Cycling Infrastructure That Everyone Can Use
Two theories, both with merit, to help guide Arlington's approach to cycling.
Fundamentalist vehicular cyclists couldn't avail themselves to this crucial connection at 41st Street in north Arlington, and this bicycle infrastructure probably wouldn't exist without the road being there in the first place.
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Many people don't put a lot of thought into how they handle a bike.
Mostly, they just get on and go, riding wherever they feel it is safest and/or most convenient for them. Unfortunately, this approach - often a carryover from childhood - can be dangerous. While better cycling education can help address this, the near-term reality is that the physical infrastructure they ride on will have a greater effect on cycling behavior than education. Even the best education programs won't reach everyone, but everyone needs to use the transportation network.
So, it makes sense to focus on how to design and use that infrastructure.
And that's where we come in for a bit of conflict, even among cyclists. Some subscribe to the theory that cyclists fare best when they act and are treated like drivers of vehicles. In Arlington, that approach - also known as vehicular cycling - can work out pretty well. We don't have too many high-speed roads, and for the most part, drivers are at least tolerant (if not always accommodating). One of the biggest benefits of this approach is that a cyclist can get anywhere a road will take him or her.
That said, most occasional cyclists simply aren't comfortable asserting their right to the road, and prefer to avoid mixing with other traffic as much as possible. This is where it gets a bit tricky, and it presents real challenges to those trying to design a transportation network that accommodates not only all kinds of traffic, but all kinds of cyclists.
Arlington, as compared to most of the United States, has an expansive network of bicycle infrastructure. That is, it has multi-use paths like the Custis Trail, bike lanes on many of its roads, and even a contraflow bike lane or two.
This kind of infrastructure - one that separates bikes from other road traffic - appeals to a diverse array of cyclists. If you want to test that claim, go watch who's riding on the Washington & Old Dominion Trail and compare that to who's riding down Glebe Road.
Vehicular cyclists often claim that bicycle infrastructure is, at best, unnecessary. We already have a system of roads that will take us most anywhere we want to go. At worst, they say, bicycle infrastructure is dangerous and creates the opportunity to push cyclists off of the roads and into a substandard transportation network. These claims have some element of truth.
As a vehicular cyclist, you're not limited to using your bike on Arlington's trails, and can ride between any two points in the county. Further, poorly designed bicycling infrastructure certainly can be dangerous - see any one of the many bike lanes that are striped too close to parked cars. And in Maryland, for instance, already push cyclists off the road when a simple shoulder exists.
But there's room for both vehicular cycling and bicycle infrastructure in Arlington. You have to learn to walk before you can run, and I'm convinced that bicycle infrastructure like bike lanes and cycle tracks (physically separated bike lanes) help encourage new cyclists.
Frankly, I want Arlington's cycling population to look more like what we see on the trails than what we see on Glebe Road. But I certainly don't want them to be limited to the trails.
If Arlington County can introduce additional bicycle infrastructure while also ensuring that its roads are maintained in a condition safe for cyclists, I am convinced we will see more people on bikes. By providing the added comfort and safety of well-designed bicycle infrastructure, Arlington County would help more of its residents discover the ease and convenience of cycling here.
Some will eventually leave the bike lanes, and others will remain.That's OK. Everyone deserves a transportation space that's safe and useful.
Mark Blacknell is chair of the Arlington Bicycle Advisory Committee, president of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, and a League Cycling Instructor.
Jason Spencer
12:09 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Three comments were deleted from this thread for violating the Patch Terms of Use:
http://clarendon.patch.com/terms
Under the terms, users agree to "not post or transmit to other users anything that contains Content that... is defamatory, abusive, obscene, profane or offensive."
We want people to comment. We want there to be a discussion. Part of Patch's mission is to be a community hub. Disagreement and argument are fine. But you can disagree and argue in a civil way. In fact, the commenters are welcome to repost their thoughts in a civil manner.
Janet
12:42 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Patch Editor and Alexandria Resident Jason Spencer - WE WANT OUR CRUMBLING STREETS PAVED TODAY, NOT 5, 10, 15 YEARS FROM TODAY. WE WANT BICYCLE SAFETY NOW, NOT AFTER HUNDREDS MORE ARE KILLED AND INJURED ON BICYCLES ON ARLINGTON'S STREETS, ROADS, AND TRAILS.
You DON'T want comment or discussion. You DO want more of the status quo that benefits Patch Incorporated's bottom line. No matter what the human consequences.
BE RESPONSIBLE. SAVE A LIFE.
C.D.
