New bike lane on Old Georgetown Rd in Bethesda

[Anonymous]

I’ve driven on OGR several times this week during rush hour and have not noticed the traffic being any worse. I’ve also walked along OGR and really don’t notice a difference in the traffic. Yesterday at 8 when I was walking the dog there was almost no traffic. It’s a very limited period when the traffic is heavy and even turn it only seemed to add a few minutes to my trip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I know there are standards that recommend green paint but I don’t want drivers looking down at the road surface because it limits their field of vision. All in favor of bike boxes for the OGR bike lanes but because the bike lanes are there I don’t see a need for them across the whole road. Just move the stop line back further so the bike box is in front of the stop line.

If only drivers would reliably stop behind the stop line

They stop behind the line more reliably than cyclists, if they stop at all.

so boring

But accurate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I know there are standards that recommend green paint but I don’t want drivers looking down at the road surface because it limits their field of vision. All in favor of bike boxes for the OGR bike lanes but because the bike lanes are there I don’t see a need for them across the whole road. Just move the stop line back further so the bike box is in front of the stop line.

If only drivers would reliably stop behind the stop line

They stop behind the line more reliably than cyclists, if they stop at all.

so boring

But accurate.

The funny thing is, when I'm on a bike, and I come to a complete stop at a stop sign, with my feet down on the ground, the drivers behind me get angry. Though come to think of it, the drivers behind me also get angry when I'm driving and come to a complete stop at a stop sign.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but those bike lanes are making Old Georgetown a complete cluster f***. Doubled the length of my commute this morning.

They need to do bike lanes that do not take away lanes for cars. It's not a zero-sum game, they need to add without taking away something

I drive "against" the rush hour flow each day and it is bumper to bumper the rush hour direction, even with work at home and hybrid work. So backed up. (I get on the beltway, and spouse goes up 270, so no we are not swapping out bikes)

Today there was an ambulance with its lights and sirens blaring en route to Suburban Hospital...stuck behind so many cars with nowhere to pull over.

Guess what, with 2 packed lanes southbound, and two pack lanes northbound, there was no where to move out of the way. Without a doubt there will be delays getting to the hospital. Are the cars supposed to ride over the posts into the bike lane? Or the ambulance? This is not a scenic bike route, but a commuter artery and emergency vehicle artery (e.g., fire stations and the B-CC rescue squad) hours each day.
I wonder how long until one needs to study the life and death impact of those two clogged lanes, on emergencies.

I just drove down the entirety of OGR. There was not one bike on OGR using those lanes, not surprising due to heavy rain today. The traffic was not good and I think that these types of changes to transportation that impact so many people should be up to a vote on how people would like to utilize tax payer funded roads. Off of this road are 2 merges onto interstate highways, NIH and a major thoroughfare to downtown Bethesda with delivery and semi trucks and as a previous poster stated, a hospital. With 2 lanes now gone, 33% of OGR is unusable for cars. We now have 33% of a major road underutilized. I'm sorry but let's look at the people who need to use these roads who arent in the "special" bike category. Older people and people with mobility issues, families, people commuting to work who have no access to a locker room or a shower, people running errands with multiple bags, people who don't have bikes, and every other person out there who needs to use a car for whatever reason for which a bike will not suffice.

It is a tragedy to lose people to bike accidents or to any kind of accidents. It does not mean that society has to overhaul everything to prevent it from ever happening again. In 2021 there were 597,000 bicycle related brain injuries from people falling off of bikes, not exclusive to car accidents. Maybe we should ban bikes - sounds like we'd save a lot of pain and suffering and visits to the ER.

Totally agree. No one wants anyone to get hurt but we have to face reality. Bikes and cars are not a good mix. Does it really matter whose fault that is? This is a case of caving to the minority at the expense of the majority. Especially since cyclists cannot start and stop the way cars can. Riding on the right side of large vehicles expecting to go straight when those vehicles may turn right is silly and to fault drivers for not having swivel heads because you cannot manage what is directly in front of you (at your personal choice) is truly ridiculous.

So you are saying that if a car and a cyclist are riding next to each other then:
- The car is in front of the cyclist so of course he should see it; but
- It is inconceivable to expect the driver to look to his/ her right before turning because that would require that his head be on a "swivel"
- The cyclist is somehow to be "faulted" for choosing to bike but the driver does not have the same responsibility for choosing to drive a two ton machine that could kill someone

Seems just a wee bit contradictory.

Why are you riding a bike next to a two ton machine that could kill someone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but those bike lanes are making Old Georgetown a complete cluster f***. Doubled the length of my commute this morning.

