Posts about Contraflow Lanes
Bicycling
New Hampshire Ave bike lane has some flaws
Last year, DDOT opened innovative new contraflow bike lanes on New Hampshire Avenue near U Street. But a few design problems remain.
Three cyclists created this video to illustrate some of the issues:
Dedicated bicycle facilities are a controversial issue among some bicyclists. "Vehicular cyclists" believe it's safer to take the lane rather than riding in dedicated spaces which can be too close to doors, hard to see, prone to right hooks, and more.
However, research has shown the safety benefits of dedicated urban bikeways. They also make many people feel more comfortable riding bikes, and increasing the numbers of cyclists on the road is the surest way to improve safety. The more people ride, the more drivers become used to dealing with people biking, and the safer everyone is.
Even if this project is imperfect, these lanes make a positive addition to DC's bike infrastructure. But the authors of the video are right to point out several problems.
The signs showing where it is legal to park don't line up with the striped lines on the roadway, giving drivers the right to park their cars in a way that partially blocks the lane.
The lane on New Hampshire south of T Street predates the contraflow treatment, and therefore doesn't line up properly to continue onto northbound New Hampshire Ave. Drivers must turn right at T, but are to the left of the lane. That means cyclists going straight through face significant risk of right hooks.
One solution would be for DDOT to sign the bike lane as right turn only, and place bike-through icons or sharrows in the northbound travel lane. The safest thing for northbound cyclists bound for the contraflow lane to do is to mix with cars on the approach to T Street. DDOT should indicate this through proper signage, paint, and lane striping.
Another major issue significant time in the video: the signal timing for cyclists. The short green period means cyclists may not have enough time to get positioned on 16th Street before drivers get the green. And the induction loops to trigger the signal often don't work properly.
DDOT should consider making the bike signal an automatic part of the light cycle instead of being an actuated signal. The sensor may not be calibrated correctly or cyclists may not position themselves correctly. Whatever the reason, long wait times are not optimal.
The video's authors make a big deal out of the dooring risk from the bike lanes, which are close to parked cars. However, since the lane is contraflow, this risk is actually much less than in a standard lane.
DDOT launched this as a pilot, and is supposed to evaluate its success and make changes. However, almost one year has gone by, and DDOT has not addressed the problems which lead some riders to engage in dangerous behavior at a busy intersection.
The lanes on New Hampshire give people a valuable way to ride through this busy area. Hopefully DDOT can start fixing these problems in the near future.
Government
Virginia Senate kills bad anti-livability, WMATA board bills
The Virginia Senate's finance commmittee killed three bad transportation-related bills, all of which would have transferred decision-making over transportation in Northern Virginia to Richmond and away from the region's counties and cities.
Photo by cabbit on Flickr.
HB2000 would mandate that Governor McDonnell's representative to the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission Supporters repeatedly invoked the Board of Trade and its chairman, Jim Dyke, whose governance report pushed for reducing the local role. Governor McDonnell also reportedly made personal calls to each senator. But opponents pointed out that the state is overstating its financial support for Metro, and that for decades it played virtually no role. Fairfax Supervisor Cathy Hudgins, the current WMATA Board chair, came to Richmond to testify against the bill. She said that Northern Virginia governments are willing to give the state government some involvement in WMATA governance, but not at the expense of diminishing their own role. She asked the legislature to let the current process of discussion and negotiation within the WMATA Board and NVTC continue to a resolution.
None of the senators brought up the fact that Governor McDonnell has still sent no letter to Congress about the $150 million capital appropriation for needed repairs that's on the chopping block, but that's a great argument against writing it into law that he must get power over WMATA.
Chairman Charles Colgan (D-Manassas) was the only Democrat to support the bill; four of the five Republicans, none from Northern Virginia, also voted for it, and two were not present.
NVTC can still give a seat to Drake if they choose; the benefit of having NVTC decide to do it instead of the legislature mandating it is that NVTC could reverse course if the governor decides to cut back on the already-meager state financial support.
The Senate panel also killed the two "anti-livability" bills, which would essentially override regional transportation planning and enshrine six-Beltways booster Bob Chase's own transportation priorities into law.
They would have required VDOT to rank projects (HB1998) and prioritize funding (HB1999) based on just two factors: what moves traffic faster, and what aids evacuation in case of a disaster.
