Ten For Tuesday- We differ on the definition of "perfectly lovely"

1. I did recently write that WABA is not technically an environmental group and then they went and joined the DC environmental network and made me look like a liar. Anyway the network is sponsoring a mayoral candidate forum this Thursday, so if you're a DC voter it's your chance to meet Michael Brown, Linda Cropp and Adrian Fenty.

Thursday June 29, 6:30-9:00pm
Cramton Auditorium, Howard University
2455 6th St. NW

2. In other WABA news, WABA's providing valet bike parking on the mall during the 4th of July. This should be similar to the Cherry Blossom festival parking. I didn't go to that but it looked a bit like triathlon parking with a secure area for bikes. I've gone to the mall for the fireworks a half dozen times and I have to say that biking is really the only way to go. Traffic is insane. Certain gates become overwhelmed and others are unused. On a bike you can ride to one of the unused ones. Last year we were with some people who decided to take the bus and it was an hour difference both ways.

3. Dr. Gridlock has retired (or more accurately Ron Shaffer, who created the Dr. Gridlock column two decades ago - he will probably be replaced much like James Bond). I know many complained about his column; that it was anti-transit or anti-bike, but it was always thought provoking. Maybe they'll hire Richard Layman to write the column from now on.

Speaking of Dr. Gridlock here's an exchange where his explanation of biking behavior, and law, is right on. Still I would like a Dr. Gridlock who, at least occasionally, rides a bike on the major commuter routes - so that they don't have to rely on what "bikers have told" them. 

Rockville, Md.: I drive along Beach Drive, and I am always vigilant for bike riders (I used to bike to work at the National Zoo years ago). Someone, please! explain to me WHY in the WORLD bike riders are insisting upon riding in the road when there is a perfectly lovely bike path provided. I mean, when it's part of the road--I understand--but this is SCARY. At 4 p.m. there are VERY VERY FEW pedestrians--I can SEE the open bike path!

I just do NOT get it.

Dr. Gridlock: Bikers have told me in the past that the bike path is in poor shape, with craters, and walkers/joggers/dogs so that they feel safer in the roadway, which they are entitled to use.

4. Mark McCormack, 35, became the first American since 2003 to win the CSC Invitational, the region's most prestigious cycling race.

5. I'm embarassed to admit that I don't know who Bill Rice is, but I feel like I should. Rice is running for the Ward 3 Council seat. Here's an article about him from the Examiner.

I first met Rice when he was covering D.C. politics for local weekly papers. Back in the 1980s, two men would arrive at political events on funky bicycles: Dave Clarke and Bill Rice. Both were a bit, ummm, shall we say, quirky.

Sounds like my kind of guy (this is not an endorsement - like I said I don't know him) the post said this

You can see him riding around town on his bicycle but [he] should be taken seriously.

What the ...? I don't like what they're insinuating.

6. Construction on the Bethesda Avenue/Woodmont Avenue bumpout started on April 20th and from what I saw last week it's basically complete (see photo)

7. Baltimore isn't the only city promoting a new bike plan. As RPUS pointed out, Chicago is too. Chicago is really becoming one of the great cycling cities in America. Here's the Chicago Times article.

From Geneva, Switzerland, they got the idea of raised bike lanes, a layer of pavement above street level and below the curb that would help dissuade motorists from veering into cycling territory. By 2010, the city hopes to experiment with raised lanes in a few locations.

In Copenhagen, Cambridge and other places, planners saw bicycle lanes colored a startling shade of teal green, thermoplastic markings they hope to duplicate at some Chicago intersections to try to warn right-turning cars to watch for bikes.

Of course, he said, cars are not the only deterrent: "Try to get a girl to go on a date with you on a bike."

Chicago has the new Millennium Park Bike Station - that's my model for the Dupont Circle Bike Station.

8. Arlington is looking to add bike rentals.

The new staff members also will help to set up kiosks in Rosslyn, Clarendon and Ballston to enliven the streets with such ventures as bike rentals and flower and ice cream sales.

9. $250,000 was set aside in the federal fiscal 2007 Transportation Budget for the Four Mile Run pedestrian and bike trail between Alexandria and Arlington

10. An essay in the Post on fixies.

Fixed-gear bikes, aka fixies, are those clean-looking city steeds you often see messengers riding, the ones without multiple gears or even, in some cases, brakes. The gear is "fixed," meaning that if the wheels are turning, so are the pedals -- no coasting allowed.

11. And finally there is this. I knew something had happened because so many people were googling my site looking for this.

