RIDE A
PUBLICATION
OF
« ON
THE
WASHINGTON
VOLUME 36 | No 1 SPRING 2008 WWW.WABA.ORG AREA
BICYCLIST
ASSOCIATION
2008 NATIONAL BIKE SUMMIT: MARCH 4 - 6 SMART BIKES Comes to DC
BIKE DC RETURNS SEPTEMBER 27
POCKET GUIDE TO DC’S BIKE LAWS NOW AVAILABLE
MAYOR FENTY RESPONDS
To Pedestrian Fatalities It was a chilly day in December, and the Mayor’s own birthday, when he called on local police and pedestrian safety advocates to assemble in Ward 3 for an event that combined enforcement and publicity in response to an even more chilling reality: Pedestrian deaths in 2007 had reached 25, a 50% increase over the previous year. Many of MPD’s District 2 officers issued citations to drivers who failed to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalks next to the podium as the Mayor was joined by Emeka Moneme of Ddot, Cathy Lanier and Pat Burke of MPD, and Mary Cheh of the DC City Council in lamenting the terrible cost of fast and inattentive driving. This event kicked off a larger initiative still in the development stages, to be marked by new traffic legislation, engineering improvements, enforcement, and education aimed at addressing the crisis. WABA continues to provide valuable input to the city government, at the same time assisting with many of the education initiatives such as bus driver trainings for the entire WMATA fleet.
EVENTS CALENDAR ★ EVENTS CALENDAR:
Washington Area Bicyclist Association 1803 Connecticut Ave, NW, 3rd Floor Washington, DC 20009
MARCH 2: VASA Ride Join WABA and the Embassy of Sweden in celebrating Sweden's famed ski race and festival Vasaloppet by bike! Jump start your riding season on this fun event, with options for riders of all abilities!
MARCH 29- APRIL 13: 2008 National Cherry Blossom Festival Bike Valet See the blossoms, not the traffic! Take advantage of this free service by leaving your bike in our secure parking area while taking in the trees and various festivities. WABA will provide two valet locations - one in front of the Jefferson Memorial, and the other in front of the Washington Monument on 15th Street.
APRIL 12: Annual Gala and Benefit Auction This year’s Gala will take place at the German Embassy, located on the western edge of Georgetown in Washington, DC. Auction offerings include fine dining, cycling equipment, exclusive getaways, and one-of-a-kind artwork. All proceeds from the auction will benefit WABA's advocacy, safety and education programs throughout the year.
MAY 16: Bike to Work Day 2008 Join thousands of area commuters for a celebration of bicycling as a clean, fun and healthy way to get to work! Meet up with your neighbors at one of 24 pit stops all over the region, ride into the city with experienced commuter convoys and meet your colleagues at Freedom Plaza. Bike to Work Day is a FREE event and open to all area commuters!
MAY 23: Bike Prom Dance Night $5 helps support better bicycling and gets you access to DJ’s, dancing, raffle prizes, and discounted WABA memberships. Celebrate bike month by partying all night long with WABA at the Black Cat night club in Washington, DC.
JUNE 7: Arlington and Alexandria Community Bike Ride This non-competitive cycling event will offer two route options—a longer Tour of Arlington and Alexandria and a shorter Family Ride. This year’s event will begin and end in Crystal City and promises to be the best community bike ride yet.
JUNE: Singles Ride and Bike-in Movie Join WABA and the Washington City Paper for the 3rd annual Singles Ride and Bike-in Movie. Expect food, prizes, and free valet bike parking. (Date yet to be determined.)
SEPTEMBER 27: Bike DC Details on page 1.
www.waba.org
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Washington, DC Permit 6803
RIDE www.waba.org
« ON « « «
WABA BOARD
»
President
SMART BIKES
Douglas Stewart
Vice President Barbara Klieforth Paul d’Eustachio
Comes to DC!
Secretary
By Jeffry Peel
Treasurer
Randall Myers
By now many of us have heard about bike-sharing. Last July, Parisians transformed their city streets by introducing 10,000 bikes virtually overnight. Having since expanded to 20,000 bikes the program has garnered awards, captivated the media and caught the eye of mayors across the world, including those of many major cities here in the U.S.
Board Members Matthew Bieschke Kendall Dorman Jana Lynott Hunter McCleary Martin Moulton Susan Orlins Elissa Parker Curtis Runyan Dana Wolfe
WABA STAFF
»
Executive Director
Though currently boasting the largest program, Paris was not the first. Currently world-wide there are over 60 such programs, and many more in the works. And this coming spring, Washington, D.C. will launch North America’s first such program! Washington’s dense downtown streets, network of bike lanes and routes, and high rate of bike commuting to work makes for a perfect location to showcase such a program in the U.S.
Eric Gilliland
Safety Education Program Director Dorcas Adkins
Safety Education Program Coordinator Glen Harrison
Membership & Development Manager
The Smart Bikes Program is designed to augment current transit and transportation options in downtown Washington. Smart Bikes are perfect for short trips just beyond walking distance, or that require multiple Metro train or bus transfers. The system also allows for current cyclists to leave their personal bikes at home without the worry of theft, vandalism or maintenance that urban cycling brings.
