Protected bike lane in Georgetown – close call

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

@Steve O 225884 wrote:

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.

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

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@Steve O 225893 wrote:

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 225893 wrote:

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.

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.

@ImaCynic 225896 wrote:

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.

A. It’s certainly a transportation option in many inner suburbs, and some urbanist islands in the suburbs, especially combined with transit

B. Doesn’t have to be the majority. If you go from 9% to 18%, say, that’s a huge change, especially if combined with changes that increase walking and transit (and changes to urban form that shorten car trips, changes to road pricing and parking policy that encourage car pooling, etc)

@arlcxrider 225887 wrote:

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.

That’s smart if you have any desire to go through there quickly. That whole stretch of road is chaos whether on a bike or in a car and the two-way PBL has significantly increased the complexity of the traffic pattern. I mostly use the PBL but take it slowly, and skip it altogether and use the boardwalk on “bad” weather days when there aren’t many pedestrians about.