The evacuation argument is a common canard used to push road-building, but the fact is that no realistic amount of roads will let everyone in the DC region drive at the same time. As Senator Mary Margaret Whipple (D-Arlington) pointed out, DC's own disaster plans recognize that, and don't call for mass evacuation.
Fairfax, Arlington, and Alexandria representatives lobbied against HB1999, arguing that these transportation priorities should instead come from the existing processes through regional bodies that already make these decisions. The panel agreed on a party-line vote despite pressure from groups like the Price William Chamber of Commerce and the Apartment and Office Building Association.
Responding to questions from Senator Edward Houck (D-Spotsylvania), Finance Committee staff judged that HB1998 would have cost up to $5 million, and so no senator even made a motion to pass that bill.
News out of the legislature wasn't as good for bicycling, as the House rejected a number of bicycle bills including one to give Charlottesville permission to put contraflow bicycle lanes on one-way streets where the traffic and police departments feel it's appropriate.
The bill to require passing cyclists with three feet of space also died, as did a number of bills to limit cell phone use while driving.
Bicycling
Contraflow lanes open on New Hampshire Ave
DDOT just activated the new contraflow bike lanes on the two blocks of New Hampshire Avenue connecting from U Street. Cyclists traveling against the flow of car traffic now have separate lanes in which to travel all the way to the crossroads of U Street, 16th Street, and New Hampshire Avenue.
At the intersection, DDOT has installed special bike traffic lights to allow cyclists to cross into the bike-boxes ahead of the queues of car traffic waiting on Sixteenth Street. (See the green bike-boxes ahead of the stop lines in the diagram below.)
This is a pilot project for DDOT and there are a few kinks to work out. First, the bike signals are not placed in ideal positions. Look carefully at southwest corner of the diagram above. Notice that a cyclist stopped at the stop line on New Hampshire Avenue does not directly face a bike signal. The cyclist must know to look to the right and to look up to heights that are unusual for bike signage.
In much of the world, bike signals are placed five to seven feet above the ground. Even if the signals cannot be located to other poles, lowering them on their existing poles could help.
Second, there are induction loops embedded in the pavement to sense a waiting cyclist but there's no indication that cyclists should wait exactly at the stop line in order to trip the sensor. While filming, we pulled to the curb to stop and failed to trip the sensor.
This is merely the first step in DDOT's plan to reconfigure the intersection, which suffers a high number of pedestrian injuries. Until now, these two blocks of New Hampshire Avenue have been the missing link between the New Hampshire Avenue bike lanes and Sixteenth Street and the bike lanes on T and V Streets (eastbound and westbound, respectively).
Cross-posted at Left for LeDroit.
Bicycling
16th & U getting contraflow lanes, bike boxes
DDOT's long-term plans for U Street include major bicycle improvements at the corner of 16th and U. While a full reconstruction is not scheduled soon, the agency isn't waiting to implement some improvements for cyclists at this location.
The changes, which are being studied through FHWA's experimentation process, include contraflow bike lanes on New Hampshire and bike boxes on 16th Street.
Plans for 16th & U. Click to view entire fact sheet.
Cyclists coming from New Hampshire will be detected by an induction loop in the roadbed and given a short signal phase that will stop other traffic and allow riders to cross 16th to the bike box. In short, cyclists who wait will be rewarded with a protected crossing of 16th Street.
Although the diagram indicates the lanes will be striped green, this will not be the case at first. The lanes may be striped with color at a later date. The first signs of project implementation are now sprouting at the intersection, including new signals and induction loops.
New signals (left) and induction loops (right).
Bicycling
DDOT to start 15th Street contraflow bike lane next week
DC will soon have its first protected bicycle lane. DDOT is ready to begin construction on a protected, contraflow lane for bicyclists to ride south on 15th Street NW between U Street and Massachusetts Avenue.
By placing the lane adjacent to the sidewalk, buffered from high-speed traffic by parked cars, this will create a more comfortable environment for cyclists. According to a letter DDOT sent to residents, work will begin sometime in the next week depending on weather, and take about five days.
Portion of plans north of T Street. Image from DDOT. Click to enlarge.
The trickiest element of protected bicycle lanes is handling cars turning across the lane. The parked cars buffer the cyclist from traffic, but could also prevent drivers from seeing the cyclists. Portland's new protected lane runs along a street adjacent to Portland State's campus, where cars can't turn. In New York, the 8th and 9th Avenue protected lanes have special bicycle signals, which would be expensive to install.
