14:10:39 CDT 2008
I rode through that particular intersection on my commute for 28 years.
I would never ride in the "bike lane" (it's not signed as a bike lane on
Commonwealth Ave north of the Mount Vernon Ave intersection, by the way)
near the intersections with Glebe Rd and West Ave. Cars are turning
right 10 times more often than they are going straight or turning left
at those two crossings, and if you're on the right you are simply asking
for trouble.
Whether it's signed as a bike lane or not (and as I said, it isn't)
you're entitled to use the roadway, and at those two points it is more
than foolish, it's downright stupid and dangerous, not to do so.
On Thu, 2008-08-14 at 10:39 -0400, CW Dillon wrote:
> Sorry for the re-post; initially sent only to Yon..
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: CW Dillon <cwdillon at gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 6:28 PM
> Subject: Re: Alexandria police enforcing traffic laws on Commonwealth
> Ave. to protect bicyclists
> To: Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov
>
>
> Yon,
> Having nearly lost life or limb many, many times at that intersection
> I sincerely appreciate the enforcement and education efforts by
> Alexandria Police Department. Please forward my gratitude to APD.
>
> Allen,
> I often (almost daily) "compete" with motorists driving typical speeds
> of 35mph in the bike lane with little or no regard for cyclists using
> the lane or coming up in the lane. I've even been passed by motorists
> using the bike lane along Commonwealth Ave while in my car!
>
> All,
> A good Next step is to communicate to Joggers and Dog Walkers that the
> bike lane is not a good alternative to the sidewalk.
>
>
> Clarence
>
> On Wed, Aug 13, 2008 at 6:03 PM, <Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov> wrote:
>
> Hi Allen,
>
> Police are responding to a citizen (bicycle commuter) request
> for enforcement about cars stacking side-by-side several car
> lengths deep to make the heavy right turn onto E Glebe. As you
> know this is a one lane road... so cars need to follow the
> code you outlined below and not split into two "lanes" well
> before the intersection. It is not an effort to address
> right-hook problems.
> We sent the notice because we wanted people to be aware that
> the reason they may see police conducting enforcement on a
> heavily used bike route was to address an issue cyclists had
> raised about safety. It is not an enforcement campaign
> targeted at bicyclists.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Yon Lambert
> Pedestrian and Bicycle Coordinator
> Transportation & Environmental Services, City of Alexandria
> 703.519.3400 x 183 phone
> yon.lambert at alexandriava.gov
> www.alexandriava.gov/localmotion
>
>
>
> Allen Muchnick
> <allenmuchnick at yahoo.com>
>
> 08/13/2008 11:44 AM
>
>
> To
> bsc at bicycle.alexandria.va.us, Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov
> cc
> volcrano at gmail.com, dcwashcycle at gmail.com
> Subject
> Re: Alexandria
> police
> enforcing
> traffic laws on
> Commonwealth
> Ave. to protect
> bicyclists
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Hi Yon,
>
> Please explain how "motorists that drive in the bike lane to
> make right turns...[are] creating a hazard for bicyclists".
>
> 1) Do such motorists endanger bicyclists when no bicyclists
> are present?
>
> 2) Are any motorists driving faster than 10 MPH in the bike
> lanes and/or entering the bike lanes more than 200 feet in
> advance of the intersection?
>
> 3) Is even there sufficient roadway space along Commonwealth
> Ave approaching E Glebe Road for motorists to drive in the
> bike lanes for any significant distance or faster than walking
> speeds?
>
> Unless #2 above is true (or motorists are otherwise not
> yielding to bicyclists riding ahead in the bike lane), I
> believe the Police should encourage, not discourage,
> right-turning motorists to merge into the bike lane at least
> 50 feet before executing a right turn.
>
> To best protect bicyclists on Commonwealth Ave, especially
> from right-hook crashes, the Alexandria Police should be
> enforcing § 46.2-846 of the Code of Virginia
> [http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+46.2-846]
> which reads in part:
>
> =====
>
> Required position and method of turning at intersections;
> local regulations.
>
> A. Except where turning is prohibited, a driver intending to
> turn at an intersection or other location on any highway shall
> execute the turn as provided in this section.
>
> 1. Right turns: Both the approach for a right turn and a right
> turn shall be made as close as practicable to the right curb
> or edge of the roadway..
>
> =====
>
> Because bike lanes are part of the roadway, right-turning
> motorists should properly merge into the "bike lane space"
> well in advance of executing their turn.
>
> Also, the MUTCD recommends striping bike lanes so the left
> bike lane stripe either ends or is dashed approaching
> intersections, starting at 50 to 200 feet in advance of the
> stop line for the intersection.
>
> Allen Muchnick
> League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor #538
> Arlington VA
>
>
> --- On Wed, 8/13/08, Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov
> <Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov> wrote:
>
> > Alexandria police enforcing traffic laws on Commonwealth
> > Ave. to protect
> > bicyclists
> > FYI >> http://www.alexandriava..gov/localmotion/
>
>
>
>
>
>
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