lubes17319

https://greatergreaterwashington.org/...-in-bike-lane/

CB HI

Sad the old fools could not mind their own business.

dynodonn

Obviously the one elderly woman knew that the van was parked illegally, otherwise she would not have guessed what the cyclist was up to. I'm sure that the elderly couple would be quick to call law enforcement if the same van just happen to be blocking their driveway.

turbo1889

Maybe it was their van?

FBinNY 

Gee, I thought that's what they were saying about the cyclist.

dynodonn

This incident reminds me of the uproar when a number of church members' cars were ticketed for parking in the bike lanes around a local church, a considerable number of the comments were that they had been parking there for a number of years, and why did law enforcement just now start ticketing after all this time.

Matariki

I saw this here a few weeks ago while driving. The blocked bike lane was the one on which I commute, weekdays. I can't say that I was much distressed, though. I recall thinking that, had I been riding, I would just have to take the lane . No drama, I'm afraid.

dynodonn

Being that the church function was taking place on an inclement winter night, the side being blocked was on the uphill side with traffic moving at 40mph plus. Like you, I would have taken the lane as well, since I have enough lights and reflective material on my bike to let motorists see me at a considerable distance.

B. Carfree

We have a bike lane that has recently been improved from being entirely within the door-zone of parked cars by the removal of on-street parking on that side of the road. There is a on that side of the road and its customers insist on parking in the bike lane (and part of the travel lane, since their cars are wider than the bike lane). Our local law enforcement won't write the tickets and parking patrol won't patrol during the events. Not surprisingly, these folks continue to block the bike lane.

Why does it matter? Well, the church holds lots of evening events and this is on the main road between the six bars/breweries in my neighborhood and the ten or so downtown, all in an area where it's not considered entertainment unless one is drunk or getting drunk. Most of the people on bikes hereabouts are afraid to take the lane, and part of why we got the parking removed was to get the bikes off the sidewalk. It's not really working as well as planned.

That's a long way of saying I'm jealous of the fact that your cops will write parking tickets for motorists who park in bike lanes.

phoebeisis

Hey-did the old lady get him on the " I saw you riding on the sidewalk from there to there"-is it illegal to ride on the sidewalk in DC?
Might have been a pretty good reason to leave.
He certainly couldn't have been scared of those to ancient duffers.
Yeah-van was clearly parked in a dangerous place-night-run right into it.

dynodonn

This ticketing was after a number of years of parking in the bike lane, and I'm not so sure if our local law enforcement will do it again, though that I haven't see a vehicle parked in that one particular section of the bike lane since.

dynodonn

I could clearly see the van in the video, so it wasn't totally obscured, what I would be more concerned about is the van's parking in the bike lane was making some cyclists enter the adjacent travel lane rather quickly, making them unpredictable to rear approaching motorists.

phoebeisis

Right-they would suddenly pop out into the traffic lane-AT NIGHT

FBinNY 

OTOH - as you point out it was a white van and not exactly camouflaged. If the cyclist claimed to have almost hit it, he was seriously vision impaired, or (like motorists) not attentive to the world around him. (is distracted cycling the same as distracted driving?).

I'm not defending whoever parked the van, but IMO this kind of stuff is a tempest in a teapot. It's easy and safe enough to maneuver around a parked van (bike lane or not) and this is a skill that every cyclist has to have. What if there's no bike lane and a truck is stopped (legally) to load or unload.

Whether parking in a bike lane laws are enforced or not is a community/police issue and can be addressed the same way as other nuisance issues. But to all those who think it's a big deal, or serious hazard, my advice is to get over it.

dynodonn

If there were no bike lane, a number of less experienced or traffic timid cyclists would probably decide on other means or streets in making their rounds at night. I've personally watched numerous cyclist in my locale, not practicing the necessary skills of predictable riding and being visible to motorists at night, much less during the daytime, so not every cyclist out riding their bike has the necessary experience to properly negotiate a parked vehicle in a bike lane.

FBinNY 

It is generally impossible to complete any bike trip without riding on shared roads at some point, so EVERY cyclist, timid, inexperienced or whatever, needs to have ways o negotiate their way around obstructions. It isn't a very difficult, and even done badly is relatively safe.

In this case, the cyclist can make the maneuver properly with a long angled lane shift, or come up to the van and wait for a break in traffic, which wasn't heavy in the video, and swing around, or if extremely timid, cursed th A-hole who parked there, and walked around the van on the sidewalk.

IMO- cyclists need to maintain a sense of proportion, and let go of the sense of entitlement relating to bike lanes. Life isn't perfect, and IMO if this comes anywhere close to the worst someone encounters on any given day in the city, they're having a great day and should count their blessings.

As I watched that video, I saw three jerks who deserved each other, and it reminded me of what I often say when I run into folks like that "Have a great day, may all your encounters be with people just like yourself."

Of course, folks are free to disagree, and I won't feel any worse bout them.

spinbackle

FBinNY, I have to completely agree with everything you've said. This does not pain me as you and a few others seem to be the only ones here with some sense!

katsrevenge

He did the right thing... but than again, I'm the sort who'd report a car for parking in handicapped spots or for dumping/littering so maybe I'm biased.

dynodonn

Agree, and I of the same vein in not being the type to grin and bear every single illegal motorist activity, especially when motorists personal actions are very detrimental to my personal safety.

dynodonn

Since I video all my bike rides, I have a number of OMG/WTF moments recorded of cyclists not being predictable when negotiating around parked vehicles, no one was hit, but close enough to show that not all motorists have a cyclist's well being on their mind at the time.



What I saw in the video, were a misinformed couple in their thought on what constitutes as bike infrastructure, and their lack of concern for the safety of cyclists.

katsrevenge

Yes...

Not that there are bike lanes here. I either ride in the road and risk my life or ride on the sidewalks.. slowly.

I'd get a cell phone just to report these illegally parked cars if it meant there was a bike lane for them to park in!

walrus1

They can go to hell. People like them get my goat. "It's not in a passing lane." Their right it's not it's in the bike lane. He is minding his own business. Which is getting around without being injured or killed.

Will the cops in DC actually do anything about the van? I once made a 311 report about a massive semi blocking the bike lane in front of a super market. The truck was oversized for the surface streets and was parked in such a manner that passing it was very dangerous for both cyclists and cars. Despite this the cops arrived 5 hours later and didn't see anything. I suspect that they didn't actually show up at all.

Essex

I can only imagine how their adult children and grandchildren are... As a note - crazy tends to run in families.


Also, I tend to believe the old couple are angry people who saw a opportunity to vent in a 'safe' situation. They appear self-righteous, act condescending and definitely aggressive. I would love to see them pull that stunt with some guy who calling and looked like gang-banger.

dynaryder

Only in the downtown area:
https://ddot.dc.gov/DC/DDOT/About+DDO...walks+Downtown

Cyclist was at 19th and L,which is in the CBD. However,he could legally do what he did if he had been about to lock up to that lamppost,so I can't see him getting a ticket.

Couple things;the van has NY tags. The lady says he does work in DC? Also love how Fred said the barrier lane,with flexposts, is the bicycle lane.

Astrozombie

That's beautiful, never skip an opportunity to stick it to the church.