Eve DeCoursey
How the System Works
Membership & Development Assistant
With 120 bikes located at 10 locations throughout downtown Washington, city residents, workers and visitors will soon have another transportation option. Those who have used popular car-sharing services will find the program quite similar. Users sign up at the website www.smartbikedc.com for a low $39.99 per year. Members will receive their user cards shortly and
Jenn Bress
Events Manager Chantal Buchser
Events Assistant
Smart Bikes in Barcelona.
once activated will have access to the system. To use the bikes, members will simply swipe the card at any of the 10 stations to unlock a bike. This bike is then theirs to use for up to 3 hours per bike, though there is no limit on how many times a day a member can use the system. The bike can then be returned to any station in the system. With no additional lock, Smart Bikes are designed only to be returned to the 10 designated stations in order to make the bikes available for all users.
Special Offer for Current WABA Members Such a program would not be possible without your support of the advocacy efforts of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association. In recognition of this, current WABA members will receive discounted Smart Bike membership rate of $29.99 through Bike to Work Day, May 16th.
Henry Mesias
Office Volunteers Josh Bennett Bruce Dwyer Jon Fleming John Telesco
» RIDE ON RIDEON is published quarterly by the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, 1803 Connecticut Ave, NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20009 phone :: (202) 518-0524 fax :: (202) 518-0936 email :: waba@waba.org website :: www.waba.org Send requests, changes of address or general messages to the WABA office. Address submissions to RIDEON, or email: rideon@waba.org. ©2006 Washington Area Bicyclist Association.
WABA is a nonprofit advocacy group representing the metropolitan Washington area bicycling community. Coverage of an event not sponsored by WABA does not constitute an endorsement. Reproduction of information in RIDEON for non-profit use is encouraged. Please use with attribution.
Printed with Eco-ink - low volatility vegetable oil-based ink on Ecoprint Offset 100 - 100% Post-consumer Recycled, Processed Chlorine Free using 100% Wind Energy in a Carbon Neutral Process.
2 RIDEON • Spring, 2008
Bike Registration Law in DC Repealed On January 8th, 2008 the DC Council passed the “Bicycle Registration Reform Amendment Act of 2007” which officially repeals the law which required all bicycles in DC to have a valid registration sticker. In its place, DC will move to a voluntary bike registration system using the National Bike Registry. The repeal of this law has been an advocacy priority for WABA in the District of Columbia. The mandatory bicycle registration requirement has long been a point of contention between cyclists and police officers who often used the lack of a valid registration tag as an excuse to pull over cyclists and impound their bikes. In fact, in a 2005 report entitled “Pretextual Stops of Bicyclists”, the Office of Police Complaints stated that the allegations of “bicycle harassment raised concerns about perceived bias in the Metropolitan Police Department’s interactions with members of the public who ride bikes in the District.” Even though bike registration was required in the District, very few police or fire departments–the locations where bikes were to be registered–actually had the equipment or materials necessary to properly
register bicycles. These problems were compounded by the lack of a unified database that would allow stolen property to be tracked across jurisdictional boundaries or even between police districts within DC. With the National Bike Registry, all local police departments throughout the Washington region, will have access to a nation-wide database of stolen bicycles which will make it much easier for bicycles stolen in one state, but recovered in another, to be returned to their rightful owners. WABA would like to thank DC Councilmember Phil Mendelson, chair of the Public Safety Committee, for moving the bill forward. WABA recommends that all cyclists, regardless of their state of residence, register their bikes with the National Bike Registry. National Bike Registry packets are now available at most local bike shops as well as through the WABA’s online store. For more information about the National Bike Registry, please visit www.nationalbikeregistry.com or call 1-800-848-BIKE.
Washington’s favorite ride is back...
BIKE DC
Saturday, September 27, 2008 start time: 7:00 - 8:30 am
A 23-mile community bike ride entirely within the District! Also a 16-mile family ride! Visit www.waba.org for further details.
THANKS TO OUR MEMBERS Many thanks to the WABA Membership for your generosity in responding to our year-end appeal. These extra funds have enabled WABA to move aggressively forward with our 2008 goals, as outlined in the Appeal. On top of the funds, your continued faith and support are the inspiration that carry us through our challenges. A very hearty thanks from the WABA Board and Staff.
★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★
THANKS TO OUR VOLUNTEERS! NBC4 Health & Fitness Expo Monique Alexander Monia Alexander Karen Brooks Caralyn Chism Eva Collins Vinson Cornejo Ebony Crowder Vicky Crowder Mary Davis Stephen Dembek Kendall Dorman Caitlin Erb John Fleckner Dontae Forgy Susan Gasper Daniel Glasson Tinesha Harris Aja Holmes Kristi Kubista Scott Kubista-Hovis
Jennifer Lehman Mark David Lim Louise Marshal Ronnie McLaurin Laurie Mitchell Tac Phung Penny Powell Richard Reis Darlene Robinson Tedd Russell Lynette Russell Malik Russell Heidi Schadler Daniel Shapiro Joey Springer Joseph Tanesha John Telesco Scott Thompson Linh Tran Pat Williams Philip Wright Kevin Young
» FROM MY SADDLE I recently heard a talk by Rex Burkholder, a founder of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance in Portland, Oregon. Rex remembered a time when he would see the same half-dozen bicyclists riding on Portland city streets. There just weren’t a lot of people riding for transportation, because the roads and city’s land use pattern didn’t encourage it at that time. But even then Portland had adopted and was implementing plans to concentrate growth in urban areas, put offices, stores and services in close proximity to houses and apartments, and expand transit. Now, Portland has a higher percentage of bike commuters than any other large city in America. In some Portland neighborhoods one in every ten commuters rides a bike to work.
