2013 March » CycleMoco

Want to read the definitive bikeway standard? Pay $144.

Mar 292013

The AASHTO Guide for the Development of Bicycle Facilities, 4th Edition is the definitive, nationally recognized set of standards governing key aspects of bikeway design, including bicycle facility design, planning and maintenance as well as bike parking. It was released in 2012. Please contact me if you want to view or borrow my copy. The document costs $144, even for individuals. The guide is used by thousands of government agencies across the U.S. to guide design and planning efforts. However, citizens looking to review the document in order to participate in government decisions must either pay $144 for their own copy or find a hardcopy owned by someone else (or view the online version on the owner’s computer screen). […]

Could this work on Arlington Road?

Mar 262013

According to FABB, the road diet on Lawyers Road in Reston was a success for cyclists and made the road slower and safer for everyone. VDOT took a road that had two through-lanes in each direction and converted it to a three lane configuration with bike lanes. The road now has one through-lane in each direction, a two-way left-turn lane (TWLTL) in the middle, and bike lanes. Would this make life better for cyclists on Montgomery County roads like Arlington Road in Bethesda or Redland Road in Rockville? MoBike and WABA have already requested the same 4-to-3 lane conversion with bike lanes on Arlington Road north of Bradley Blvd in Bethesda. It’s an important road for cyclists because it serves […]

Montgomery County Road Code explained

Mar 242013

Nov. 30 2014 update: Modest changes were made to the Road Code by Montgomery County Bill 33-13, passed by the County Council on Nov. 25, 2014. Most of the Road Code is unchanged. The Montgomery County “Road Code” is the set of standards that governs every aspect of road design on county roads, including the widths of things like travel lanes, bike lanes and sidewalk buffers; the design of stormwater management; and less interesting things like curb height. This matters a lot to cyclists. Officially called the Context Sensitive Road Design Standards, the Road Code is actually a set of county regulations. It can be viewed in PDF form (in the relevant County Council resolution) or viewed online (go to […]

Bicyclist killed in Silver Spring

Mar 122013

WashCycle has been reporting on this fatal crash, which occurred at the intersection of Fenton St and Silver Spring Ave in Silver Spring on Sunday evening. From the Montgomery County Police Department press feed: Detectives from the Montgomery County Police–Collision Reconstruction Unit (CRU) are investigating a fatal collision that occurred last evening in Silver Spring. Last night (March 10) at approximately 9:08 p.m., 3rd District officers and Fire & Rescue responded to the intersection of Silver Spring Avenue and Fenton Street for the report of a collision. Preliminary investigation by patrol units indicated that the bicyclist was northbound on the sidewalk of the southbound side of Fenton Street and was approaching Silver Spring Avenue. A 2004 Toyota Corolla was traveling […]

CaBi graphic

Mar 062013

My daughter Allison created this using Tagxedo. A transparent version is here. Try Capital Bikeshare yourself. You’ll like it!

The Bike Helmet Challenge

Mar 012013

Here’s the Bike Helmet Challenge. 1. Spend a week driving your car with a bike helmet with you. To make it easy, you don’t actually have to wear the helmet. Of course wearing the helmet might call attention to the irony of not requiring helmets for the biggest cause of head injury deaths in the U.S. (driving) or to the mussed hair problem. But for this challenge, you just have to keep the helmet with you in the car. 2. But when you get to your destination, you can’t leave the helmet in the car. You have to take it with you. You don’t have to have it with you at every moment… if you’re at work you can keep […]