Category Archives: Commuting

Washington, D.C., welcomed the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes to the city in the middle of June 2010. These lanes, as all #BikeDC riders well know, are situated in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue and run from 3rd to 15th Street Northwest.

Pennsylvania Avenue is one of the main thoroughfares of the District, particularly during the week. The stretch of road containing the bike lanes extends from the U.S. Capitol over to the Ellipse, and holds seven or eight lanes of traffic in many spots. It’s a giant road with a two-way bike lane running through the middle of it.

According to a Washington Post article, the lanes were installed in the middle of the road to “limit conflicts with buses, right-turning vehicles, parked vehicles and entrances on the right-hand side of the roadway.”

I sort of understand that. Before the bike lanes, I rode in the right-most traffic lane and had to contend with all of those issues. However, by placing the lanes in the middle of the street another conflict emerged– the U-turn conflict.

Taxis frequently travel Pennsylvania, dropping people off and picking up new fares. In order for them to do that most efficiently, these taxis do not want to take a circuitous route that avoids the bike lanes. Rather, they U-turn through the middle of the bike lane, despite it being prohibited.

In addition, cars frequently make illegal left turns at intersections along Pennsylvania which also cut directly through the bike lane.

My current office is located one block off of Pennsylvania Avenue and I used to take the bike lanes fairly frequently after work. In my previous job, the most direct route to my office meant a trip down the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes.

Since the lanes have been put in, people have made illegal left turns right in front of me and executed illegal U-turns dangerously close to me. I do not feel safe in the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes so I often avoid them.

Over time, it became so frustrating and frazzling to ride on Pennsylvania Avenue that I now either ride in the right-most lane and deal with the conflicts of buses, right-turning vehicles and other bull$h** on Pennsylvania or take one of the quieter side streets along the National Mall to avoid it.

Cyclists and others have clamored for more enforcement of illegal turning on Pennsylvania Avenue, but the city cannot (or does not want to) get a handle on it.

BikeDC friends have been hit in this lane and I’ve watched and been part of near misses. Every day, cars continue to make U-turns or illegal left turns through the bike lanes without regard for the cyclists who might be riding in them.

@bilsko in the bike lane. Photo by Felkerino/@dailyrandonneur.

I am all for improved cycling infrastructure in our city. Bike lanes send a tangible message that cyclists are here and have a place. In addition, I have read that an infrastructure of continuous bike lanes throughout a city (complete streets) helps facilitate more bicycling, and encourages more women to ride because they view the bike lanes as safer than being in the traffic lanes.

Previously these lanes were protected by bollards which controlled some of the U-turn riffraff (you can see them in the top two photos), but for some reason they were removed and the District Department of Transportation has not been replaced them; I don’t know why. The result is a bike lane with no bollards in the middle of the road and no physical deterrent to prevent cars from crossing through them.

As it stands now, the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes are not working for me. I do not feel safe riding in them and I don’t think that I should ride there thinking “One day my time will come and I’ll finally be hit by a car here, oh well.” It’s maddening to feel unsafe riding in one of the few places that is supposedly dedicated to bicycle traffic.

Every day, cyclists document illegal turns. I admire their persistence. However, the result of people’s efforts so far has not resulted in adequate enforcement or replacement of the bollards.  Maybe a few tickets are handed out, but overall behaviors have not changed. People continue to make illegal turns all along Pennsylvania Avenue.

Do we continue to fight day after day for this designated space in the middle of the road? Do we ride in the lanes despite the sense of compromise to our safety, or is it time to consider some other kind of change to the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes? You tell me because I really don’t know.

The Bike Commuter Code has spurred a lot of insightful conversations and comments from fellow commuters. Brian, of Tales from the Sharrows, even wrote his own post about my post which you can find here—meta blogging!

Thank you to everyone who contributed their ideas. After reading all the tweets, comments and emails I have a clarification and some additions to make to the Bike Commuter Code.