Our region has some great success stories, too. Think of the many miles of bike lanes that have been striped in DC in the past five years, and how Arlington has transformed itself into a more bicycle and pedestrianfriendly community. But other parts of the region are still in that place Rex described – with few if any bike lanes and disconnected land use patterns that discourage bicycling, walking and transit use. The good news is that more local governments are trying to change their development patterns and transportation programs to accommodate more transportation choices like bicycling. It takes a long time and a lot of political will to do that. But as communities like Arlington and Portland have shown, it can be done. And WABA is a critical player in making it happen. It takes organizations with staying power to push our communities to create bold visions, make good plans and follow through on them. With spring around the corner, there’s much to look forward to – great bicycling on our trails and streets, WABA’s March 2 Vasa Ride and that other stuff that WABA loves like budget hearings and streetscape planning. They’re all part of the work we do to make bicycling easy, safe and fun for everyone in the DC region.
—Douglas Stewart, President
2008 National Bike Summit
»
March 4 -6
Summit participants at start of Congressional Bike Caucus bike ride.
★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★
VOLUNTEER CALL 2008 National Cherry Blossom Festival Help promote cycling as a viable transportation solution! WABA needs volunteers to help run the bike valet service! The bike valet will be open on Saturdays and Sundays between March 29 and April 13.
2008 Bike to Work Day Do you work in DC and plan on coming to the Freedom Plaza Pit stop on Bike to Work Day on May 16? Help WABA by volunteering to distribute t-shirts, serve food, and welcome all the commuters to the 2008 Bike to Work Day celebration in DC.
2008 Arlington and Alexandria Community Bike Ride This event features a longer tour of Arlington and Alexandria and a shorter ride for the family. Ride for free by volunteering your time as a roving or location marshal. Please contact henry@waba.org or call 202-518-0524 for more info about these events and to volunteer.
★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★★ ★ Your membership expiration date is on your mailing label!
Join WABA and the League of American Bicyclists at the 2008 National Bike Summit. The National Bike Summit is a great opportunity to learn about the latest developments in bicycle advocacy as well as how local cycling groups will be able to assist in the next federal transportation reauthorization bill. The Summit also features a lobby day on Capitol Hill and a WABA-sponsored bike ride on the Summit’s closing day. For more information and to register, visit www.bikeleague.org.
WABA is thrilled to present our
2008 Gala & Benefit Auction Saturday, April 12, 5:30-11 pm The German Embassy 4645 Reservoir Road NW * Parking available Join WABA for the event of the year with an upscale evening of food, drinks, and the annual live and silent auctions. Auction items will include high value, unique, and package items for everyone to enjoy! Space is limited.
Register online at www.waba.org today! $80 / WABA members $115 / non-WABA members (TICKET INCLUDES WABA MEMBERSHIP) For further information, questions, or volunteer opportunities. please contact Chantal@waba.org
RIDEON • Spring, 2008 3
★★
ADVOCACY
Bike Me Out to the Ball Game! Valet Bike Parking Coming to New Nationals Stadium Thanks to the efforts of WABA members and other local cyclists, biking to baseball games starting in the 2008 season will be a lot easier. The new baseball stadium being constructed near the South Capitol Street Bridge as the new home of the Washington Nationals will now have free valet bike parking services during all home games. This service will be provided in addition to the numerous bike parking racks located conveniently near stadium entrances. Since the construction of the stadium began, WABA, the District Department of Transportation and the DC Council have been working tirelessly with stadium architects and transportation planners to develop innovative bike parking solutions for the new facility. Bike valet services have proven popular at other stadiums in the US such as Giant’s Stadium in San Francisco and Wrigley Field in Chicago.
2008
ADVOCACY CALENDAR Mark your calendars for the following recurring bicycle advocacy meetings throughout 2008.
As baseball season and the bike riding season in DC closely mirror each other, and the stadium itself is ideally situated just one block off of the future Anacostia Riverwalk and Trail, the potential for a significant number of people to reach the stadium by bike made the bike valet an attractive option to stadium planners and the Nationals organization. While WABA had been hoping to run the valet service, it will instead be run by stadium employees while WABA hopes to help train the bike valets.
For a bi-weekly update on advocacy activities, sign up for WABA’s e-bulletin “Quick Release” by sending a message to waba@waba.org.
WABA would like to thank DC Councilmember Tommy Wells for his steadfast support of better bike facilities at the stadium and we look forward to hosting a bicycle tailgate party early in the season. Stay tuned!
First Monday of even-numbered months, 7:30 pm. Arlington County Govt. Center (#1 Courthouse Plaza), 2100 Clarendon Blvd. (Courthouse Metro), Azalea Conference Room. For more info: Charlie Denney, Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, at (703) 228-3633 or cdenney@arlingtonva.us.
