Bike lanes that literally no one uses -- why are we still doing this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Every time I see a ghost bike I say thank you.

This is a pretty terrible thing to believe, no matter how much you don’t like bikes.

There's one at Connecticut and L that memorializes a cyclist who died after blowing through a red light while intoxicated.

That doesn’t mean you should be thankful that they died, though?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC needs revenue. The city should require all bikes that go on roads to register and have a machine readable license plate, so when they speed downhill/blow through stop signs and red lights the city can issue tickets like they do for cars. want to use the road? then obey the law

How many bikes do you think are actually exceeding posted speed limits, exactly?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use the bike lanes every day to buy groceries, take my kids to the Metro, take my oldest to soccer practice, visit my parents, commute to work.

Oh wait. Of course I don’t. I use the bus and car for those.

Some bike lanes work great. Others are pure city-planner GGW (does that exist anymore?) hokum that actually do damage by increasing commuting times and further disadvantaging centralized jobs and retail.

Whatever Duffy is up to is likely politicized nonsense, but the bike lane lobby has got to chill. Losing Connecticut Avenue was a sign.

Bike lanes reduce walking, not driving. Not sure why we want to reduce walking.

Huh? Biking if frequently faster than driving, especially in town. It takes me 25 mins by bike from Bethesda to Water St in Georgetown. Can’t beat that by car in the morning.

Someone's breaking the law. Because that is only possible if you speed and/or run the lights.

They are likely using the Capital Crescent Trail.

This is the secret sauce. You don't need lights if cars aren't involved. This quickly makes bikes faster when they have their own infrastructure.

Cars are their own worst enemy, and because of traffic they end up as slow as bikes in urban areas. During rush hour they average 10-12 MPH, which is CaBi speed.

So you might as well save a large fortune and just build cities around the bike instead.

I haven’t seen drivers complaining about dedicated bike trails, just bike lanes that take away driving/parking lanes for cars. Separate bike trails are a win-win.

[Anonymous]

This is the most American thread I’ve ever read.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC needs revenue. The city should require all bikes that go on roads to register and have a machine readable license plate, so when they speed downhill/blow through stop signs and red lights the city can issue tickets like they do for cars. want to use the road? then obey the law

How many bikes do you think are actually exceeding posted speed limits, exactly?

every single one that blows through the stop sign at the bottom of a hill near my house, many times a day

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I use the bike lanes every day to buy groceries, take my kids to the Metro, take my oldest to soccer practice, visit my parents, commute to work.

Oh wait. Of course I don’t. I use the bus and car for those.

Some bike lanes work great. Others are pure city-planner GGW (does that exist anymore?) hokum that actually do damage by increasing commuting times and further disadvantaging centralized jobs and retail.

Whatever Duffy is up to is likely politicized nonsense, but the bike lane lobby has got to chill. Losing Connecticut Avenue was a sign.

Bike lanes reduce walking, not driving. Not sure why we want to reduce walking.

Huh? Biking if frequently faster than driving, especially in town. It takes me 25 mins by bike from Bethesda to Water St in Georgetown. Can’t beat that by car in the morning.

Someone's breaking the law. Because that is only possible if you speed and/or run the lights.

They are likely using the Capital Crescent Trail.

This is the secret sauce. You don't need lights if cars aren't involved. This quickly makes bikes faster when they have their own infrastructure.

Cars are their own worst enemy, and because of traffic they end up as slow as bikes in urban areas. During rush hour they average 10-12 MPH, which is CaBi speed.

So you might as well save a large fortune and just build cities around the bike instead.

I haven’t seen drivers complaining about dedicated bike trails, just bike lanes that take away driving/parking lanes for cars. Separate bike trails are a win-win.

Drivers don't even realize these exist. If they did, they would certainly complain about them. And then try to figure out how they can park in them.