They need to do bike lanes that do not take away lanes for cars. It's not a zero-sum game, they need to add without taking away something

I drive "against" the rush hour flow each day and it is bumper to bumper the rush hour direction, even with work at home and hybrid work. So backed up. (I get on the beltway, and spouse goes up 270, so no we are not swapping out bikes)

Today there was an ambulance with its lights and sirens blaring en route to Suburban Hospital...stuck behind so many cars with nowhere to pull over.

Guess what, with 2 packed lanes southbound, and two pack lanes northbound, there was no where to move out of the way. Without a doubt there will be delays getting to the hospital. Are the cars supposed to ride over the posts into the bike lane? Or the ambulance? This is not a scenic bike route, but a commuter artery and emergency vehicle artery (e.g., fire stations and the B-CC rescue squad) hours each day.
I wonder how long until one needs to study the life and death impact of those two clogged lanes, on emergencies.

I just drove down the entirety of OGR. There was not one bike on OGR using those lanes, not surprising due to heavy rain today. The traffic was not good and I think that these types of changes to transportation that impact so many people should be up to a vote on how people would like to utilize tax payer funded roads. Off of this road are 2 merges onto interstate highways, NIH and a major thoroughfare to downtown Bethesda with delivery and semi trucks and as a previous poster stated, a hospital. With 2 lanes now gone, 33% of OGR is unusable for cars. We now have 33% of a major road underutilized. I'm sorry but let's look at the people who need to use these roads who arent in the "special" bike category. Older people and people with mobility issues, families, people commuting to work who have no access to a locker room or a shower, people running errands with multiple bags, people who don't have bikes, and every other person out there who needs to use a car for whatever reason for which a bike will not suffice.

It is a tragedy to lose people to bike accidents or to any kind of accidents. It does not mean that society has to overhaul everything to prevent it from ever happening again. In 2021 there were 597,000 bicycle related brain injuries from people falling off of bikes, not exclusive to car accidents. Maybe we should ban bikes - sounds like we'd save a lot of pain and suffering and visits to the ER.

Totally agree. No one wants anyone to get hurt but we have to face reality. Bikes and cars are not a good mix. Does it really matter whose fault that is? This is a case of caving to the minority at the expense of the majority. Especially since cyclists cannot start and stop the way cars can. Riding on the right side of large vehicles expecting to go straight when those vehicles may turn right is silly and to fault drivers for not having swivel heads because you cannot manage what is directly in front of you (at your personal choice) is truly ridiculous.

So you are saying that if a car and a cyclist are riding next to each other then:
- The car is in front of the cyclist so of course he should see it; but
- It is inconceivable to expect the driver to look to his/ her right before turning because that would require that his head be on a "swivel"
- The cyclist is somehow to be "faulted" for choosing to bike but the driver does not have the same responsibility for choosing to drive a two ton machine that could kill someone

Seems just a wee bit contradictory.

Why are you riding a bike next to a two ton machine that could kill someone?

Why are you driving a two ton machine that could kill someone next to people who are biking or walking?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but those bike lanes are making Old Georgetown a complete cluster f***. Doubled the length of my commute this morning.

They need to do bike lanes that do not take away lanes for cars. It's not a zero-sum game, they need to add without taking away something

I drive "against" the rush hour flow each day and it is bumper to bumper the rush hour direction, even with work at home and hybrid work. So backed up. (I get on the beltway, and spouse goes up 270, so no we are not swapping out bikes)

Today there was an ambulance with its lights and sirens blaring en route to Suburban Hospital...stuck behind so many cars with nowhere to pull over.

Guess what, with 2 packed lanes southbound, and two pack lanes northbound, there was no where to move out of the way. Without a doubt there will be delays getting to the hospital. Are the cars supposed to ride over the posts into the bike lane? Or the ambulance? This is not a scenic bike route, but a commuter artery and emergency vehicle artery (e.g., fire stations and the B-CC rescue squad) hours each day.
I wonder how long until one needs to study the life and death impact of those two clogged lanes, on emergencies.

I just drove down the entirety of OGR. There was not one bike on OGR using those lanes, not surprising due to heavy rain today. The traffic was not good and I think that these types of changes to transportation that impact so many people should be up to a vote on how people would like to utilize tax payer funded roads. Off of this road are 2 merges onto interstate highways, NIH and a major thoroughfare to downtown Bethesda with delivery and semi trucks and as a previous poster stated, a hospital. With 2 lanes now gone, 33% of OGR is unusable for cars. We now have 33% of a major road underutilized. I'm sorry but let's look at the people who need to use these roads who arent in the "special" bike category. Older people and people with mobility issues, families, people commuting to work who have no access to a locker room or a shower, people running errands with multiple bags, people who don't have bikes, and every other person out there who needs to use a car for whatever reason for which a bike will not suffice.

It is a tragedy to lose people to bike accidents or to any kind of accidents. It does not mean that society has to overhaul everything to prevent it from ever happening again. In 2021 there were 597,000 bicycle related brain injuries from people falling off of bikes, not exclusive to car accidents. Maybe we should ban bikes - sounds like we'd save a lot of pain and suffering and visits to the ER.