★ Arlington County Bicycle Advisory Committee
★ Coalition of the Capital Crescent Trail Board Meeting
Pocket Guide to DC Bike Laws
★ D.C. Bicycle Advisory Council
With financial support from the District Department of Transportation, WABA recently produced a Pocket Guide to DC Bike Laws to help inform cyclists of their rights and responsibilities on District roadways. Designed to be easily carried in a bike bag or jersey pocket, the new guide contains a wealth of information that will help local cyclists understand the often confusing DC bike laws.
First Wednesday of odd-numbered months, 6-8 pm. For more info: DC Bicycle Coordinator, Jim Sebastian at (202) 671-2331 or jim.Sebastian@dc.gov.
★ Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling Third Wednesday of each month, 7:30 pm, at bikes@vienna, 128A Church St, Vienna. For more info: Douglas Stewart at (703) 385-7564 or dbstewart@earthlink.net.
In addition to covering traffic regulations, the guide also includes sections on safety equipment, what to do in case of a bike crash, bike parking and security, and the rules for bikes on transit. The guide includes a section called “Common Enforcement Errors” which is designed to educate police officers on the proper application of bike laws. According to WABA’s executive director, Eric Gilliland, misunderstanding of bike laws is commonplace among both cyclists and police officers. “Unfortunately, we get many calls each year from cyclists who had been given tickets by the police for really doing nothing wrong,”
Second Monday of each month, 7-9 pm. Bethesda-Chevy Chase Services Ctr, 4805 Edgemoor Lane, Bethesda. For more info: www.cctrail.org.
★ Metropolitan Branch Trail Coalition he said. “We hope to use this guide as a tool to educate police officers on proper enforcement of the laws as they relate to cyclists.”
Second Thursday of each month, 6:30-8:30 pm. For more info: Paul Meijer at 202-726-7364 or meijer@cua.edu.
★ Montgomery County Bicycle Advisory Committee (MCBAC)
The guide is available for only $1 through WABA’s online store, or free if you stop by the office.
Third Tuesday of the month, 6:30-8:30 pm, Executive Office Building, 101 Monroe St, Rockville, Maryland, 10th floor conference room.
★ Prince Georges County Bicycle & Trails Advisory Group (BTAG)
UPDATE: Complete Streets
Meets quarterly. Contact Fred Shaffer for details at Fred.Shaffer@ppd.mncppc.org.
District of Columbia:
Montgomery County:
Work towards a Complete Streets policy for the District of Columbia has been moving rapidly forward since the last edition of Ride On. Thanks to a grant from the Prince Foundation, WABA organized a Complete Streets one-day workshop at the District Department of Transportation which was run by the National Complete Street Coalition, and attended by representatives from the DC Office of Planning, the DC Council, and representatives from across the District government. Attendees learned about various Complete Street policies in place around the country, discussed strategies for implementing the policy in DC and brainstormed about performance measures that would help ensure that the policy results in safer streets for cyclists and pedestrians.
WABA, along with the Coalition for Smarter Growth and MoBike, has also been participating on the Montgomery County Executive’s Road Code Committee which is attempting to develop new standards for roadway design, construction and maintenance based on a complete streets policy adopted by the County Council in 2007. That legislation is serving to guide the committee towards a new roadway design manual that will place greater emphasis on bicycle and pedestrian safety and mobility as well as on streets that will better treat storm water on site. The goal of the committee is to have roadway design standards ready for Council approval by the end of April.
Since the workshop, regular meetings have been held at the District Department of Transportation to develop a Complete Streets policy statement that will guide the department, and to determine new performance measures that will be used to evaluate transportation plans throughout the city. At press time, the overall empowering language for the policy has been completed, and work has begun on creating performance measures. The policy could be adopted as soon as this spring.
4 RIDEON • Spring, 2008
★ WABA Board Meeting Second Monday each month, 6:30-8:30 pm. Contact the WABA office for location and agenda at (202) 518-0524 or waba@waba.org.
★ SAFETY EDUCATION & OUTREACH ★ Bike Rodeo for 1158 Kids!
★ Spanish Language Outreach The DC Department of Transportation has chosen WABA to reach out to the city’s Spanish-speaking population with Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Education. The first initiative of this Ddot-supported program was launched in November with a giveaway of Free Bike Lights to passing cyclists of all nationalities. Because of the numbers of Latino cyclists and their perceived need for education on DC Bike Laws, the Bike Light Give-Away program targets them by locating the event in neighborhoods where Latinos are heavily represented on the streets. WABA staff set up a booth on two November evenings at dusk in Adams Morgan and Mount Pleasant, respectively. They gave away almost 300 sets of front and back bike lights, twenty-five bicycle helmets, and safety information in the form of literature in English and Spanish.
On Saturday and Sunday, January 12 & 13, WABA kicked off 2008 with a big kid’s bike rodeo at the NBC4 Health and Fitness Expo in the DC Convention Center. A whopping forty-two loyal fans volunteered to help WABA staff teach the basics of bicycle safety and fun to a record 1158 excited children coming with their families from all over the DC Metropolitan Area for free flu shots, body mass index, blood pressure, and cholesterol screenings, as well as for fun opportunities to try out bike riding and rock climbing. At this annual event, children are taught the importance of wearing bike helmets whenever they ride, as well as of making sure their bikes are safe to ride and stopping and looking both ways before crossing a street, on foot and on bike. Attendance in the WABA booth was up 28% from 2007 numbers. Only the determination and dedication of WABA volunteers made it possible to manage a crowd of this size and make sure the riders observed safe practices while learning basic safety rules and having a whale of a time. We want to extend our thanks to the good volunteers listed on page two for so generously sharing their time with the children of the Washington Area and for continuing to make this big event the success it is.
