FABB receives bike light giveaway grant

FABB has conducted bike light giveaways for the past several years. We provide free front and rear lights to cyclists, many of whom depend on bicycles as their main form of transportation. This year we received a very generous grant from the 495 Express Lanes Community Grant Program to conduct another free bike light campaign. Thanks to Transurban for supporting our work.

This winter we've been giving out lights to unlit cyclists we encounter on the roads and trails and now we have the resources to purchase more lights. We are using Beam Bug lights which are much simpler to install than the lights we used previously. We will also be handing out highly reflective pants straps to cyclists and others. We often encounter walkers and runners at night who have no reflective gear and the straps help make them more visible.

A special thanks to bikes@vienna who give us a good price on the lights.

Video of bike ride from DC to Tysons

I happened across a video of a ride from Pennsylvania Ave. in DC to Tysons, mostly using trails, posted on The WashCycle. It was recorded about a year ago by Greenbelt Bike Videos.

I'm very familiar with most of this route which primarily consists of the Custis Trail to W&OD Trail. Part of the last section to Tysons is on a route that's new to me, the Beltway crossing on Barbour Rd.

Where the W&OD Trail crosses Shreve Lane the rider takes a right and quick left to follow Pinecastle Rd to Barbour Rd which crosses the Beltway. The rider continues on Barbour then turns left on Idylwood Rd. I am often harassed along this stretch of Idylwood Rd where drivers seem very aggressive and intolerant of bicyclists.

The rider then stops at the intersection of Idyl Lane and Idylwood Rd (see the sign for Idylwood Towers in the background) to check directions. After a short pause they head down Idyl Lane only to turn around and climb back up to Idylwood Rd, a fairly steep climb, and turns right on Idylwood. This is a really bad section that's narrow with lots of aggressive traffic. We've lobbied for better bike facilities here. There is funding for paved shoulders but there are many physical challenges to implementation. Bicycles May Use Full Lane signs were installed by VDOT last year.

The rider continues on this bad stretch of Idylwood toward Gallows Rd. There's lots of traffic and many close passes. Surprisingly the rider makes a U-turn and passes through this same section back to a left on Idyl Lane, a relatively bike-friendly road. Wayfinding signs indicating good routes to major destinations are definitely needed in Fairfax.

At Route 7 the rider turns left on the service road headed west toward Tysons. They then make their way through the parking lots and services roads parallel to Route 7, a route identified on the Tysons Master Plan as a possible bike route given a few improvements.

Where the service road ends the rider follows the sidewalk past Marshall High School. Past Marshall HS there is a service road that could have been an alternative. At Lisle Ave the rider crosses Route 7 and rides to the Westin Hotel.

While the Westin may have a Tysons address, it's on the periphery. To reach Tysons one would have to continue on Route 7 and cross the Beltway, which in the past has been one of the more dangerous places to ride. A cyclist was killed riding there in 2008 and a pedestrian was killed in the same location in 2010. Since the Route 7 bridge was rebuilt there is now a wide side path that cyclists can use.

It is possible to ride to Tysons and it's gradually getting better. With over 100,000 people working there, direct, safe bike routes with good wayfinding signs, are desperately needed.

WABA releases mobile app for reporting crashes

On January 22 WABA released their first mobile app, The WABA Crash Help Kit for iPhone and Android which allows cyclists to enter pertinent information regarding a bike crash. See the WABA blog post about the app, the GGW post, and one from DCist (thanks to WashCycle for the references).

As you can see from the image on the right, the app contains 9 main sections: Report Accident, Modify Old Report, Personal Information, Emergency Information, Safety Tips, The Bike Laws (DC only), Emergency Light, Expense Tracker, and About WABA.

Here's a description from the iTunes WABA Crash Help Kit app page:

Description

Use the Washington Area Bicyclist Association mobile app to accurately record information at the scene of a bicycle crash and reference current Washington, D.C. bike laws.

1. Record important crash data using your phone's camera, voice recorder, and an in-app text notepad and drawing pad.
2. Automatically add your street location to crash reports using GPS.
3. Email crash reports to yourself and WABA, or provide a crash report to a victim as a witness.
4. Look up D.C.'s bicycling laws and common enforcement errors.
5. Call 911, a taxi or car service.
6. Store personal information, like ownership records for multiple bicycles.
7. Locate a nearby hospital, police station or bike shop.
8. Use an emergency flashlight.
9. Learn more about WABA.

The main section is Report Accident. You can enter Driver Information, Witness Information (2 witnesses), Injured Information, and Police Information. You can also enter the crash location using the phone's GPS. You can then enter Road Condition, Light Condition, and Weather Condition. You can enter Personal and Bicycle information, and record various media: photos, audio, notes, and drawings.