10:41 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Thank you, Janet. Patch is owned by AOL. AOL these days is all about $, $$, and more $$$. So Patch's agenda is to hype trendy urban areas as places where (as someone mentioned in another blog) Yuppies frolic and the streets are paved with gold. Never mind the future consequences - like putting thousands of bicycles on poorly lighted and poorly maintained streets that are already filled with motor vehicles. Bicycle and pedestrian safety? What's that?
Mark Blacknell
11:10 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Oh, c'mon, can't we do a bit better than this halfwittery? I'm the author of this piece, and I write this column because I want people to think and talk about cycling issues in Arlington. AOL has zero influence over my content, other than perhaps keeping me from being very direct in what I think about the contributions of some commenters. If i t ever went beyond that, you'd not see this column here anymore. So give the lame AOL Agenda line a rest.
Also? Get one personality and stick with it. Or better yet, be decent enough to attach your real name to the things you say.
Janet
11:44 am on Thursday, February 16, 2012
My real name is Janet. When are are bicycle fanatics going to start being real and being safe on the streets? When will the bicycle fanatics start demanding our tax dollars be used for world class, not third world, street paving and street lighting? When will the bicycle fanatics stop demanding that everyone ride a bicycle? When will AOL-Patch stop hypeing the agendas of this hedo group and that hedo group?
C.D.
12:27 pm on Thursday, February 16, 2012
Janet, they're another County Board pet special interest group from Planet Fisette. County Board not only gives them a big annual stipend but is getting ready to spend at least $10 million of our tax dollars on making Long Bridge Park and vicinity "bicycle friendly" in return for their votes
Janet
9:49 am on Friday, February 17, 2012
Sorry to disappoint you. I'm Janet. How about becoming a spokesperson for bicycle safety rather than more macho challenging motor vehicle owners over who "owns" Arlington's streets and roads? Thanks in advance.
C.D.
8:34 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
I'm also still C.D. Shame on the Clarendon-Rosslyn Patch. In fact, Alan Muchnick offers paid 'in their face' instruction to new bicycle commuters. If AOL-Patch were all about responsible journalism (as Alexandria Patch resident Jason Spencer claims) Patch would be posting a series of informative features about Arlington's bicycle fanatics and their insidious relationship to ACDC Machine pols.
julie
10:21 pm on Friday, February 17, 2012
They're all part of a huge Yuppie for-profit corporation, ALTA. that wants to put everyone on bicycles everywhere, whether that's appropriate or not.
PikeSpotter
7:55 am on Saturday, February 18, 2012
The tricky part of riding on streets is the outright hostility by a small but significant number of drivers. Arlington is right to encourage better cycling habits by things like Bike Arlington's PAL initiative. Perhaps give drivers a bike awareness brochure with their car tax receipt? Targeted enforcement by police would be welcome, i.e. a "bike trap" similar to a speed trap for aggressive motorists.
(Disclaimer: I do not own any shares of AOL. I may be a participant in a UN bike conspiracy however.)
julie
8:46 am on Saturday, February 18, 2012
What is insane - Blacknell, Muchnick, and Patch are promoting "aggressive bicycling" at the same time there is a massive ongouing campaign against aggressive driving of motor vehicles. Muchnick is well-known for his hostile attitude regarding anyonne who does not espouse his cause. People, fact is there are 150 reported bicycle and pedestrian accidents each year in this tiny county. Trashing those who ask for safety programs will not mitigate these accidents. Shame on Patch.
CSG
10:57 am on Saturday, February 18, 2012
Arlington Police - Start enforcing bicycle laws. Including roadblocks for DUI bicyclists.
Jason Spencer
5:14 pm on Saturday, February 18, 2012
Five more comments were deleted from this thread for violating the Patch terms of use.
I'm closing the comments for this thread.
This really bothers me. I do _not_ like deleting comments. It flies in the face of what I've learned and lived by most of my adult life. I've always been on the side of the freedom of speech extending to unpopular and even hateful speech.
But Patch has terms of use, and we all agree to abide by them when we create a profile.
Generally, personal attacks get a little more leeway when they're directed to public figures (the president, for example, or a senator). But the best practice is to just leave those attacks at the door.
So, until next time, please remember that the best rule when engaging in a public forum is to treat others the way you would want to be treated.
And I'd add one other thing: It seems both sides in this argument have some valid points -- and both sides obviously are passionate. But it doesn't seem like any headway will be made in solving anyone's problems when the dialogue isn't able to rise above personal attacks, name calling and insults.
So, please, don't put me in the position where I have to determine what fits into the arbitrary categories of "abusive" or "offensive." Just be civil.
Thanks.