Paul Gerard Rossmeissl, 54, an experimental psychologist who became a quality control expert, died June 7 at Inova Fairfax Hospital of injuries suffered three days earlier in a bicycle accident on the Washington and Old Dominion Trail.

A spokeswoman with the Fairfax County Police Department said Dr. Rossmeissl was biking near Hunter Mill Road when he hit a pedestrian, fell and struck his head.

There aren't any other details. It's unusual for a cyclist to die in a crash with a pedestrian. I'm curious as to how it happened. Was he wearing a helmet? How fast was he going? Regardless, I think this is the W&OD's fifth fatal accident.

Got Any Other Bright Ideas

[That was some rain storm last night. My car was flooded and even pushed about 2 inches over thanks to a flooded Four Mile Run. And I had to detour off a closed NE Branch Trail on my commute. I suspect several trails were closed this morning, anyway...].

So my earlier prediction that pedicabs would be in DC by fall of 2008 wasn't nearly ambitious enough. I got an email shortly thereafter from one of the owners of DC Pedicab telling me that they were planning to start operations by July 4th. Some of you have pointed out that they're running ads on Craig's list and the company had two recruitment parties this month to get drivers (Sorry, I should have posted those before hand). In addition, I've had two others contact me about how to start a pedicab company - like I know how to start a business. If you're interested in becoming a driver for DC Pedicab here's the lowdown.

call us at (202) 345-8065 or [email us at] becomearider@dcpedicab.com.

Which brings me to my latest bright idea. A little while ago I found out about a subway tunnel in Rochester, NY that the city was going to fill in with dirt. A local group is trying to preserve it - either as an underground rail trail/museum or to convert it to a canal with a river walk type environment. That got me thinking about one of DC's more notorious abandoned subway structures - aka Dupont Down Under.

Below Dupont Circle, but above the Dupont Metro Station is the old Dupont Circle Subway Station (see photo at right) It was built in 1949 to reduce the impact of the old trolley system on Dupont Circle traffic. In 1962 the station was closed when the trolley system was shut down. In 1995 it opened as a food court called "Dupont Down Under" but closed in September of 1996. Back in 2003 there were rumblings that the site might reopen, but I never heard what happened with that.

It turns out people don't want to eat under ground when they could eat outside at one of the city's great public spaces. Nor do people want to work or shop or live or do pretty much anything underground if they can avoid it.

What people don't mind doing underground is parking. That's why the site is ideally suited to be a bike station (like this bike parking facility in the Netherlands - where else?). Unlike the station being built at Union Station and the one not being built at Silver Spring - the structure is already there, it just needs to be converted. Since it was a food court, it's safe to assume that there's already plumbing so that showers and changing rooms would be easy to add in. It's located at a major metro station in one of the busiest parts of the city. It's ill-suited for almost any other use but in an area with extremely expensive land.

I wish I'd submitted this idea to the Solving DC's problems contest. I'd have $5k burning a hole in my pocket right now.

Pedicabs in DC II

So for a minute I thought my prediction that pedicabs would be plying the streets of DC had come true earlier than expected. I was riding last week when I saw one moving up Massachusetts Avenue. Turns out it was just for a promotion at the convention center (I wish I had my camera so I could prove it - though I did find a recent photo of this segway pedicab). The bike and driver were plastered with Vegas ads and the passenger said she was riding for free, so I'm not sure what it was all about, but the driver said that anyone interested in starting a franchise should contact Main Street Pedicabs which has a pretty slick website. It identifies 2 cities in Virginia (Cape Charles and Va. Beach) 2 cities in Maryland (Baltimore and Solomons) and Rehobeth, DE that have Main Street customers.

In addition, the Post ran an article about bicycle rickshaws in Dewey Beach. It seems you can make good money:

Shea Lindale, who snagged a $100 tip, made the most: $495. Masten made a weak $175.

And fringe benefits if you're into such things.

"There are the older chicks who rip your shirt off and beat you with it," said Josh Sharp, 23. "Some have goals to hook up with a bike guy."

I'm putting the over/under for a DC pedicab company at fall of 2008.

Ten for Tuesday - Gas is Expensive $2.50 Edition

1. There were a lot of articles last week about high gas prices and biking to work, including this AP story

About 20 million bikes were sold in the United States in 2005, one of the industry's best years ever, and retailers are optimistic that escalating gas prices will lead to record bike sales this year

Unlike most countries, the vast majority of bikes sold in the United States are used for recreation rather than transportation. About 550,000 Americans - less than 1 percent of U.S. workers - bike to work regularly, according to Blumenthal. "You don't feel the love in a lot of places when you're riding your bike,"

The $286 billion federal transportation bill signed last year will double the amount of money available for bike and pedestrian facilities to about $4 billion.

