Well here's a small thought (and you know what I am going to say). Arlington should not treat cyclists as second class transportation citizens. Local governments would not think about shutting down highways during rushhour to do mundane repairs. And yet that is exactly what Arlington has done with a major cycling artery, the Custis trail - shutting it down during rush hour to trim trees - even when the work they were doing would not take the full day. To aggravate the situation, the work crews established detours that were poorly marked, and took the cyclists over routes that could not handle the traffic.

My recommendation - stop looking at frilly cycling projects and keep our eyes focused on the core cyclists. Make sure the infrastructure for the core cyclists is treated with the proper priority and regard by local government offices. Cyclists are not just secondary transportation citizens that can be inconvenienced because that local government office needs to complete whatever project they are working on.

I'm in complete agreement, rcannon100. I'd urge you to cut and paste that comment into an email to trails@arlingtonva.us (as well as the County Manager and Board). Part of the issue in this case, I suspect, is that the Department of Parks & Recreation simply doesn't grasp the essential transportation nature of some of its trails. This is just one of many reasons, in my view, that Arlington County ought to adopt a formal "Trails as Transportation" policy (perhaps moving responsibility for some of these trails to DES (Arlington's transportation dept.)).

~

Also, I'm pleased to say that I was wrong about the nature of the vote on Del. Lopez's bill. Contrary to initial reports from the hearing, there was bipartisan - but still insufficient - support for the bill (see http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?121+vot+H1902V0012+HB0784).

Good article (and great platform by Patch). For S. Arlingtonians, the County needs to make a priority a safe bicycling route to the Pentagon via the (about to be reconstructed) Columbia Pike underpass at Washington Boulevard. I've written a full post on this at pikespotter.com, thanks for the inspiration http://pikespotter.com/2012/01/26/arlingtons-missed-opportunity-to-make-pike-bike-friendly/

Who's being treated as second class citizens? Seniors who have to drive to shop, doctor's appointments, etc. The bicyclist special interest is increasingly obnoxious, demanding, and disregards traffic and safety regulations. Where are the police ticketing bicyclists who run stop signs and traffic lights, often at night when most are dressed in dark clothing with only a couple reflectors on their bicycles?

I am voting for a change on the County Board. Enough of these special interests running the County.

Audrey Clement is a responsible bicyclist. She also wants to spend a lot more to pave Arlington's streets to prevent bicycle accidents.

They're another arrogant special interest group that gets its every wish granted in return for supporting the Democratic Machine.

Thanks, pikespotter, for the great post. Until the Columbia Pike area is no longer the neglected stepchild of Arlington's efforts to be bicyle-friendly, I can't see how higher bicycle status is justified. I call that area by Washington Blvd "the shoot". I ride it, but I'm always afriad there.

Rather than pursue problematic "separated cycletracks" in street corridors that are already eminently bikeable, the County bicycle program should focus on finishing long-delayed trail projects that complete the bicycle network by creating direct crossings of freeway and Defense Department barriers, including I-395, the GWMP, the Pentagon, and Arlington National Cemetery, That, rather than cycletracks, could create the "transformational change" that would boost Arlington's relatively low bicycle transportation mode share.

Another needed transformational for Arlington bicycling is the bicycle-friendly traffic calming of neighborhood streets, aka "bicycle boulevards" or "green streets". Every Arlington neighborhood should have at least one low-traffic through street where bicycling, walking, and simply playing in the street is prioritized over motorized travel.

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