First, the clarification. The code is what I have actually observed in the city in terms of how commuters deal with each other. Yes, there are some “should do’s” thrown in, but for the most part the code is just trying to capture “what is,” and general sentiments about commuting. As I said in the original post, it is not really the rules of the road, although those are definitely in play whenever we ride.

Based on people’s feedback, I have made seven Bike Commuter Code additions:

16. There seems to be no code when it comes to obeying traffic rules. Credit to Charlie for this one. Some commuters stop at stoplights and some do not. Also, just because the person in front of you ran the light, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea to follow suit.

17. ”Ninja bikers “– those who ride without lights at night– are no friend of the general commuting population, as Rambling Rider notes. During the more temperate spring and fall seasons, which also coincide with the new bike rider seasons, there is an increase in ninja commuters. As a result, there is also  an increase in angry tweets about these #ninjabikers. Get a headlight and a taillight and get with the program, ninja bikers.

18. Some commuters really like to practice trackstands at stoplights, as Rachel and Portajohn said. I had never noticed this, but after reading their comments, I observed someone desperately attempting a one-minute trackstand on my commute home.

Trackstands do not make a person more special or righteous, and after a point they are silly. However, as I said, some people really like to practice them. Portajohn also has a rather detailed theory about the Bike Commuter Code of Trackstand Superiority which can be found in the original Bike Commuter Code post.

19. Hand signals are helpful to other cyclists as well as cars. Credit to #bikeDC tweep @nikki_d. Not everyone uses them. Also, it is common and acceptable to stick your right arm straight out to indicate a right turn, as opposed to hoisting your left arm at a right angle. The latter is a remnant of car signaling, and bikes are not cars.

20. People in Washington, D.C., are less friendly (overtly, anyway) than in other places. Andrew says that in Australia, fellow commuters will say “g’day” if passing each other. Craziness! And Deb says that the commuters in the D.C. burbs will chat at stoplights. More craziness!

21. Commuters who encounter other “regulars” on their commute will generally acknowledge each other in some way. At least, Rootchopper says they will.

22. If you see a cyclist on the side of the road with their bike and possibly fiddling with it, it is customary to ask “Do you have everything you need?” or “Alright?” as dasgeh commented. While most commuters carry the tools and supplies they need for those inconvenient mechanicals, cyclists will help each other out when necessary.

Thank you for reading, and for your additions and thoughts on the Bike Commuter Code. Remember you are all special and righteous, and have a great weekend!

Have you ever thought about how much traffic lights influence your commute? I bet you have.

Traffic lights might have even figured into how you originally laid out your commute route.

I bet you know every single stoplight on your route by heart. You know exactly where it is, and precisely how long it takes for each one to cycle from red to green to yellow and back again.

You know the vehicle traffic at each light, and whether there are ever breaks in the traffic flow that allow you to ease through between light cycles (not that you would ever do that).

You know those spots where you would never dare to creep out into the intersection early because cars push the yellow and even bolt across the street as the right flashes to red.

You possess an intimate awareness of how each light’s pattern fits into your overall commute. If you get through this light going X miles per hour you can make it through this other intersection before the light shifts to red and you are obligated to pause for 50, 49, 48…

When that happens, you impatiently wait with a foot down while the seconds tick by until you can set off again to resume your stoplight dance.

At times, my commute takes on a dance-like quality, as I move easily to and fro with my traffic lights. Sometimes it’s as though I’ve been thrown in a mosh pit, and I herk and jerk my way around, with an occasional stray elbow getting thrown into my face. Still other days, I feel like I’m at a mellow show at the 9:30 Club, with my head bobbing steadily as I mingle with my environment.

It’s funny how powerfully these inanimate sentries influence our commutes. As I ride, I see others who are familiar with “my” stoplights. They know them as well as I do.

As we ride along in silence (because there seems to be some strange commuter code that we not interact with each other) I wonder how they would define it.

Would they call it a dance? A duel? A drag race? Do they just see a stoplight as another element on the obstacle course they call their commute?

I would love to know, but instead I stay quiet and keep my eye out for my next dance partner.