Protected bike lane in Georgetown - close call

[Steve O]

I am posting this on behalf of a co-worker
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Last night on my bike ride home I was very lucky that my (new) brakes saved me from a head-on collision with a car. I was riding in the bike lane at the Georgetown Waterfront (see screenshot) when a car quickly drove into the bike lane and completely blocked it right where I was going, presumably to save a parking spot. The protection for bikes there is not good. I took a photo of his license plate and would like to make those who can put better protection for bikes there aware of the very dangerous situation.

Do you know who I should contact? I am thinking of the police, but maybe you have better advice.

[ImaCynic]

Expect the unexpected is the norm and not the exception when it comes to urban riding, better get used to this.

[arlcxrider]

To be honest, I just take the lane in both directions underneath the Whitehurst. The PBL is not worth the trouble due to encroachments from car drivers and inattentive pedestrians. I like to have room to maneuver when the feces inevitably hits the fan.

[Judd]

I am posting this on behalf of a co-worker
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Last night on my bike ride home I was very lucky that my (new) brakes saved me from a head-on collision with a car. I was riding in the bike lane at the Georgetown Waterfront (see screenshot) when a car quickly drove into the bike lane and completely blocked it right where I was going, presumably to save a parking spot. The protection for bikes there is not good. I took a photo of his license plate and would like to make those who can put better protection for bikes there aware of the very dangerous situation.

Do you know who I should contact? I am thinking of the police, but maybe you have better advice.

Greg Billing is the Georgetown BID transportation director. They’ve had some success with getting stuff done.


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[Steve O]

Expect the unexpected is the norm and not the exception when it comes to urban riding, better get used to this.

And thus we should expect that the percentage of people cycling as a transportation option will forever remain in the low single digits.

[NoVaNoobGA]

And thus we should expect that the percentage of people cycling as a transportation option will forever remain in the low single digits.

This is unfortunately true. Reading neighborhood chatter in the suburbs it's all about the dangers that prevent people moving up from round-the-block-ers to transportation bikers.

[Steve O]

This is unfortunately true. Reading neighborhood chatter in the suburbs it's all about the dangers that prevent people moving up from round-the-block-ers to transportation bikers.

It only has to be true if we accept the status quo as the forever future. If instead we imagine a different and better system, set our sights, and continue to push for change - both incremental and large-scale - then perhaps it will not always be true. So I do not accept the admonition "better get used to this," since it is the cry of the defeated, not the rallying call for the visionary.

[ImaCynic]

And thus we should expect that the percentage of people cycling as a transportation option will forever remain in the low single digits.

Yes, and a "cycling as a transportation option" really only applies in the context of urban mobility and going beyond this is simply not an option for majority of the population. Furthermore, I'd argue that most sees cycling as an activity, not a mean of transportation.

[Steve O]

Yes, and a "cycling as a transportation option" really only applies in the context of urban mobility and going beyond this is simply not an option for majority of the population. Furthermore, I'd argue that most sees cycling as an activity, not a mean of transportation.

What is your point? That my friend should not report it to anyone? That we should accept drivers doing anything they want, because that's just the way it is?

[viennabiker]

In my experience, this is the most problematic PBL -- or least protected PBL -- in the area. It has gotten better; there are no longer ice cream vendors parked in the lane. But besides parked cars and strolling pedestrians, those walking to or from parked cars are often problems. But I think most dangerous are cars pulling out from one of the side streets and either looking the wrong way or--yes, this really is routine--pulling out and waving as if to thank a bicyclist for slamming on the breaks--are common. It is probably worse in the summer when Georgetown and the river draw a lot of weekend traffic. Glad you weren't hurt.