Totally agree. No one wants anyone to get hurt but we have to face reality. Bikes and cars are not a good mix. Does it really matter whose fault that is? This is a case of caving to the minority at the expense of the majority. Especially since cyclists cannot start and stop the way cars can. Riding on the right side of large vehicles expecting to go straight when those vehicles may turn right is silly and to fault drivers for not having swivel heads because you cannot manage what is directly in front of you (at your personal choice) is truly ridiculous.

So you are saying that if a car and a cyclist are riding next to each other then:
- The car is in front of the cyclist so of course he should see it; but
- It is inconceivable to expect the driver to look to his/ her right before turning because that would require that his head be on a "swivel"
- The cyclist is somehow to be "faulted" for choosing to bike but the driver does not have the same responsibility for choosing to drive a two ton machine that could kill someone

Seems just a wee bit contradictory.

Why are you riding a bike next to a two ton machine that could kill someone?

Why are you driving a two ton machine that could kill someone next to people who are biking or walking?

Because that’s where the road is? You can only drive cars on roads. It’s not exactly a surprise where a car will turn up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm sorry, but those bike lanes are making Old Georgetown a complete cluster f***. Doubled the length of my commute this morning.

They need to do bike lanes that do not take away lanes for cars. It's not a zero-sum game, they need to add without taking away something

I drive "against" the rush hour flow each day and it is bumper to bumper the rush hour direction, even with work at home and hybrid work. So backed up. (I get on the beltway, and spouse goes up 270, so no we are not swapping out bikes)

Today there was an ambulance with its lights and sirens blaring en route to Suburban Hospital...stuck behind so many cars with nowhere to pull over.

Guess what, with 2 packed lanes southbound, and two pack lanes northbound, there was no where to move out of the way. Without a doubt there will be delays getting to the hospital. Are the cars supposed to ride over the posts into the bike lane? Or the ambulance? This is not a scenic bike route, but a commuter artery and emergency vehicle artery (e.g., fire stations and the B-CC rescue squad) hours each day.
I wonder how long until one needs to study the life and death impact of those two clogged lanes, on emergencies.

I just drove down the entirety of OGR. There was not one bike on OGR using those lanes, not surprising due to heavy rain today. The traffic was not good and I think that these types of changes to transportation that impact so many people should be up to a vote on how people would like to utilize tax payer funded roads. Off of this road are 2 merges onto interstate highways, NIH and a major thoroughfare to downtown Bethesda with delivery and semi trucks and as a previous poster stated, a hospital. With 2 lanes now gone, 33% of OGR is unusable for cars. We now have 33% of a major road underutilized. I'm sorry but let's look at the people who need to use these roads who arent in the "special" bike category. Older people and people with mobility issues, families, people commuting to work who have no access to a locker room or a shower, people running errands with multiple bags, people who don't have bikes, and every other person out there who needs to use a car for whatever reason for which a bike will not suffice.

It is a tragedy to lose people to bike accidents or to any kind of accidents. It does not mean that society has to overhaul everything to prevent it from ever happening again. In 2021 there were 597,000 bicycle related brain injuries from people falling off of bikes, not exclusive to car accidents. Maybe we should ban bikes - sounds like we'd save a lot of pain and suffering and visits to the ER.

Totally agree. No one wants anyone to get hurt but we have to face reality. Bikes and cars are not a good mix. Does it really matter whose fault that is? This is a case of caving to the minority at the expense of the majority. Especially since cyclists cannot start and stop the way cars can. Riding on the right side of large vehicles expecting to go straight when those vehicles may turn right is silly and to fault drivers for not having swivel heads because you cannot manage what is directly in front of you (at your personal choice) is truly ridiculous.

So you are saying that if a car and a cyclist are riding next to each other then:
- The car is in front of the cyclist so of course he should see it; but
- It is inconceivable to expect the driver to look to his/ her right before turning because that would require that his head be on a "swivel"
- The cyclist is somehow to be "faulted" for choosing to bike but the driver does not have the same responsibility for choosing to drive a two ton machine that could kill someone

Seems just a wee bit contradictory.

Why are you riding a bike next to a two ton machine that could kill someone?

Why are you driving a two ton machine that could kill someone next to people who are biking or walking?

Because that’s where the road is? You can only drive cars on roads. It’s not exactly a surprise where a car will turn up.

Well, ok, so, that's where people are biking and walking there. Because that's where the bike lane and/or sidewalk and/or shoulder and/or road and/or bus stop is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I know there are standards that recommend green paint but I don’t want drivers looking down at the road surface because it limits their field of vision. All in favor of bike boxes for the OGR bike lanes but because the bike lanes are there I don’t see a need for them across the whole road. Just move the stop line back further so the bike box is in front of the stop line.

