Alexandria police enforcing traffic laws on Commonwealth Ave. to protect bicyclists

[Michael Malak]

(Full disclosure: I moved to Denver in 2006 after having lived in Northern Virginia since 1975.)

If the issue is cars stopped in the bike line, doesn't that make it somewhat of a capacity issue?  I.e., are we now starting to think of bicycle lanes as some kind of HOV lane where cars dare not tread?  That could be a good thing, but it's a change of perspective from the historical norm, which is that bicycle lanes allow cars to move faster than bicycles, in contrast to this situation where bicycles have the ability to move faster than cars.  That calls for an education of both the car and bicycle communities, which is what I suppose Alexandria is trying to do with its targeted enforcement.

Without that change in perspective (of bicycles being given transportation priority over cars at this particular intersection) and accompanying education of all, and if indeed this intersection is low-speed due to congestion, perhaps the bicycle lane should be eliminated in the approach to the intersection.


--- On Wed, 8/13/08, Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov <Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov> wrote:

> From: Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov <Yon.Lambert at alexandriava.gov>
> Subject: Re: Alexandria police enforcing traffic laws on Commonwealth Ave. to protect bicyclists
> To: "Allen Muchnick" <allenmuchnick at yahoo.com>
> Cc: volcrano at gmail.com, dcwashcycle at gmail.com, bsc at bicycle.alexandria.va.us
> Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2008, 4:03 PM
> 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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> BSC at Bicycle.Alexandria.VA.US
> http://Bicycle.Alexandria.VA.US/mailman/listinfo/bsc