On 15th, DDOT will have bicyclists cross the street with the walk signal, just as contraflow pedestrians do. To ensure visibility, they are creating an zone with no parking for some distance on either side of intersections, as New York's lanes do. There will also be new signs telling turning vehicles to yield to bicycles and pedestrians, and the words "LEFT TURN YIELD TO BIKES PEDS" stenciled on the roadway approaching those intersections where cars are allowed to turn left. I wonder if there will be physical barriers to prevent people from illegally parking in those zones anyway, which could impede visibility.
For northbound bicyclists, DDOT has changed the configuration to use sharrows instead of a separate painted bike lane. The sharrows will be in the center of the lane, coupled with signs reminding drivers that bicyclists can use the full lane. Hopefully this will discourage drivers from intimidating, as they often do; when riding on that street, I've had many cars pass very close and change lanes right in front of me, even though the remainder of the street is wide enough for the through traffic. This right lane would essentially become a lane for slow-moving vehicles and turning cars.
This change allows the contraflow lane to be a wider 9 feet instead of the originally-proposed 5 feet, which WABA's Eric Gilliland thought was too narrow. It also somewhat addresses Jeff Peel's concern about double-parked cars on Sundays near churches, which would block the bike lane. On the other hand, it will force cyclists to interact more closely with drivers who speed quite a bit on this road today. On balance, this seems reasonable, but riders should let DDOT know if there continue to be problems.
I've been pushing DDOT to implement more projects quickly and cheaply. It took a while for this to make it through engineering, but now they're moving fast, and putting in a critical segment of a good citywide bicycle network. The total budget for the project is less than $200,000. Since it doesn't involve expensive reconstructions or new signals, they should be able to make changes if issues crop up. This could also serve as a model for future protected lanes, like the ones on I and L Streets NW and M Street SE/SW that should be top priorities for the future.
Public Spaces
Breakfast links: Good news for our streets
Buffered bike lane in Paris. Photo by brunoboris.
Norton defending trees from the other 435: Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton persuaded the Architect of the Capitol to avoid cutting down trees on 2nd Street, NE. Bloomingdale, For Now criticized the earlier decision which would remove attractive, solid vertical poles with leaves and replace them with less attractive, solid vertical poles in the name of security.
You can sound off to AOC staff about this or other topics this evening, 7 pm at St. Peter's Catholic Church, 313 2nd St SE. Metro: Capitol South.
Out of the carbon shadow: "It's time for cities to favor people, not cars," writes Wired about a recent conference on design of the future. Tip: John S.
K Street transitway back? Previously, Joey Katzen wrote that the K Street Transitway was delayed seven more years. But this Post article lists the transitway among projects that could receive stimulus money. Tip: John S. (a different John S.)
Roads
Champlain St under Marie Reed to reopen with contraflow bike lane
DDOT's bicycle group is on a roll, adding useful bicycle facilities to DDOT projects throughout the city. Last night, DDOT engineers and planners presented a proposal to reconnect Champlain Street in Adams Morgan through and under the Marie Reed Community Learning Center. Currently, the street is blocked off through the site, reducing road connectivity in the area and forcing cars, pedestrians and bicycles onto crowded 18th and narrow Ontario. The current plaza sits empty and desolate most of the time, used more as storage for dumpsters than a public space.
Champlain will run one way southbound. Since it's wide enough for two lanes, DDOT will devote the remaining space to wider sidewalks and a northbound contraflow bicycle lane, allowing two-way bicycle traffic. That's especially useful because DDOT will also soon construct a bicycle lane on one-way westbound V Street, which ends at Florida Avenue very close to Champlain. Cyclists will then be able to ride west on V and continue north on Champlain into Adams Morgan. Here's a cross section showing the various widths.
Left: Champlain Street today with dumpsters blocking the empty plaza. Right: Future Champlain Street with contraflow bike lane and wider sidewalks. Photos by M.V. Jantzen.
The project may also dedicate some funding to adding mosaic tiles to improve the appearance of the 1960s-era 1977 building. There is also a grant to paint a mural there, which may decorate a retaining wall along the wheelchair ramp. At last night's meeting, some participants suggested replacing the top half of that wall (the blue and white object on the left side of the "after" picture) with a railing, to add visibility and reduce hiding places in an area that unfortunately has more than its share of crime.
DDOT plans to start work in May or June and hopefully finish by October.
