Get There Archive: Biking
D.C. transportation chief's chat is illuminating
Entrepreneur-turned-District transportation czar Gabe Klein opined on everything from bike sharing to streetcars during an hour-long online chat Friday, the first in a monthly series of chats he plans on transportation topics. Klein took questions and requests from the public for more than an hour. Some people wanted more tree boxes on public sidewalks; others complained about unrepaired utility cuts; another asked when streetscape improvements to Pennsylvania Avenue SE would start (within the next month). It's clear that Klein has a host of innovative projects on his plate to enhance biking, parking and walking and to get traffic moving faster in the city. Funding and bureaucracy could slow some big projects, like the ambitious network of eight streetcar lines the Fenty administration envisions covering 37 miles along K Street through downtown, H Street and Benning Road, Georgia Avenue/14th Street/Seventh Street, and Rhode Island Avenue/U Street. For a text of...
By
Gene Fynes
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November 20, 2009; 3:02 PM ET |
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Biking
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Commuting
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Congestion
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Construction
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Driving
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Transportation Politics
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transit
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Watch for bikers at 15th Street intersections
Bike lane on 15th Street NW is innovative idea that doesn't look best when wet. (Thomson) In my Sunday column, I wrote about the new protected bike lane on 15th Street NW. The protected lane is for southbound cyclists. The rest of the street is one-way northbound in this area. Many people -- including me -- were focusing on it for the first time last week, and it certainly wasn't looking its best in the heavy rain and wind, which covered it in wet leaves. (I took the pictures on Friday.) The reviews I've heard so far have been mixed, but I think experiments like this are worthwhile and should be encouraged. Across the region, we've dug ourselves a deep hole by failing to advance our transportation systems into the 21st century. Transportation departments need to use the resources they have creatively -- in ways large and small --...
By
Robert Thomson
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November 16, 2009; 10:47 AM ET |
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Biking
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Driving
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Safety
| Tags: 15th Street bike lane, DDOT, Dr. Gridlock
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Hiker-biker bridge moving forward in Montgomery
Montgomery County drivers passing by the scene on Veirs Mill Road in Aspen Hill may think they're looking up at a new interchange for the Intercounty Connector. But no, it's the ramp for a still-incomplete bridge that will take the Rock Creek Hiker-Biker Trail over the roadway. Click here to see what the finished product should look like. But we're not there yet. If weather permits this weekend, the Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission will close one lane in each direction on Veirs Mill Road at Aspen Hill Road from 8 p.m. Friday through 5 a.m. Monday. If bad weather delays this, it will be done the following weekend. While the lanes are closed, workers will use two cranes to lift and position four 37-ton, curved steel beams over Veirs Mill Road. The eventual result will be a 605 foot-long bridge for hikers and bikers on the 15-mile-long...
By
Robert Thomson
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November 12, 2009; 10:30 AM ET |
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Biking
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Driving
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Weekend Work
| Tags: Dr. Gridlock, hiker-biker trail
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DC innovates on 15th Street bike lane
Justin Wilson of D.C. makes his way south on new 15th St. lane. (Gerald Martineau/Post) During my online chat Monday, I got a comment about the new bike lane the District Department of Transportation is installing along 15th Street NW. The lane is designed to allow bikers to travel southbound in a protected area on what otherwise is a one-way street northbound. This is the reader's comment: 15th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.: The 15th street contraflow bike lane is an absolute disaster. Traffic has not slowed. It's still as dangerous for cyclists. Street cleaners cannot get to the curb or they will rip off the reflective covers that indicate the bike lane. Cyclists are going the wrong way. Cars are parked in the lane. 15th street does not feel part of the neighborhood. There are misspelled words like "yield" in the bike lane. Please tell me this is not...
By
Robert Thomson
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November 12, 2009; 9:00 AM ET |
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Biking
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Safety
| Tags: DDOT, Dr. Gridlock, contraflow bike lane
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How to Stay Warm and Dry at Bike DC
I see Arlington biking enthusiast Paul DeMaio is offering some good advice on the CommuterPageBlog for people participating in Saturday's BikeDC. The forecast, he notes, is not so swell: high of 48 degrees with rain very likely. So Paul advises on riding attire, with an emphasis on the waterproof. That includes jacket, pants and gloves. He says he got a pair of waterproof pants at Filene's for $15. -- Contact lenses beat glasses, because rain beads on glasses. -- A scarf solves the problem of a cold neck. (Though if it was me, I'd be afraid of doing an Isadora Duncan. But Paul probably doesn't mean a long scarf.) You bikers have any other advice for fellow riders? See some more details about the event in The Weekend and Beyond below....
By
Robert Thomson
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October 16, 2009; 3:05 PM ET |
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Biking
| Tags: Bike DC, Dr. Gridlock
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Public Hearing on The K Street Transitway
The D.C. Department of Transportation will hold a hearing Wednesday to receive public comment on a proposal to transform K Street into a transitway to better accommodate commuter buses. Two proposals are under consideration. One would create a two-lane, bus-only corridor down the center of the street. The other would provide three lanes for the buses. The Wednesday night, Oct. 14, hearing will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Library, 801 K St. NW. A presentation will be made at 7 p.m.; public testimony will begin at 7:30 pm. Maps will be on display. The formal comment period is scheduled to end on Oct. 30. Comments may be e-mailed to KStreet.Comments@dc.gov or by mail to: Faisal Hameed District Department of Transportation TPPA, 2000 14th Street, NW, 7th Floor Washington, DC 20009...
By
Ashley Halsey
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October 14, 2009; 10:39 AM ET |
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Biking
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Commuting
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Construction
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