The continuing saga of Stop signs on the W&OD Trail

In today's Washington Post there is a letter from our friend Rhonda Krafchin to Dr. Gridlock about motorists who stop abruptly for cyclists on the W&OD Trail. Her concern is: "If I’m obeying my stop sign, I may have a driver to my right come to an unsigned stop. Before I proceed, I need to be clear what a driver to my left is doing, and that driver may not be stopping." That's why I always recommend that cyclists proceed through a crosswalk "one lane at a time." Once you're sure you've controlled that lane, proceed to the next one.

However, I appreciate motorists who stop to allow me to cross at a crosswalk. For one thing, once I"m in the crosswalk they are required by law to yield. The Stop signs just confuse the issue. The discussion about the W&OD Trail Stop signs has a long history and won't be resolved soon. We wrote the following letter to Dr. Gridlock regarding the situation:

Dear Dr. Gridlock,

You summed up the situation in the first line of your comment on the letter from Rhonda Krafchin in Sunday's Post: "Thus, we continue our conversation about who’s supposed to do what at crossings and when they’re supposed to do it." While I understand Rhonda's concerns, I also appreciate motorists stopping for pedestrians and bicyclists at crosswalks. 

The stops signs on the W&OD Trail adjacent to crosswalks are a contradiction. Normally a stop sign indicates a road user must wait until traffic clears before entering the intersection. From 46.2-821: "Before proceeding, he shall yield the right-of-way to the driver of any vehicle approaching on such other highway from either direction." A pedestrian (and bicyclist) has the right-of-way in a crosswalk once they've entered the crosswalk. From 46.2-924, "A. The driver of any vehicle on a highway shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian crossing such highway: 1. At any clearly marked crosswalk, whether at mid-block or at the end of any block;" Trail users can't disregard oncoming traffic before entering the crosswalk, but they aren't required to stop if there is no crossing traffic.

VDOT recently conducted a study of the zig-zag markings adjacent to crossings on the W&OD trail. As part of their study they recognized this contradiction: "RECOMMENDATION 5. A review of the Code of Virginia should be undertaken with respect to those sections dealing with trail users on multiuse pathways and their obligation to comply with non-signalized traffic control devices. The purpose of the review should be to determine if legislative changes could help alleviate the confusion about right-of-way, and if so, to suggest appropriate legislative change proposals. Such a review could be initiated, or led, by VDOT’s Traffic Engineering Division with assistance from staff at VTRC. A cursory review of the Code language in this study suggested that trail users on multiuse pathways may not be obligated to comply with non-signalized traffic control devices where the trail intersects a roadway. In addition, the research found there is confusion among motorists and trail users about right-of-way laws regarding the W&OD Trail where a STOP sign is directed toward the trail users. This confusion could compromise safety at these and other similar multiuse trail/roadway intersections."

A major problem with the W&OD Trail stop signs is that police have used them as an excuse to target cyclists for not coming to a complete stop, even when there is no crossing traffic. However, in at least one instance, a cyclist was ticketed by police who used 46.2-821 as the reason. That ticket was dismissed since a trail is not a "highway."

Bruce