If only drivers would reliably stop behind the stop line

They stop behind the line more reliably than cyclists, if they stop at all.

so boring

But accurate.

The funny thing is, when I'm on a bike, and I come to a complete stop at a stop sign, with my feet down on the ground, the drivers behind me get angry. Though come to think of it, the drivers behind me also get angry when I'm driving and come to a complete stop at a stop sign.

Did you just learn to ride a bike yesterday?

Because most people who’ve been riding a bike for more than a few hours are able to come to a complete stop for a couple seconds on a bike without putting their feet down, then resume pedaling forward again.

If you still need to put your feet down after all that time riding, perhaps you shouldn’t be on a bike at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I know there are standards that recommend green paint but I don’t want drivers looking down at the road surface because it limits their field of vision. All in favor of bike boxes for the OGR bike lanes but because the bike lanes are there I don’t see a need for them across the whole road. Just move the stop line back further so the bike box is in front of the stop line.

If only drivers would reliably stop behind the stop line

They stop behind the line more reliably than cyclists, if they stop at all.

so boring

But accurate.

The funny thing is, when I'm on a bike, and I come to a complete stop at a stop sign, with my feet down on the ground, the drivers behind me get angry. Though come to think of it, the drivers behind me also get angry when I'm driving and come to a complete stop at a stop sign.

Did you just learn to ride a bike yesterday?

Because most people who’ve been riding a bike for more than a few hours are able to come to a complete stop for a couple seconds on a bike without putting their feet down, then resume pedaling forward again.

If you still need to put your feet down after all that time riding, perhaps you shouldn’t be on a bike at all.

Next you'll be blaming bicyclists for being unable to fly.

[Anonymous]

Why is it not on Wisconsin?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why is it not on Wisconsin?

Agreed, Wisconsin/Rockville Pike also needs bike lanes. In addition, the bike lanes on Old Georgetown should go all the way into downtown Bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I know there are standards that recommend green paint but I don’t want drivers looking down at the road surface because it limits their field of vision. All in favor of bike boxes for the OGR bike lanes but because the bike lanes are there I don’t see a need for them across the whole road. Just move the stop line back further so the bike box is in front of the stop line.

If only drivers would reliably stop behind the stop line

They stop behind the line more reliably than cyclists, if they stop at all.

so boring

But accurate.

The funny thing is, when I'm on a bike, and I come to a complete stop at a stop sign, with my feet down on the ground, the drivers behind me get angry. Though come to think of it, the drivers behind me also get angry when I'm driving and come to a complete stop at a stop sign.

Did you just learn to ride a bike yesterday?

Because most people who’ve been riding a bike for more than a few hours are able to come to a complete stop for a couple seconds on a bike without putting their feet down, then resume pedaling forward again.

If you still need to put your feet down after all that time riding, perhaps you shouldn’t be on a bike at all.

Please link to a video of you doing trackstands on a CaBi. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it not on Wisconsin?

Agreed, Wisconsin/Rockville Pike also needs bike lanes. In addition, the bike lanes on Old Georgetown should go all the way into downtown Bethesda.

You dna hop onto the existing bike lane at the trolley trail south of NIH or the grant road bike path of you’re going to the newer part of bethesda.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it not on Wisconsin?

Agreed, Wisconsin/Rockville Pike also needs bike lanes. In addition, the bike lanes on Old Georgetown should go all the way into downtown Bethesda.

You dna hop onto the existing bike lane at the trolley trail south of NIH or the grant road bike path of you’re going to the newer part of bethesda.

I really wish people would stop with the Trolley Trail. If I'm on a bike, and the Trolley Trail can reasonably get me where I want to go, then I take the Trolley Trail. If it can't, then I take a different route. It's the same decision-making process as when I'm driving. If I'm going from downtown Bethesda to Rockledge, for example, I am not going to take the Trolley Trail, because it won't get me there. You know what will get me there? Old Georgetown Road.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why is it not on Wisconsin?

Agreed, Wisconsin/Rockville Pike also needs bike lanes. In addition, the bike lanes on Old Georgetown should go all the way into downtown Bethesda.

You dna hop onto the existing bike lane at the trolley trail south of NIH or the grant road bike path of you’re going to the newer part of bethesda.

I really wish people would stop with the Trolley Trail. If I'm on a bike, and the Trolley Trail can reasonably get me where I want to go, then I take the Trolley Trail. If it can't, then I take a different route. It's the same decision-making process as when I'm driving. If I'm going from downtown Bethesda to Rockledge, for example, I am not going to take the Trolley Trail, because it won't get me there. You know what will get me there? Old Georgetown Road.

^^^And speaking of downtown Bethesda, I really wish the county would stop cars from parking in the bike lanes. Those plastic bollards aren't doing the job.