Top right photo: Councilmember Jim Graham, DDOT Program Manager Muhammad Khalid, reporter Anthony Harvey and ANC Commissioner Wilson Reynolds discuss the plan. Photo by M.V. Jantzen.
Bicycling
Boxing Day links: bikes, buses and blogs
Map by the Washington Post.
No idling, please: DC will reserve all on-street parking, except parking directly in front of residences, for tour buses on Inauguration Day in three zones: north of the White House, from 11th to 21st between K and P; NoMa northwest of Union Station; and all of Near Southwest, Near Southeast, and the adjacent Anacostia Riverfront east to RFK's parking lots (via DCist). Lance makes the good point that if all these buses (illegally) idle for hours, it'll dump a lot of pollution into our air. Let's hope DDOT and MPD are ready to enforce the no idling laws.
Around the blogs: And Now, Anacostia wants the original library design back; Silver Spring, Singular posts some old postcards of Silver Spring; Imagine, DC imagines Wheaton.
Transit
Breakfast links: Enhancements and losses
Photo by MatthewBradley on Flickr.
The bill also requires side guards and bike safety training for DC-owned trucks, though much of that will have to wait for budget appropriations. With the current budget crunch, don't hold your breath for funding for that part of the bill.
Comment on 15th Street: Today is the last day for public comments on DDOT's fifth alternative creating a contraflow bike lane on 15th Street. Send your comments to Chris Ziemann, christopher.ziemann@dc.gov. And I hope your comments will endorse the idea.
Pro-rail conservative Weyrich dies: Paul Weyrich was the leading conservative proponent of rail transit. He lost a long battle with diabetes at the age of 66. According to USA Today, his last column, as many others of his, promoted light rail: "'It is the best of times because the 22nd city opens a light-rail system this December,' he wrote. 'It is the worst of times because the Bush administration has turned down 70 some cities which want light rail or streetcars."
Metro approves rush-hour fares and parking fees: The WMATA board approved a proposal to charge for parking on Inauguration. People will be able to pay with cash. According to the Post, parking will cost $4 because making it $5, while easier for customers, would require public hearings. They will also charge rush-hour fares and run rush-hour service from 4 am to 9 pm.
The shrinking Mall: The Post writes about the areas around the White House and Capitol no longer open to the public since 2001, like the west steps of the Capitol. The Ellipse feels like a military base, and thanks to the bizarre anthrax scare, First Street is closed around House and Senate buildings forcing the N22 on a very circuitous route. Will we ever be able to reexamine these barricades and restore some public spaces around our government buildings for the public?
Bicycling
New Hampshire Avenue contraflow design
15th Street isn't the only contraflow bike lane planned for DC. DDOT is working on designs for a contraflow lane on New Hampshire Avenue between T and U (where New Hampshire is one-way southbound) and U and V (where it is one-way northbound). This is a very popular, and perhaps the safest, route across U Street for cyclists, as New Hampshire is wide but low traffic.
Click to enlarge (PDF).
When cyclists in the contraflow lane approach the intersection, they will see a special signal to wait until traffic is stopped on 16th. Then, they can proceed across 16th into the bike box area. When the light turns green for traffic on 16th, they can cross the intersection and re-enter New Hampshire, with the "sharrow" telling cyclists and motorists to share the lanes. We'll also get bike boxes on U.
The mega-bulb-outs from the previous plan (right) are still there, and the dangerous slip lanes still gone. The southwest plaza is shrinking a bit, to fit in the extra contraflow lane. The original plan looks really cool, with the two symmetrical circular plazas, but may be better on paper than in real life. Each circle had a gap on the "underside", on New Hampshire, which looked elegant but didn't actually make sense, forcing pedestrians to walk a little bit out of the way in the name of cleaner lines.
As you can see, the northeast plaza in the new design is a bit of a franken-curb, with about four different angles. That's probably better for actual traffic, even if it looks less elegant on a plan. I do wonder if the edge closest to 16th and U could be squared up a bit.
@ggwash
- Successful speed cameras require fair speed limits
- Amid scandal, don't lose sight of Gray's policy achievements
- Montgomery plans 160-mile, "gold standard" BRT system
- Bethesda gets new but terrible bike racks
- DC's parks are 5th best in the nation, says "Park Score"
- VDOT ignores own data, pushes widening I-66
- DC's divide need not be black and white
Greater Washington
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