Meeting with Traffic Division police

Dangerous pass on Vale Rd from video clip

Yesterday I met with Lt. Grinnan of Fairfax County Police Department Traffic Division. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss cyclist harassment. At FABB we hear of many instances of harassment of cyclists by motorists. It's likely that anyone who regularly rides in Fairfax encounters dangerous and aggressive motorist behavior.

I started the meeting by discussing FABB, our goals and projects. I explained that we represent cyclists who use bicycles for transportation and that many people rely on bicycles as their primary way to get around. Without a connected, safe bicycle network, we often must ride on congested commuter routes. I said that all too often we are harassed by motorists for no other reason than that we're riding a bicycle.

As a way of getting my point across I noted that on my ride to his office, on Woodburn Rd for a short stretch from the Cross County Trail, I was passed illegally by 4 motorists, one of whom honked, another two that drove completely into the oncoming lane of traffic, across a double yellow line. In one case approaching motorists had to nearly stop to avoid hitting one of the passing vehicles.

One reason for the meeting was to discuss two recent reports of harassment, one on Vale Road in the Vienna area where motorists often illegally pass on a hilly section and they often pass closer than 2 feet.  We later sent two short video clips showing examples of this behavior.

The other instance involves a mother riding her daughter to school, with the daughter in a trailer behind the bike. A motorist on more than one occasion approached the mother, rolled down her window, and screamed about how dangerous it is to ride in traffic.

Lt. Grinnan was very sympathetic. He agreed that motorists should be ticketed for their illegal behavior. He also confirmed that unless a policeman witnesses behavior that is a misdemeanor, a ticket cannot be issued by police to the motorist. However, a magistrate-issued summons can be issued to the motorist by an officer.

He explained in detail what cyclists need to do to report aggressive motorist behavior. We can file a report for the record that does not lead to any charges against the motorist but the report is kept on file. The other option is to file a complaint with the magistrate's office and ask that a citation be issued. The following are steps that should be taken if you are harassed by a motorist:

How to report an aggressive driver

1. To file a report and not file charges:
1. Call the non-emergency number (703-691-2131) and request to speak to someone in the Citizen Reporting Section. Have the license plate number, description of the vehicle and driver, time of day, location.
2. A case number will be generated. The information is entered into the Integrated Law Enforcement Automated Field Reporting Dispatch System (ILEADS) but the motorist is not notified.
2. To file a report and file charges against an aggressive driver:
1. Call the non-emergency number and ask to file a police report. Have the license plate number, description of the vehicle and driver, time of day, location. If the information agrees with information on file, the driver is identified. Ask for the case number, name, address, and date of birth of the driver. This information is needed when contacting the Magistrate's office.
2. Contact the Magistrate's office (in person). Ask to file a complaint against the motorist identified above. Provide the case number and personal information. A magistrate-issued summons could then be issued to the motorist by an officer. If the motorist contests the ticket, a court date will be set. Since the incident was not witnessed by an officer, he/she will not be present in court. When the case is heard, the motorist and complainant will have an opportunity to testify.

We plan to test this system and will record responses received during each phase. In the past we have been discouraged from filing a report since "there is nothing we can do." We know there are some measures that can be taken but they require work on our part. We think it's worth the effort.

Cyclists can also ask for increased enforcement on roads where cyclists are harassed. We have done so for a section of Vail Road. Contact the District station where the road is located. Provide specific information about time and place of incidents. Update: Here's the video clip of the close pass.

Bike commuting across Chain Bridge

Cyclists crossing Chain Bridge in McLean say it’s treacherous with traffic, but they’ll keep pedaling is the title of The State of NoVa's blog post. The FABB treasurer uses this bridge on his commute from Vienna to Bethesda:

Photo: Washington Post

Every morning, Dorien Van Herpen fills two red bags with items she’ll need later at work. She places them behind her seat, then pulls out of the family garage in McLean to begin her commute to Washington. If she hits Chain Bridge at just the right time, she catches the early sun rising over the Potomac River, on her way to the Washington International School. An hour later, husband Willem Janssen will trace the same route over Chain Bridge on his way to the World Bank.

