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Junior Member
Bicycling Commuter Traffic Reports
I would like to see WABA partner with local television and radio stations, like WAMU, to include traffic conditions from a cycling perspective. The confluence of warmer weather, Capitol Bikeshare, and increased cycling in general, creates a synergy where morning and afternoon cycling conditions are very much in need.
Please let me read your thoughts.
Regularly Contributing Member
Kate Ryan might be a good first step http://kateryanreports.blogspot.com/
Very Senior Member
"It's a beautiful morning out there, folks, so let's be careful---we've got the NoVa Downhill-Fred Racing Team out there passing without warning and failing on the uphills and flats...Also, frustrated folks late for work, stuck in metal boxes, and highly pissed that you are moving faster than they are..."
Sorry, couldn't resist.
I really need to log off the internet and go for a ride.
"The joggers seem particularly oblivious on the trails today. Bring your air horns to wake them up..."
Junior Member
Originally Posted by Riley Casey
I agree levity should be included in the reports but after the news tells us where the trees are down or which surfaces are either flooded or covered in ice, etc..
Perhaps a blog is the way of the future to get current information... However it is high time for cyclists to get their 30 seconds in the morning and afternoons.
Everyone talks about awareness of cyclists, or the lack there of, here's also another way to increase awareness and provide helpful information.
Junior Member
I’d like to see someone turn these into public service announcements:
…and there’s a backup on the WO&D at Wiehle Avenue as a Cadillac Escalade driver failed to yield to two bicycle riders at the crosswalk. Oh wait, the next driver stopped, and the WO&D is moving again. . . remember folks, pedestrians and bicycle riders have right of way at crosswalks without signals. . .
[http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp...+cod+46.2-924]
. . . and there’s a problem at Sunrise Valley Drive and the WO&D, one car stopped for a bicycle rider to cross at the crosswalk and a Cadillac Escalade passed that car. Oh wait, the next driver stopped and the WO&D is moving again. . . remember folks, pedestrians and bicycle riders have right of way at crosswalks without signals and if you pass a car stopped for pedestrians at a crosswalk, that’s an example of Reckless Driving in Fairfax County, and can cost you your license for up to six months. . .
[http://search.municode.com/html/1005...PRCOOPAU.html]
. . . one lane is moving slowly on Beauregard Street as a bicycle rider works her way up a hill. Oh wait she turned onto a side street. Remember folks, bicycle riders have every legal right to the road and when the lane is too narrow to allow a driver to safely pass a bicyclist, the safest place for that bicycle rider is in the center of that lane so that drivers don’t try to squeeze by. . .
[http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp...+cod+46.2-905]
Regularly Contributing Member
I get my "morning and afternoon cycling conditions" from weather.com. If it's 75 degrees and sunny, people will be out and the trails will be crowded. If it's pouring rain, the joggers and walkers will mostly be gone. If it's in the 20s, I'll have the trails mostly to myself.
The problem -- to me -- with "traffic reports" on the radio/TV is that I'd have to get them before I leave home/work. By the time I get to a problem spot, there is a good chance the "traffic" issue will be resolved. (If it's snow/ice, I'll have a good idea from weather .com) A bad traffic problem -- from a motor vehicle perspective -- can last quite a while, but most form a cycling perspective don't seem to last very long. Right off hand, I can't think of a traffic issue in the last 5-10 years, that has really been a problem. While radio traffic reports can be pretty much real time, I'm not listening to the radio (or anything else) when I am riding, so they would not help.
A blog, especially during the winter, with the status of the various trails, would be helpful.
Junior Member
If you are a 5:00AM cycling commuter then you may not hear any report on the radio before you leave your home. This is currently the case for automotive commuters. However, you could text a report for those cyclist who depart later than you.
Again, I believe this is as much part of a bicycling awareness campaign for non-cyclists as it is for us.
I spend all day thinking about bikes and talking to people on the internet about them.
The Road and Trail Conditions section on this forum is helpful. I think a forum is a better method than a blog. There are only a few people with access to any particular blog. With a forum, any registered member can post road or trail updates. I agree that it's more useful in the winter. Snow and ice cause problems throughout the day whereas bike traffic congestion on the trails will increase and decrease quickly in the summer months.
TheWashCycle also posts occasional updates on trail conditions. He focuses primarily on D.C. but he also covers Arlington bike issues on a regular basis.
http://www.thewashcycle.com/
Somewhat Regular Member
This morning, there was a tree down across Lewinsville blocking dozens and dozens of cars while the VDOT crew cut it up.
Glad I wasn't in a car.
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