The bike laws currently only cover DC. WABA wants to include MD and VA laws but needs to get them into the proper format. According to Shane Farthing of WABA, "Adding VA and MD laws to the app would require a review of our existing web content for correctness and completeness, as well as substantial reworking to fit the app format." There's also the complication of dealing with laws in local jurisdictions. The next version of the Bike Laws section will likely only include VA and MD statewide laws.

Can you report a crash in Fairfax? Absolutely. According to Shane, "We want all the reports we can get regionwide." I've downloaded the app and hope that I don't ever have to use it. If I do, I'll be able to gather all the info needed to document the crash. Thanks to WABA for making this resource available.

Rally in support of favorable cycling laws

Ride Richmond is promoting Bicycle Action Day on Tuesday, January 29. According to the flier posted on the Ride Richmond site, the purpose is to "Petition in support of favorable cycling laws." Riders will gather at 10:30am at the VCU Compass. At 10:45 the group will ride to the Capitol for a rally at 11:00.

On the Action Day page is a list of bicycle-related legislation being proposed this year in Virginia, along with a number of general talking points in support of bicycling.

1. Roads are for people, not just people in cars. The streetplan of Richmond (and Virginia) was well established long before the first automobile appeared here. Most local roads in Richmond predate the arrival of automobiles.

2. Virginia law gives cyclists all the rights of operators of motor vehicles, except on limited access highways. Virginia Code Section 46.2-800 et seq.

3. Cyclists pay more than their share for roads, because virtually all cyclists also own cars and pay gas tax, and also pay general taxes. Contrary to what many seem to assume, our local roads are not fully paid for, (if at all), by car taxes or gasoline taxes. Given the vanishingly small impact of cyclists on road maintenance, one can easily argue that cyclists who ride their bikes instead of driving their cars are subsidizing those who choose only to drive. It’s historical fact that the “Good Roads Movement” which led to widespread paving of roads, was started by cyclists.

...

GMU encourages students to register their bikes

George Mason University (GMU) wants more students to register their bikes on campus. As an incentive, they are giving away a free OnGuard U-Lock. See the info below from Michael Lagana of the Mason Cycling Club:

Mason has a bicycle registration program that allows anyone who is affiliated with this campus and has a G number (it's our personal identifier with the school) to register their bike and receive a free OnGuard U-Lock ($40 value), a personalized registration sticker, and a free VDOT guide to rules of the road for cyclists. I've made this little three-step, how-to guide for anyone who would like to register. More info can be found at bike.gmu.edu.

3 foot passing and following too close bill passes Senate

On Wednesday the Senate Transportation Committee unanimously voted to approve SB 1069, Following too closely; includes bicycles, mopeds, etc., increases minimum clearance. The bill prevents motorists from following bicycles too closely and it increases the passing distance from two feet to three feet. This is the text of the bill:

"Following too closely; passing other vehicles. Includes bicycles, electric personal assistive mobility devices, electric power-assisted bicycles, and mopeds among vehicles that the driver of a motor vehicle shall not follow more closely than is reasonable. The bill also increases from two feet to three feet the minimum clearance between a passing vehicle and an overtaken bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, moped, animal, or animal-drawn vehicle."

The next step is approval by the full Senate. See the VBF reports on the bill. Thanks to VBF for monitoring progress of the bill and speaking out in support during the committee hearing.

Time to buy Bicycling Forever stamps?

Postal rates are going up on Sunday (from $0.45 to $0.46) and Kelley of FABB pointed out that this is a good time to buy the Bicycling Forever stamps. I have some that I often use when mailing FABB letters. It's a easy way to promote bicycling. The press release the US Postal Service released with the stamps sums up the many reasons why bicycling promotes good health: Postal Service’s Bicycling Stamps Promote Healthy Lifestyle Cycling Reduces Obesity, Heart Disease; Improves Muscle Tone, Strength:

“Minneapolis is a city that’s universally regarded as one of the most bicycle-friendly in America,” said Michael Amato, vice president, Engineering Systems, in dedicating the stamps. “We’re saluting today a city whose citizens had the perseverance and the foresight to create a bicycle-friendly environment. Moreover, bicycling is a low-impact aerobic activity that just about everyone — from young children to retirees — can enjoy. Riding a bike lowers the risk of obesity, heart disease and breast cancer while improving muscle tone and strength. It also can lower stress. Whether riding along a lakeside path or through the bike lanes of a bustling city, bicycling is therapeutic and just plain fun.”

Joining Amato in dedicating the stamps were Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and Angela Keegan Benson, assistant news director, WCCO-TV.

“It’s fitting that the Postal Service has chosen Minneapolis for the national release of new bicycling stamps during Twin Cities Bike Walk Week,” said Mayor Rybak. “Minnesotans use their bikes for every reason imaginable – recreation, making the quick trip to the store, the commute to work and many more. Everyone benefits when people ride bikes, so join your neighbor and hop on yours today.”