Unlike the continuous mass of drivers inching over Chain Bridge weekday mornings, Van Herpen and Janssen are a commuter cycling couple who navigate their hybrid bicycles to work in all degrees of weather. They are part of the widening stream of cyclists crossing Chain Bridge to workplaces in the District and Maryland...

To access the Capital Crescent Trail from Chain Bridge, cyclists maneuver down a zig-zag ramp to the C&O Canal tow path. If they want to head north, they have to cross Canal Road, without a crosswalk, walk along the edge of the road to a wooded footpath that leads to the Crescent Trail. The other option is to ride the tow path south about a mile to Flecher's Cove, switch onto the Capital Crescent, then reverse direction and ride back north, to access places like Bethesda.

"The C&O between Chain Bridge and Flecher's is the worst part of the entire path," says Laura Tuck, who started cycling to work on G Street with her husband, Jim DeMocker, in September. "Now, there are puddles and stuff, but it's like bone jarring, compared to outside, which is beautiful, they refinished." Tuck says the tow path can give you a headache, until you reach the pavement of the Capital Crescent. "It's just worse than washboard."

"I think more people would do this, if they made that a more hospitable spot," said DeMocker. "Fist-size cobblestone type things, I mean, they just poke up.

Even having to dodge puddles, stones and cars, Tuck says, "It's taken the worst part of our day, which is the commute, and made it just the best part. The sun rises about 7:15 and the steam coming up over the river, and it is just so nice."...

FABB Safe Routes to School page

We recently created a FABB web page to summarize the various online Safe Routes to School resources, Safe Routes to School in Fairfax. Over the past couple of years FABB members have been working with an informal coalition of advocates to encourage more kids to bike to school. In order to accomplish that goal, we need safer bicycle routes, educated riders, and supportive parents and school staff.

There are many challenges but we've made some progress. See our blog posts about FABB's Safe Routes to School-related work. If you have ideas for other information that should be included on the page, let us know.

VDOT N. Va. District Chief takes job in Richmond

VDOT announced today that Garrett Moore, VDOT Northern Virginia District Chief, has been named the new VDOT chief engineer.

Garrett Moore, VDOT

“Garrett brings incredible knowledge, experience and sound judgment to a very challenging role in the agency,” said VDOT Commissioner Greg Whirley. “Garrett has what it takes to lead VDOT’s construction and maintenance program, making it better for the millions of people who drive Virginia’s roads every day.”

Moore will be accountable for the quality, cost and timeliness of all engineering plans associated with VDOT construction projects. He will also be in charge of the maintenance and operations program of the third-largest state-maintained highway system in the country.

As the northern Virginia district administrator, Moore led a complex transportation program resulting in the successful completion of the 495 Express Lanes; the start of the 95 Express Lanes; 25-mile resurfacing of the Fairfax County Parkway; significant expansion of the snow removal efforts, including increased use of technology and innovation; and many other projects.

Last year FABB met with Garrett to discuss several bicycle-related issues including the need for better implementation of the VDOT bicycle policy, the need for better maintenance of bicycle facilities, including repaving of the Fairfax County Parkway trail, the need for a NoVa District bicycle advisory committee, and the poor quality of bike parking at the then new VDOT NoVa headquarters building.

Garrett understood the issues, was realistic in his assessment of the challenges, and gave us hope that the issues would be addressed. A study has since been commissioned to assess the condition of the Parkway trail, using information that FABB collected. We're hopeful that large sections of the trail will be repaved in the near future. The ball is in our court to generate support among NoVa bicyclists for formation of a NoVa District bicycle advisory committee. It's on our list of things to do.

We wish Garrett well on his new job.

Broken transportation system

Listening to the morning news and hearing about the chaos on our roads caused by reckless, aggressive drivers, it's easy to come to the conclusion that our transportation system is broken. A single careless motorist can literally cause any of our major roadways to come to a crashing halt. Nearly very day portions of I-95, I-66, I-395, the Dulles Toll Road, and our major state highways are affected by crashes. Building more and bigger major roads does little to solve that problem.

