Last night, Alex Baca suffered a minor bike crash after her wheel got stuck in the H Street streetcar tracks. She says she was swerving around a double-parked car, leaving her no safe place to ride.

  1. If you were by the Atlas around 2 p.m. you might’ve seen me get my tire caught in the streetcar tracks and bounce into a cop car.
    alexbaca
    16 hours ago
  2. @lydiadepillis @ddotdc I’m OK and so is my bike. I know this is almost routine now, but there needs to be a better setup.
    alexbaca
    12 hours ago
  3. @randomduck @lydiadepillis @ddotdc Something would help. I was swerving around a double-parked car. That there’s no place to ride is bad.
    alexbaca
    12 hours ago
  1. @alexbaca Glad you’re okay. Rode H St myself Friday night and was very careful crossing the tracks.
    DDOT DC
    26 minutes ago

This isn’t the first time this has happened to anyone in a city with streetcar tracks:

  1. @alexbaca my worst bike accident happened when I got my tire caught in streetcar tracks. Feel better. :)
    kdkd
    16 hours ago
  2. @alexbaca My sister just did that in the Hague. Bystander reported hers was the most spectacular fall he’d ever seen. Glad you weren’t hurt!
    Fedward Potz
    15 hours ago

Is there a solution? Does H Street also need bike lanes? Or something else?

  1. @alexbaca Jesus. Glad youre ok. Yeah, @ddotdc, the streetcar tracks sans bike lanes are really, really problematic.
    Lydia DePillis
    12 hours ago
  2. @lydiadepillis Would bike lanes actually help in this case? I think bike warning/exclusion zone markings would be better. @alexbaca @ddotdc
    Rudi Riet
    12 hours ago
  3. @alexbaca Not sure there’s an easy answer, but we’re open to suggestions. Will be part of our @DCStreetcar safety messaging for sure.
    DDOT DC
    24 minutes ago
  4. ”
    @DDOTDC Unfortunately, “being careful” isn’t enough, esp. when you must swerve around double-parkers. My dream? Cycletrack in the middle!
    alexbaca
    a minute ago

What do you think? What’s the best way to make sure bikes and streetcars can coexist in a lively commercial street safely and happily?

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Tagged: bicycling, bike safety, dc, h street, streetcars, transit

David Alpert created Greater Greater Washington in 2008 and was its executive director until 2020. He formerly worked in tech and has lived in the Boston, San Francisco Bay, and New York metro areas in addition to Washington, DC. He lives with his wife and two children in Dupont Circle.