WABA’s 2008 Confident City Cycling This year’s 2008 Confident City Cycling (CCC) schedule is already underway with the first class held January 26. League Certified Instructor, Allen Muchnick, taught a full house at Kalorama Recreation Center. These three-hour classroom sessions teach the basics of bicycling on city streets for errands, commuting, and fun. The principles of lane positioning are explained, along with techniques for avoiding some of the more common hazards. As time allows, bicycle fit and maintenance, emergency repairs, gearing and pedaling, nutrition, and accessory equipment are covered. The WABA safety education staff has scheduled 15 more classes for the remainder of 2008–seven in Washington, DC, and eight classes in Virginia. For the full schedule with dates, locations and to register please visit the website at http://www.waba.org/events/education.php.
The Spanish-speaking community responded enthusiastically when told about this program. Hundreds of flyers were distributed at local organizations to students and patrons (Casa del Pueblo, The Family Place, CentroNia, Carlos Rosario International Career Center, Latin American Youth Center, Life Skills Center, Spanish Education Development Center, and City Bikes). As a result of this outreach, WABA was asked to provide safety education in Spanish for the adult students in the literacy program at The Family Place, a Latino Aid Organization. Here volunteer Pat Muñoz, with WABA staffer Dorcas Adkins, along with José Alberto Uclés, from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, provided information to the ten adult Latino workers in Spanish. Once again, WABA provided bike lights and helmets to all who needed them.
Zipcar's Promotion Raised Big Bucks for WABA! On November 29th, Zipcar and WABA rolled out the green carpet at E streetCinema to welcome the fabulous attendees of Zipcar's Drive in movie. Attendees were encouraged to drive their cars to the event and then to leave them as donations with proceeds benefitting WABA. The theater was packed, as guests enjoyed a free screening of National Geographic's An Arctic Tale. Some left pleased with stuffed polar bears as nifty door prizes, but all left with the cold reality of the movie's environmental message. An Arctic Tale was the perfect tie in to Zipcar's incentive, to encourage car owners to ditch the pollution vehicles that are taking up space on our roads and to choose more environmentally responsible transportation solutions, such as car sharing or
bicycling. Those who donated cars were generously rewarded with a lifetime Zipcar membership, driving credit and a one year WABA membership. Luckily for WABA, Zipcar continued their car donation incentive into mid-December, recycling and/or eliminating 44 vehicles and raising over $17,000 for WABA! Charmaine Ruppolt, a new WABA member through the Zipcar program, was so inspired to live car-free she started a blog about it! http://carfree-char.blogspot.com/ Zipcar now has over 700 cars and 26,000 members in the DC area. Current WABA members can join Zipcar at a initial savings of $50 to take advantage of the wide selection of vehicles! Why not rent a convertible to drive to that bike trail you've been dreaming about? Current
Zipcar Members are encouraged to join WABA at the discounted rate of $25 for a one year membership. Don't worry if you missed the car donation program. Zipcar plans offer a similar program in conjunction with Bike to Work Day in May. If you can't wait until May, you can still donate your car to WABA by calling (877) 537-5277. They will be happy to answer any logistical questions you might have about the process of making the donation. Many thanks to Zipcar's Sarah Wagner for all the hard work she put into organizing this program.
RIDEON • Spring, 2008 5
OYSTER ELEMENTARY
Advocates for More Bicycling WABA member and third grade teacher at Oyster Bilingual Elementary, Julia Hainer-Violand, recently went on a class fieldtrip to the Wilson building to meet Ward 3 Councilmember Cheh to present a petition and to learn about the DC government. Prior to the fieldtrip, Ms. Hainer discussed with her students what might be some concerns that they wanted to address with the councilmember. With images from the media of homeless polar bears, global warming was big on their minds … but how to address this formidable issue to our local representative? Luckily, the students knew how. Perhaps it was their love of bikes or scooters, but they made it happen. On the day of the fieldtrip, the students met Councilmember Cheh outside of her office and presented their petitions. The first brave volunteer stood up and read: “Dear councilmember Mary Cheh, can you make global warming stop, please? We need more bikes, bike lanes, and scooters to ride on the sidewalk. This will help because there will be less global warming. I hope this happens because I adore animals… Sincerely, Melvin” Upon hearing this petition, Councilmember Cheh responded enthusiastically, “…He can be on my staff because he is for all the things that I am for! I definitely want more bike lanes, more changes in the city so that people can walk and ride their bikes and scooters … and it is important for global warming for people to not
use their cars.” Melvin certainly looked surprised and pleased with himself for the invitation! Afterwards, the class of 3C met the Mayor, Adrian Fenty, and was challenged to a race up two flights of marble stairs to his bullpen. Ms. Hainer never saw her students run so fast, but despite their efforts, the tri-athlete beat out 21 eight year olds. They were able to see how the Mayor runs the city and then participated in a mock hearing with Councilmember Cheh as the chairperson. Up for debate was a fictitious bill for a 10 mph speed limit on Connecticut Avenue. As a tenured law professor at George Washington University, Ms. Cheh guided this excited group of eight year olds with microphones through the bill-making process.