To see current incidents on NoVa roads visit VDOT's 511 site. In the image on the right I've just selected "High Priority Incidents" and "Other Incidents" today at 5:50 p.m., the height of rush hour. Most of these incidents are "delays due to congestion," but others are likely due to crashes.

Having transportation options is one solution to relying on roads where human error regularly causes delay. Cyclists know that their travel time to destinations is very consistent. A crash on the road or trail rarely affects cyclists. While delays on Metro are not unheard of, they are relatively minor compared to the problems commuters encounter daily on our roads.

Having a connected road system would help too. Most of our neighborhoods contain cul-de-sacs that prevent connections with adjoining neighborhoods. Travelers are often forced onto arterial roads that easily become bottlenecks when overcrowded or blocked by crashes. Driverless cars can be another partial solution, but that technology will take many years to implement.

Developing a connected, safe, bicycle network would help greatly, especially in our more dense areas such as Tysons, Merrifield, Springfield, and inside the Beltway.

WABA holiday party is tonight

Flyer by LA Johnson

WABA his holding their holiday party tonight. This is a good opportunity to meet WABA staff and Board members and find out more about the new staff positions:

This evening at 7 p.m. at Smith Commons, join WABA staff and bike-friendly fellows for a festive celebration (RSVP on Facebook here). There will be drink and appetizer specials, a raffle, and sweet seasonal tunes. Smith Commons is located at 1245 H St. NE, and you can park your bike (bring a u-lock!) in the neighboring parking lot.

There’s a $5 suggested donation for WABA members. If you’re not a member, become one for the year for the discounted price of $25. You can sign up here or register at the door.

Need a ride over to Smith Commons? The Assembly will be leading a group there, beginning at 6 p.m. at BicycleSpace at 1019 7th Street NW.

See you tonight!

New positions at WABA

WABA is creating three new positions and hiring two new staff. The new positions are Advocacy Coordinator, Outreach Coordinator, and Communications Coordinator. Current staff Greg Billing and Nelle Pierson will fill the Advocacy (Greg) and Outreach (Nelle) positions. Alex Baca was hired as the Communications Coordinator and a new Events Coordinator is being hired.

These changes are described in the article Reorganizing and Regrouping for a Regional Approach in the Winter Ride On newsletter. The newsletter is not yet available online:

I have presented and the Board of Directors has approved a restructuring 
of staff roles at WABA. To meet the need we have added staff capacity to have a full-time Advocacy Coordinator as well as a full-time Outreach Coordinator with responsibility for increasing our grassroots efforts outside the District. (Much of our outreach in the District is paid for through outreach/safety grants we have not been able to secure in Maryland or Virginia.) Greg Billing, who has played an advocacy support role and a communications role at WABA, will become our Advocacy Coordinator and will take the lead in facilitating a coordinated approach to regional advocacy, with the ultimate goal of using political pressure to get improvements from agencies like the National Park Service and the Commission of Fine Arts. Nelle Pierson, who many of you know as our Events Coordinator, will be overseeing our outreach activities and working to grow ridership and membership, as well as managing several of our targeted outreach campaigns in our newly created Outreach Coordinator position. I believe these roles better utilize the skills of Greg and Nellie and I am eager to see what they can deliver for WABA and the region.

To fill the gaps created by these promotions, WABA has hired a new Communications Coordinator and is currently interviewing for a new Events Coordinator. Our new Communications Coordinator will be Alex Baca—a longtime member and intelligent voice of cycling who some of you may have met at this year's 50 States Ride. You may also know her work from the Washington City Paper, where she was an Assistant Editor...

Without adapting we can continue to win the local battles but we would lack the capacity to bring the regional change that is needed. With this change and your support I believe we can win on both levels.

As a WABA board member I strongly supported this restructuring. I think it bodes well for Fairfax.