Braddock Bike Day recap

Bike rodeo course

Several FABB members were present yesterday for the first Braddock Bike Day at Lake Braddock High School. Fairfax Co police were on hand to conduct a bike rodeo. Kids were given a safety talk first and then were led through the course that consisted of several bike handling drills: a tight turning course, a balance test, a figure 8 course, weaving between cones, and a stopping drill.

Douglas and Kerie at the FABB table

Oasis Bike Works was on hand to check out the kid's bikes and do safety checks and minor repairs on other bikes. Supervisor Cook and his staff were there and we discussed possible options for the event next year.

There was a small turnout, which is to be expected on the first year of the event. We talked to the few people who stopped by our table about our bike advocacy activities and discussed bike routes in the area. Next year we hope there are other activities that could draw more participants. Having a bike tour of the area would be one possibility, similar to the Tour de Lee that was held for several years in the Lee District.

We rode to the event from Reston, carrying the canopy that you see in the photo on the left, that was donated by REI, along with other supplies in our BOB trailer. It was a nice18 mile ride along the W&OD Trail to Vienna, then taking back roads past the Vienna Metro station to Five Oaks Dr to Plantation Parkway to Route 50, and University Dr to the GMU campus. There are new shared lane markings on George Mason Blvd leading into the Campus. I should say there was one shared lane marking; there need to be more. As evidenced by the motorist who honked at us as we approached the campus, motorists haven't gotten the word to expect bikes on the road.

From GMU we took Sideburn Rd to Commonwealth Blvd which turns into Gunea Rd to Olley Lane to Lake Braddock Rd to the high school.

Update 6/1/2011: See the Connection article on the event, First Braddock Bike Day Promotes Bicycle Safety

Douglas Stewart, a volunteer for Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, or FABB, stressed basic bicycle care.

“Maintaining a bike is really easy, you just have to pay attention,” he said. “Keep your bike in good working order, tires pumped at the right pressure.”

Stewart also promoted the creation of more bicycle-friendly county roads. FABB’s goal is to “make biking better in Fairfax County,” he said, and group members distributed fact sheets about increasing bicycle transportation.

“A lot of people are afraid of getting hit from behind on the road, but very few accidents occur that way,” he said. “A lot of trips here are 5 miles or less. If more people did those by bike, we’d have a lot less traffic.”

The City of Fairfax has begun creating “sharrows”— road markings indicating bicycle lanes, Stewart said, but Fairfax County needs to build these extra road passages too.

Herndon Festival to have bike valet again this year

Ian MacDonald of Herndon's Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee (and FABB) is helping to organize the free bike valet at the Herndon Festival next weekend. The valet will be open from 10 a.m. to dusk on Saturday June 4th and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday June 5th. The Bike Lane will be on hand to do provide mechanical help:

The Herndon Festival will feature a Bike Valet service till dusk on Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday provided by the Pedestrian and Bicycle Advisory Committee. The Bike Valet is a free service. Bike racks will be located at the intersection of Elden and Lynn Streets. The Bike Lane will be on hand to help with repairs and tune ups. Relax and enjoy the Festival - knowing your bike is safe with the Bike Valet.

Ian is looking for volunteers to help staff the valet. If you can help please let Ian know your availability at bikevalet@email.iwasdot.com.

Braddock Bike Day this Saturday

The Braddock District is hosting Braddock Bike Day this Saturday, May 28 from 10-2 p.m. at Lake Braddock Secondary School. Members of the Fairfax County Police bike team will be on hand to conduct a bike rodeo and discuss bike safety. This is also a good chance to have your child's (and your) bike checked out by mechanics from Oasis Bike Works, a locally owned bike shop in the City of Fairfax.

FABB will be on hand to discuss our work including promoting Safe Routes to School and bicycle education. If you're staying in town for the holiday why not check out the event.

This is the first year the event is being held and we're encouraged that Supervisor Cook is supporting bicycling in his district.

Bicyclist struck by ice cream truck - Updated 5/27/11

For the second year in a row a Fairfax bicyclist was involved in a collision with a motorist on Bike to Work Day. Last year Abdul Chadli was killed when a motorist lost control of his vehicle and struck and killed Abdul as he was crossing Forum Dr at Lee Hwy/Rt 29. This year a cyclist was riding on the sidewalk along Main St in Fairfax City when the driver of an ice cream truck turned onto Main St and struck the cyclist and dragged him for a short distance.

The cyclist was riding down the sidewalk westbound on Main Street when he was hit by an ice cream truck attempting to turn out of the Fairfax Square Apartment complex shortly after 7 p.m. on Friday. The truck ran him over and dragged him for a brief time.

His injuries were non-life threatening, said Sgt. Daniel Grimm of the Fairfax City Police Department.

Impha Gassama, 52, from New Carrollton, Md. was charged with failing to yield the right of way from a private drive.

See the Fairfax City Patch article along with the FABB comment on the crash.

Update: Fairfax Times article on the crash, Burke cyclist run over by ice cream truck

Modifications to bicycle commuter tax benefit law introduced

The Bicycle Commuter Tax Benefit has been in place since January 2009. Bicycle commuters who bike 3 or more times a week for a month can receive $20 toward bike commuting expenses. Unfortunately not many companies have implemented the benefit. It cannot be used in conjunction with the transit benefit. It's not easy to implement.

Congressman Earl Blumenauer of Oregon introduced the bill that became the Bicycle Commuter Tax Benefit. He understands the limitations of the law and wants to make changes. He is sponsoring the Commuter Relief Act:

For bike commuters, the Commuter Relief Act would:

• Increase the amount of the bike commuter benefit from $20 to $40 a month.
• Allow bike commuters to combine the bike commuter benefit with other fringe benefits — up to $200. For example, You could use the $40 bike benefit and collect up to $160 of your public transit benefit.

In addition, the Commuter Relief Act would:

• Cap all transportation fringe benefits at $200 a month (the parking benefit is currently $230, the transit cap will drop to $130 at the end of 2011).
• Allow self-employed people to receive transit fringe benefits for work-related commuting.
• Require employers offering a parking transportation fringe benefit to also offer employees the option to take cash instead. This would create an incentive for more people to leave the car at home and take cheaper options, like transit, biking, and walking.
• Create a 10 percent tax credit for vanpool expenditures

Congressman Moran is also sponsoring the bill

"With the some of the worst traffic in the nation, Northern Virginians are no strangers to wasting gasoline while sitting in rush hour traffic," said Moran. "Providing incentives for commuters to carpool, bike, or take public transportation is not only good for our environment, but for our pocketbooks. It’s one of the best ways we can address traffic congestion in the region."