But these are the best way forward, creating priority networks for different transportation types. Whether that be car, bike or transit. Completely separate, but parallel networks. No more complete-street nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC needs revenue. The city should require all bikes that go on roads to register and have a machine readable license plate, so when they speed downhill/blow through stop signs and red lights the city can issue tickets like they do for cars. want to use the road? then obey the law

How many bikes do you think are actually exceeding posted speed limits, exactly?

every single one that blows through the stop sign at the bottom of a hill near my house, many times a day

According to drivers around here, its not actually speeding until its 11+ the speed limit. Otherwise every car in motion is speeding.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC needs revenue. The city should require all bikes that go on roads to register and have a machine readable license plate, so when they speed downhill/blow through stop signs and red lights the city can issue tickets like they do for cars. want to use the road? then obey the law

How many bikes do you think are actually exceeding posted speed limits, exactly?

every single one that blows through the stop sign at the bottom of a hill near my house, many times a day

If you are in DC and they are not failing to yield or exceeding the posted speed limit, then that is legal:

https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/50-2201.04d

(a) A rider approaching a stop sign may go straight through the intersection or make a turn without stopping; provided, that the rider:

(1) Is travelling at an appropriate speed to reasonably assess and avoid hazards;

(2) Determines there is no immediate hazard; and

(3) Yields the right-of-way to pedestrians and to other traffic lawfully using the intersection.

[Anonymous]

I’ll add some pedestrian complaining too the mix. Yesterday, I was startled when an adult cyclist whizzed by me from behind when I was walking on the sidewalk. There was a completely empty bike lane there. I get that bikes of any size are allowed on most sidewalks, and I expect kids to ride on sidewalks almost all of the time, but this wine took me aback a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC needs revenue. The city should require all bikes that go on roads to register and have a machine readable license plate, so when they speed downhill/blow through stop signs and red lights the city can issue tickets like they do for cars. want to use the road? then obey the law

How many bikes do you think are actually exceeding posted speed limits, exactly?

every single one that blows through the stop sign at the bottom of a hill near my house, many times a day

If you are in DC and they are not failing to yield or exceeding the posted speed limit, then that is legal:

https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/50-2201.04d

(a) A rider approaching a stop sign may go straight through the intersection or make a turn without stopping; provided, that the rider:

(1) Is travelling at an appropriate speed to reasonably assess and avoid hazards;

(2) Determines there is no immediate hazard; and

(3) Yields the right-of-way to pedestrians and to other traffic lawfully using the intersection.

not according to DC's vision zero site https://visionzero.dc.gov/pages/bicycle-safety

How to Ride
Bicyclists must operate in a safe and nonhazardous manner and not endanger themselves or others.
Bicyclists should not ride more than two abreast except on paths or parts of the roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles. When riding two abreast, bicyclists may not impede traffic and must ride single file on a lane roadway.
Bicyclists are required to slow down and come to a complete stop at stop signs and traffic devices signaling red.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’ll add some pedestrian complaining too the mix. Yesterday, I was startled when an adult cyclist whizzed by me from behind when I was walking on the sidewalk. There was a completely empty bike lane there. I get that bikes of any size are allowed on most sidewalks, and I expect kids to ride on sidewalks almost all of the time, but this wine took me aback a bit.

cyclists have to dismount when passing pedestrians on the sidewalk

[Anonymous]

Overall, I’m of the opinion that “if you build it, they will come.” Im so grateful for the bike trails and lanes. I started biking my kids to school, parties, sports because of them and now I’m one less person clogging up traffic. Car traffic ruins our air, creates cranky people, and is unhealthy for the driver. I wish more people would embrace biking as they would benefit directly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC needs revenue. The city should require all bikes that go on roads to register and have a machine readable license plate, so when they speed downhill/blow through stop signs and red lights the city can issue tickets like they do for cars. want to use the road? then obey the law

How many bikes do you think are actually exceeding posted speed limits, exactly?

every single one that blows through the stop sign at the bottom of a hill near my house, many times a day

+1. I've lived in Old Town since 1988. I have seen countless instances where bicyclists blow through the stop signs at King and UNion only to hit people. Like, literally 50 times in my life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll add some pedestrian complaining too the mix. Yesterday, I was startled when an adult cyclist whizzed by me from behind when I was walking on the sidewalk. There was a completely empty bike lane there. I get that bikes of any size are allowed on most sidewalks, and I expect kids to ride on sidewalks almost all of the time, but this wine took me aback a bit.

cyclists have to dismount when passing pedestrians on the sidewalk

I have truly never, ever had this happen.

[Anonymous]

If you’re convinced a bike lane is never used, name it and I’ll show you the heat map from the Strava app