2. The National Park Service is guiding free bike rides almost every weekend this summer. Check out this flyer (pdf) For Example:

Off the Beaten Path – Discover Lonely Landmarks

You may have seen them on a map, driven past them hundreds of times, or even walked up to one of them out of curiosity. What are they, who are they, and more importantly, why are they here? This is the story of Washington DC’s lonely landmarks. These statues, urns, and symbolic gestures of friendship and remembrance can be found all over DC. Find out the stories of these lonely landmarks from our Rangers.

3. The Virginia IMBA mountain bike festival is this weekend. So is the Arlington Community Bike Ride.

4. The Montgomery County Council authorized $200K to repair the interim CCT.

5. The 20 finalists for the Solving DC Problems contest have been announced. One is bicycling related.

The city could purchase a fleet of (ugly, theft-resistant) bikes and set up secure racks for them across downtown DC. For a reasonable membership fee, residents get a pass that allows them to pick up a bike, ride it to where they need to go, and drop it off at any official bike sharing rack (not just the one they took it from).

It's kind of weak that they chose an idea that's already in the works.

6. Gas prices are pushing cops out of cruisers and onto bikes and foot patrols. It will be interesting to see if this impacts crime (either reduces or increases).

7. One less place to rent bikes in the area.

‘‘When I was in high school, we would have almost 200 kids a day that would come in and out of there and go out in canoes or take bicycles out,” Swain said.

Deciding to shut down the lockhouse's boat and bicycle rentals and concession stand was a ‘‘tremendously difficult decision,” Swain said.

8. Adults ride bikes, but kids are so darn photogenic

My main concern is that the pictures suggest that bicycles are children’s toys. Bicycles are vehicles covered under Maryland’s Uniform Vehicle Code. The Gazette missed an opportunity to reflect a main purpose of the Millennium Trail — to make Rockville more accessible to cyclists and pedestrians.

9. Metro is going to add hundreds of bike racks.

"At some stations people weren't even using the older racks," says Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith. "They were opting to lock their bikes to trees, to light poles, because the old racks were missing pieces or they had a loose installation, or sometimes they were even just stripped down."

I do hate the old metro bike racks. I feel the same the way about them that I do gray hairs. I'd rather not have them, but they're better than nothing.

10. How I often feel

By using mass transit or riding my bike whenever possible, I may not be able to influence greenhouse-gas emissions standards or reduce mass global addiction to fossil fuels one iota.The question, however, is not "What can't I do?" but rather, "What can I do?"

The answer: next to nothing.

MoCo's Framework

Montgomery County is preparing to become Montgomery City. The county is working on a new general plan for the county to replace the one it original wrote in 1964 - and refined in 1993. The new plan, the "Framework for Planning in the Future," promotes urbanized centers as opposed to auto-friendly suburbs. Of course, urban usually means less cars, more pedestrians and more bicycles - which requires changing roads.

In addition to promoting development of urbanized "centers," the draft document envisions turning some of the county's big roads into "boulevards" that would be more appealing to pedestrians and less like highways.[Planning Board Chairman Derick] Berlage cited Rockville Pike, Georgia Avenue and University Boulevard as roads that could be redesigned to include bus lanes, bicycle paths, better landscaping and wider sidewalks.

I think it's wise for MoCo to prepare for the inevitable population increases they're going to continue to see. (I think they ought to rethink the ICC before it's too late. A real urban area would not build a highway, but rather a rail corridor). The plan has as one goal to

Better connect the surrounding neighborhoods to retail, public buildings and transit by foot or bicycle, reducing the need to drive to the center.

They have some good ideas about how to do that, like

Creating more street connections from surrounding neighborhoods, so that people don’t use the major arterials and highways for local trips, and more trips are made by bicycle and on foot. (See this post on RPUS about how important connections are. Though he doesn't mention bikes, I know which neighborhood I'd rather ride in).

and

Providing pedestrian and bicycle amenities such as bike racks and lockers, special pavement and lighting so that non-motorized people know they are welcome.

And they recognize that "narrow sidewalks are not bicycle friendly" - true, bikes do not belong on sidewalks. It's dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians - so they talk about bicycle sidepaths (which I don't care for unless there really is no other option) and bike lanes. But they're still missing critical elements.

They need to start from the bottom up. They need to make sure they don't force out small neighborhood bike shops with big box retailers. They need to provide not just parking, but shower facilities, bike maps, and bike related signage. They need to think about bike rentals. If they build bike lanes - they need to be wide with room in the door zone. And they need to integrate bikes into rail and bus transit as well as roads. They're plan is still too road centered in my opinion. But it's a good point to start from.