When all was said and done, and the students returned to school, there was a share-out about the fieldtrip. Ms. Hainer assumed that when asked about their favorite part of the fieldtrip, the students would have responded, “presenting our petitions!” or “participating in a hearing,” but no. She forgot what its like to be an eight year old. The class unanimously agreed that their favorite part was racing the mayor up the stairs. Apparently, however, he cheated. He has longer legs and he knew where he was going... Rematch anyone? Julia Hainer-Violand is a DC Teaching Fellow and cyclist who would benefit from her students’ bike lane proposals. She can be reached at julia@riseup.net
» BICYCLE COMMUTER-MESSENGER SPEAKS
Peter M. Baskin ATTORNEY AND COUNSELOR AT LAW
“Don’t be intimidated by traffic; don’t tempt it either. Pay attention and enjoy the ride.” Q: Advice for new bicycle commuters? A: Get a comfortable bike. A good lock is a must; fenders and a rack are good options. Don’t be intimidated by traffic; don’t tempt it either. Pay attention and enjoy the ride. Q: What’s the most memorable reaction you’ve gotten on your bike? A: I like when I’m waiting for traffic at an intersection and having a pedestrian ask me how long I can maintain a trackstand. I always say, “’Til the light turns green.”
Kevin Keefe, 55, has been a bicycle messenger for 22 years and WABA member for 7. He simply “couldn’t turn down the opportunity to earn a living by riding a bike.” Kevin has many bicycles but the bike he rides for work is a Trek 9000 aluminum mountain frame with Surly rigid front fork, a Chris King headset, Avid cable actuated disc brakes, high pressure smooth tread tires and a Brooks leather saddle. He can usually be seen wearing clear glasses, leather palmed gloves, lights when it’s dark, rain coat when it’s wet, layers when it’s cold; and Kevin normally uses peddle cages and straps. Kevin will ride in just about any weather but would “probably opt out of tornados.” Q: What kind of response do you get from co-workers? A: “Dude, I can’t believe somebody as old as you is still a messenger!” (Actually, I am neither the oldest nor the most veteran out there.) Q: Where do you park your bike? A: I enjoy the irony of locking up to No Parking signs. Q: What’s your riding style? A: Keep the rubber side down and try to avoid fast moving objects (or stationary ones for that matter).
6 RIDEON • Spring, 2008
Q: What was your worst experience/commute? A: Along the C&O Canal on the first leg of a ten week ride from DC to Iowa to Canada to New England. I was two days out when I fell in the river. My stuff was well rain proofed, but it really wasn’t river proofed. There was also an issue with poison ivy. It was still a real good ride though. Q: What is the best ride you can remember? A: I don’t know; maybe the ride from California to Carolina, or possibly the 4-½ day ride from San Francisco to Portland, OR. Riding in Nova Scotia is always fun, but as much as I like cycling, a commute to the corner store is a treat.
I’m a bicycle tourist, I’m a bicycle messenger, I’m a bicycle commuter. I use bicycles for transportation, I use bicycles for relaxation, I use bicycles for recreation. The quality of my life would be much poorer without bicycles. That’s why I’m a WABA member; I’m a bicyclist. —Interview by Glen Harrison
2300 CLARENDON BLVD SUITE 700 ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA 22201
TEL: (703) 528-8000 (703) 276-6800 FAX: (703 ) 522-4570
The Bike Shop at DISTRICT HARDWARE 1108 24TH ST NW previously at DuPont Circle WE SPECIALIZE IN FAST EXPERT SERVICE WE SERVICE ALL MAKES AND TYPES OF CYCLES STOP IN FOR A FREE SAFETY CHECK WABA MEMBERS MAY RECEIVE 10% ON PARTS / ACCESSORIES / HARDWARE STORE ITEMS
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TomWitkop@Juno.com (301) 294-3434
THE GREAT BICYCLE ADVENTURE OF 2007
Part III: Dubai, United Arab Emirates The following is the final segment of a three part series of articles written by WABA’s executive director, Eric Gilliland, chronicling his recent bike trip to Europe and the United Arab Emirates. After a relatively short flight from Vienna, we stepped out of the Dubai International Airport, bike box in tow, to hail a cab. Once outside the air conditioned baggage area the heat hit you like a punch in the face. It was 3am in the morning and still probably in the 100’s with high humidity. By the time I lugged my immense cardboard box containing my bike to the cab, I was drenched with sweat. That was to be my default state for the next few weeks. What I knew about Dubai before arriving was not much. It is one of seven Emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates and sits along the southern shores of the Persian Gulf (or the Arabian Gulf depending upon whom you ask). What began as a small fishing village founded by pearl divers, quickly grew after the discovery of oil. The UAE actually had very little in the way of oil
Rest stop for the group ride in the Dubai desert.
