D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council

What you need is probably here. From Bike Swap 2010. (Photo by R. Myers) Despite the threat of appreciable snowfall this weekend, it's technically spring and time for the Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market DC Bike Swap 2011 Saturday, March 26 from Noon - 2:00 pm at Lamont Plaza. The Mt. Pleasant Farmers Market is a coalition of farmers, bakers and probably a few candlestick makers who sell fresh local fruit and vegetables, flowers, herbs, eggs, meat, dairy products, fresh bread, sweets, and other baked goods. They also offer a bike clinic program that teaches basic bike maintenance and occasionally has bike swaps, which gives local bicyclist the opportunity to purchase new, slightly used or mostly used bike equipment. It also provides an opportunity to talk with fellow bicyclists and will probably include the chance to talk with the WABA D.C. bike ambassador Daniel Hoagland and see his remarkably large bike trailer.  Last year, BAC representative Meridith Begi n sold a qualit

The D.C. Department of Transportation is holding a project update public meeting March 22, 2011 from 6-8 PM at the Banneker Community Center at 2500 Georgia Avenue, NW to discuss the ongoing reconstruction of Sherman Avenue NW. Bound roughly between W Street and Park Road NW, Sherman currently acts as a four-lane arterial road that runs parallel to Georgia Avenue to the east and connects car traffic from 6th Street NW and downtown to New Hampshire Avenue NW and from there to Maryland.

Ann Scott Tyson reported in Sunday's Washington Post that Metro is interested in increasing the numbers the people who arrive to its stations by bike .  Maybe our Metro bike parking can look like parking in Copenhagen, Denmark (Photo by R. Myers) The report mentions that over the next 5 years, Metro will commit $11 million in projects to improve bicycle and pedestrian access to its rail stations $3 million would go toward replacing bicycle racks and lockers. Citing the tremendous cost of creating an estimated 40,000 additional parking spaces at its stations to accommodate additional patronage of its system, Metro and its planner are now seriously considering adding more bike parking and reconfiguring how the system moves people to and from its facilities.  Hopefully, this would include stations that are difficult to access in the District (Rhode Island Avenue - Brentwood)  or have high rates of bike theft (take your pick). While new racks are planned for high-ridership

BAC member Meridith Begin posted a link to a video showing the trips between stations on London's bike share system called "Hire Bikes". It's pretty neat to see the rush hour peeks, and the concentration in center city during the day vs. further out at before and after rush hour - all in real time apparently. London Hire Bikes animation from Sociable Physics on Vimeo .

Board member BAC member Liam Healy posted on the BAC group site about his experience  volunteering at an Adventure Cycling/PPTC event in Arlington and was approached by Peggy Dennis, the president of the  Montgomery County Civic Federation . She is organizing a "Montgomery County Bicycle Action Conference" on May 14, 2011, and wanted to get the word out. He  told her that he was on the DC BAC and talked about making links to neighboring jurisdictions' BACs. This isn't exactly a BAC, but it seems close. Here is the conference announcement , which he has posted (with her permission) on Google Doc so that anyone can view.  

According to the WABA website, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association is implementing its bike valet for the 2011 National Cherry Blossom Festival on weekends from March 26 to April 10.  The WABA valet will be at the Jefferson Memorial opening at 10:00 am until 6:00 pm. To help support the valets, WABA is also seeking volunteers to help check bikes in and out of the valet area and make sure that they remain safe.  Each shift generally ranges from 9:00am to 1:00pm  and 11:00am to 6:00pm. To sign up, go to the WABA Cherry Blossom Festival site and  if  group of more than 5,  email kevin@waba.org .

The Former District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Director, Gabe Klein , doesn't seem to know when to give up.  First, he contemplates running for the at-large bid in the DC Council and now he's working for the Department of Public Works (DPW) as a Parking Enforcement Officer - well not exactly. VIOLATION - (Gabe Klein via TBD on Foot) TBD writes how Klein learned via tweets last week that cars were parked illegally in the 15th Street NW cycletrack around L Street for most of the day.  He apparently biked over to the location, took pictures of the violators and tweeted them to DDOT and DPW.  Shortly there after, 15 tickets were issued to cars park on that strip. Now that's what you call dedication. According to TBD, Klein says he wants to get in touch with Terry Bellamy, DDOT interim Director, to discuss installing bollards at the beginnings and ends of certain blocks to discourage illegal parking.  That said,  I can sort of see how someone could possibly t

Too many bikes, not enough cars?  Bike Arlington (R. Myers) Ezra Klein of the Washington Post knows a lot about many things.  He consistently explains complex issues in ways that even I can understand.  This time in his blog , he calls out the New Yorker writer John Cassid y on his anti-bike rant about bike lanes in Manhattan which basically says that "bikes get in my the way".  He further complains that it is not the fault of the ten's of thousands of cars that are the cause of traffic congestion but the bike lanes that take an otherwise perfectly good piece of roadway out of the mix.  While your at it, take away the side walks too.

Welcome to the blog, let's see what happens.

The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is looking to fill a vacancy in it committee that provides guidance and advice to develop and maintain the District's trail network.  The Committee represents trail user groups – hiking, biking, skating, equestrian, and must include a motorized user (ATV, snowmobile, etc.). T he annual budget is  approximately $700,000.  

Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes under construction. (R.Myers) It's that time of year again, when cyclist from across the country converge on the District for the 11th annual National Summit at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. Organized by the League of American Bicyclists , the event hopes to consolidate the effort to make bicycling more than just a recreational activity but according to the league, a way to improved bicycle-friendliness and livability in many communities while improving physical activity, safety and livability in the U.S.  This is more important now due to high rates of obesity in the United States and the hours spent sitting in cars instead of being more active. More acute not than ever, bicycling can help reduce the congestion on our road and transportation system while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and our dependence on oil, foreign or domestic.