What else did I miss?

MoCo's Framework

Montgomery County is preparing to become Montgomery City. The county is working on a new general plan for the county to replace the one it original wrote in 1964 - and refined in 1993. The new plan, the "Framework for Planning in the Future," promotes urbanized centers as opposed to auto-friendly suburbs. Of course, urban usually means less cars, more pedestrians and more bicycles - which requires changing roads.

In addition to promoting development of urbanized "centers," the draft document envisions turning some of the county's big roads into "boulevards" that would be more appealing to pedestrians and less like highways.[Planning Board Chairman Derick] Berlage cited Rockville Pike, Georgia Avenue and University Boulevard as roads that could be redesigned to include bus lanes, bicycle paths, better landscaping and wider sidewalks.

I think it's wise for MoCo to prepare for the inevitable population increases they're going to continue to see. (I think they ought to rethink the ICC before it's too late. A real urban area would not build a highway, but rather a rail corridor). The plan has as one goal to

Better connect the surrounding neighborhoods to retail, public buildings and transit by foot or bicycle, reducing the need to drive to the center.

They have some good ideas about how to do that, like

Creating more street connections from surrounding neighborhoods, so that people don’t use the major arterials and highways for local trips, and more trips are made by bicycle and on foot. (See this post on RPUS about how important connections are. Though he doesn't mention bikes, I know which neighborhood I'd rather ride in).

and

Providing pedestrian and bicycle amenities such as bike racks and lockers, special pavement and lighting so that non-motorized people know they are welcome.

And they recognize that "narrow sidewalks are not bicycle friendly" - true, bikes do not belong on sidewalks. It's dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians - so they talk about bicycle sidepaths (which I don't care for unless there really is no other option) and bike lanes. But they're still missing critical elements.

They need to start from the bottom up. They need to make sure they don't force out small neighborhood bike shops with big box retailers. They need to provide not just parking, but shower facilities, bike maps, and bike related signage. They need to think about bike rentals. If they build bike lanes - they need to be wide with room in the door zone. And they need to integrate bikes into rail and bus transit as well as roads. They're plan is still too road centered in my opinion. But it's a good point to start from.

What else did I miss?

Pedicabs in DC

I wrote about this earlier this month, but I wasn't really serious.  Then I read this article in the Examiner and I've changed my tune.

Bicycle taxis are weaving through the clogged streets of midtown Manhattan in a movement growing so rapidly that the city is proposing regulations before it spins out of control. Known as pedicabs, these vehicles look like giant tricycles with a passenger carriage in the back. Some tourists and New Yorkers see them as an affordable, pollution-free way to see the city and sail through gridlock.

I really do think that this could work in DC. Were I a young MBA graduate, I might even start a business doing this. You have a large supply of bicycle couriers who could work off-hours for extra money. You could move people around Adams Morgan at night, crowds from Verizon and RFK after games, and move tourists between the Capitol and Washington Monument on Jefferson and Madison avenues during the tourist season (competing with the new circulator) to name a few routes. According to this article moving people from a stadium to their car in the parking lot is a big moneymaker (and a sad commentary on American life).

In Denver, pedicabs tend to operate on nights and weekends, during ballgames and other events that require people to walk several blocks from parking areas or light-rail stops.

Ed Oliver, who is Meyer's partner in the Denver pedicab operation, said he often drives a pedicab around the Pepsi Center parking lot, offering free rides during events. In most cases, passengers wind up tipping him at least $5 a ride.

"People hate walking across parking lots," Meyer said.

With a new St. Louis Cardinals ballpark set to open in April, a budding pedicab operator awaits her order from Main Street Pedicabs.

"We want to get a business started just to and fro," said St. Louis resident Jill Saettele, an avid cyclist who found Main Street Pedicabs on the Internet. "The parking (at the new stadium) is very limited, so they're doing shuttles. This is the most fantastic opportunity."

The pedicabs have caught on most in urban environments, but have also captured the attention of an array of communities with a shortage of downtown parking.

I think it's only a matter of time before these pop up here. DC residents are at least as lazy as people in Denver. The pedicabs are cheaper AND faster than traditional taxis and great for tourists. One might argue that the summers are too hot and the winters too cold, but the goal is mostly to get people who would walk, not people who would take a regular taxi - except when the weather is nice. Though as a friend of mine pointed out, the name 'pedicab' is...not good. Sounds like a cab that should be found on a known sex offender list.