revenues, but instead made their money as the bankers of the Middle East. Dubai also has the best port facilities in the Gulf region and serves as a transshipping point between Saudi Arabia, Iran and India. They are also working hard to attract tourism revenues, and massive construction projects litter the landscape. In addition to building the world's tallest building, massive engineering and construction firms are busy constructing new islands in the Gulf that together take the shape of the Earth (Michael Jackson owns one of the continents). Also, having the world's second largest indoor ski slope isn't enough, so they are building the largest. Before getting to work on the Dubai Bicycle Master Plan, I spent that first day just acclimating to my new surroundings. The cool, greenness of Vienna had all too quickly been replaced by the deadly hot, brown of Dubai. But on the morning of the second day there I caught up
Bike parking for workers at the Dubai Dry Dock.
with a group ride run by Wolfi’s Bike Shop, one of the few bike shops in Dubai. Wolfi and I had been corresponding by email in the weeks leading up to my trip as I tried to get a sense of the bike culture in Dubai
before I arrived. The ride met outside the Jumeirah mosque at 4:30am for a 5:00am start time. Better to beat the heat by staring early. Now I love riding and I ride all the time, but I don’t consider myself fast and I could count the number of training rides I’ve been to on one hand. So when the other riders started to arrive and I quickly noticed that carbon fiber and titanium were the materials of choice, I began to get a bit nervous. While I had just been riding for a week straight and felt strong from lugging all my gear through the foothills of the Alps, I looked at my trusty, yet heavy, steel Independent Fabrication, still festooned with front and rear racks and fenders, as well as at my cargo shorts, cotton t-shirt and Pumas, and figured that I was in for some trouble. The ride began innocently enough and I had fun chatting with other riders who hailed from around the globe. As we cruised down the road the sun was starting to rise, casting a hazy glow on the desert that surrounded us. In the distance the skyline of Dubai grew out of the desert, and while my eye was wandering and taking in the scenery, the pace quickly picked up and I found myself struggling to hang onto the back. Luckily there was a halfway point where I eventually caught up to everyone, and having learned my lesson on the way out, I made sure to stay tucked within the pack on the way back to the mosque. The next day I began my work on the bicycle master plan. The firm I was consulting for, Alta Planning and Design, had been in country for about a month scoping the project, but now the work on developing a potential route network began. The first half of the day was spent driving around with their project manager measuring street widths and taking photos, but after that I was given some maps and sent out on my own to try to figure out how to get around by bike. Having worked on the bike plan for DC, I had a sense of what I was looking for, but nothing could have prepared me for what I found. Until I rode in Dubai, I thought that DC’s traffic was a nightmare. But within a block of hitting the hot and dusty streets I knew that I was not in DC anymore. Leaving issues of the heat aside, congestion in the city was horrendous at all times of the day and the streets all seemed to lead to nowhere. The bike lanes, cycle tracks and fantastic bike parking of Vienna seemed a distant, pleasant memory. On one particularly telling day I was riding around in Diera, an old section of the city lined with souks and mosques. It seemed that that particular area was designed to confuse invaders. In the span of a few hours I’d found four one way streets heading west to the Dubai Creek, which split the city, but none going east. In spite of the difficulties I quickly settled into a manageable routine: head out early in the morning and scout potential bike routes, spend the hot part of the day indoors taking notes and mapping the routes out, then go out again in the early evening. Needless to say, on the streets of Dubai I was a bit of an anomaly. In some of the older parts of the city there were plenty of other cyclists, but they all seemed to come from India or Pakistan and rode heavy single speed Atlas or Hero bikes. A tall white guy in shorts and a t-shirt riding a fancy bike stuck out like a sore thumb, but the best parts of my stay in Dubai were found along these narrow streets of the old part of the city. Many times I’d find myself riding around in the hazy dusk of Bur Dubai in another old part of the city and hear the call to prayer coming from a nearby mosque. As I rode further the call would fade away only to be replaced by another. When this happened, and it happened five times a day in accordance with Muslim law, I’d end up passing throngs of women in dark burqas and men in white disdahsas that somehow stayed pristine in spite of the heat and dust, crowding toward the mosques, and carefully give way to let them pass.
The Burj al Arab, the world’s only 7 star hotel, at sunset.
After mapping out a significant portion of the central area of Dubai, I began venturing to the southwest of town and into the neighborhoods along Sheik Zayed Road which ran toward Abu Dhabi. They said that fully one-fifth of the construction cranes in the world were in Dubai; many of them where here. Just off Sheik Zayed was the Burj al Arab, Dubai’s most famous hotel and the only seven star hotel in the world, and the world’s largest indoor mall complete with its own ski slopes. This is the Dubai you see in pictures, filled with enormous skyscrapers bursting from the sand. But the real Dubai, I knew, was found outside the mosques and along the crowded streets of the first part of the city to grow out of the desert.
Rush hour in central Dubai.
As my stay drew to a close, I made my recommendations on what I thought could eventually, with a lot of work, make up a decent bike network, and packed my things for long flight home. I had done the fun part of the project, and now it was up to the other consultants to do the hard stuff. My big fear when traveling with a bike is the possible damage that can occur during the flight. While I did the best job I could in packing, there really was nothing I could do to make sure the bike actually made it onto the plane. After a 14-hour flight back to the US, I found myself at Dulles Airport waiting for a large cardboard box that somehow hadn’t made the flight with me. Over the next ten days, yes ten days, I frantically tried to track it down. At one point, a Delta Airline agent told me that they had found it on a flight from Cairo to Athens, two places I had I never been. By the time I got it back, the box looked like it had been mauled by a pack of wild dogs. I actually didn’t need to open it up to get at my bike, I just lifted it out of the torn cardboard container. While there was no damage to the frame aside from a few scratches, the pannier I had placed inside was missing. Of course this was not the pannier that had things that were replaceable like clothes or books. This was the one that contained almost all the souvenirs I’d collected from Europe to the Middle East for friends and family. But at least I had my photos and my memories of an extraordinary trip by bike.
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ARLINGTON RESPONDS to Demand for More Bike Parking By Paul Demaio
The BikeArlington program of Arlington’s Division of Transportation is working hard to provide more and higher quality bike parking throughout the County. Arlington already has over 400 bike racks and with development of the future Ballston Bike Center and additional sheltered parking facilities we should have over 600 racks in the next few years. These projects will make Arlington more bike-friendly and provide a higher design aesthetic to traditional American bike parking facilities. The Ballston Bike Center is planned for the Ballston Metro station plaza. Presently, low-quality bike parking is provided for 50 bikes in an out-dated facility that was constructed in the early 1980s. BikeArlington’s plans are to replace this facility with European-style doubledecker racks to more than double the existing parking spaces to about 125 bikes. However, these doubledecker racks aren’t like those you’d find in a bike shop. The lower level of the double-decker racks allow a bike to be rolled in and the frame and front wheel of the bike to be locked to the rack with the cyclist’s U-lock. To park a bike in the upper-level of the rack, a cyclist slides out a track, the handle end pivots down to allow the front
wheel of the bike to be placed in the track and the rest of the bike to roll on. Pivot the track so it’s horizontal again, slide the track in, lock your bike, and then you’re off to the Metro or work. In addition, the bikes will be sheltered from the elements with a sleek design specially made for this project. More information about this project is on-line at BikeArlington.com/ ballstonbikecenter.cfm. We hope to have this project completed in 2008.
similar look and feel as the Metro station canopy and which will cover two rows of 6 “bike circle” racks with parking for 24 bikes. Bike shelters will also include the Arlington Bike Map and an outdoor utilitarian bike pump for those of us who always seem to not have enough air in our tires. These facilities are destined for the new Shirlington Bus Center, Clarendon Metro, Pentagon City Metro, and Crystal City Metro and should be popping up in 2008 and 2009.
While the Ballston Bike Center will be the biggest bike parking facility in Arlington, BikeArlington also has plans for many more sheltered facilities. We’re working with an architect to develop a bike shelter design with a
Stay tuned with these and other exciting bike projects at BikeArlington.com.
interim route footprint on the ground and in actual use will promote the full development of the Capital Space plan for the Civil War Fort Circle Parks.”
CIVIL WAR FORTS TRAIL Washington, D.C. boasts over 9,000 acres of parks and open space, one of the largest tracts of any city in the nation. The reason for much of this open space traces back to the Civil War and the need for the Union to fortify the City against threatened Confederate invasions. When war broke out in 1861, a program to fortify the City began. Following the Union’s defeat at the Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, the program accelerated. By the spring of 1865, there were 68 forts and 93 batteries linked by twenty miles of rifle trenches and thirty miles of military roads. These defenses proved their worth in July 1864 when General Jubal Early’s raid on Washington was turned back at Fort Stevens, built on high ground commanding the Confederates’ invasion route along Georgia Avenue. In 1902, the McMillan Plan proposed that a greenway be developed using retained military lands to build a continuous parkway ringing the city. Additional land was acquired for this purpose, but the plan was never carried out. Today, most of the Civil War Fort Parks and the greenway lands are poorly maintained, ignored and virtually inaccessible to residents. Capital Space, a partnership of the National Park Service, D.C. Government agencies, and the National
pdemaio@arlingtonva.us
WABA volunteer Jon Fleming is heading up this effort and represents WABA on the board of the Alliance. Members interested in working on this major project should contact Jon at cjfleming@aol.com or call him at (301) 657-9289 or email WABA at www.waba.org.
Capital Planning Commission, has proposed to link the Fort Circle Parks as a connected greenway surrounding the city and as a cultural destination. The preliminary plans and concept papers are published. Now comes the hard part: actually executing the plan. To do this, WABA has joined the “Alliance to Preserve the Civil War Defenses of Washington” which has been organized to preserve and connect the fort circle defense system of the city. WABA’s major contribution will be to oversee the linkages between fort sites and establish the system’s overall connectivity. As Eric Gilliland, Executive Director, explains, “WABA has the necessary expertise to develop an interim route using streets and bike paths as the footprint for linking together all the Fort Circle Parks, in much the same way that the Interim Anacostia Riverwalk Trail has done for that yet-to-be-built trail. We believe that getting an
MARYLAND BIKE/PED Symposium Richard Chambers, Executive Director of ONE LESS CAR based in Baltimore, hosted the Maryland Bike/Ped Symposium in Annapolis on February 6. Advocacy groups from Maryland and beyond gathered to share their wisdom and promote their programs. A noon-hour ceremony celebrated Maryland's progress with several awards being presented to various organizations and transportation offices around the state for "Excellence in Bicycle and Pedestrian Planning." Delegate Jon Cardin, an enthusiastic supporter of cycling, presided over the presentations. With the symposium conveniently held in Annapolis' Senate Building, participants were also able to include a visit with their legislators.
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