Kevin,

Thanks very much for speaking up about this. Every time I see a bicycle pulling a child-trailer on a street with sharrows instead of bike lanes (I see this often on the sharrows-only section of Commonwealth), I worry that we are not protecting our citizens.

In fact, there is a lot of "low hanging fruit" that Alexandria has yet to grab. For example, why do the on-street bike lanes on he Arlington section of Potomac Avenue disappear when that street reaches Alexandria? I am told that there will be a perfectly good recreational trail somewhere nearby sometime in the future. That isn't good enough, doesn't connect to the rest of the bicycling network, and doesn't get people where they want to go.

While some of our leaders have their heads in the sand, actual people with actual children are riding our streets in order to get to jobs, schools, shopping and other destinations. The time has come to _always_ be thinking transportation and safety instead of marginalizing biking and walking by pretending that they can be pushed aside onto recreational facilities that don't go to important destinations.

Jonathan Krall

I second Jonathan Krall's comments.

Head in the sand is too polite: many of the so-called leaders in Alexandria are morons who lack ANY courage to accept social reality as it is. Privileging the car is not and will not work from here on out. THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE. Go build some more lanes on the Beltway???!! -- ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha....$$$$$$$$$$$$....

THERE IS NO better symbol than the bikes lanes ending on Potomac at the end of Arlington and the beginning of Alexandria! NONE! How in the hell could that have been so royally screwed up??!! Every real transportation cyclist will ride in the road, not use the stupid path, and there are bound to be conflicts as these experienced cyclists TAKE THE LANE, as is there legal right and as safety dictates. And the Police will, naturally, stand with the cars...

How they could screw up some a simple project, and NOT put bike lanes in that stretch doesnt bode well for Alexandria...

Then again, this is a city that is simply too stupid to ban cars on King Street during Friday and Saturday nights. It would be a HUGE economic boom if they did so (and all most people care about is money, so...), but NO ONE has the moral or political or even artistic courage to even suggest this! So many are SLAVES to the privately owned automobile.

"Privileging cars?" I am generally sympathetic to any attempt to make Alexandria a healthier, more environmentally progressive city, but the reality is the taking a bike to work is a privilege that many cannot afford. Not everyone has access to shower and changing facilities at work. That is mostly for professionals, and it is a privilege and a luxury that low income workers do not usually have. Parents with kids need cars to go to and from schools, day care facilities, grocers, etc. Many have long commutes and especially in inclement weather, a bike simply isn't practical. I also would not advise anyone, but especially a woman, to ride alone after dark. I detect a strong tone of sanctimony in cyclists, and it doesn't make me particularly sympathetic to their efforts. I don't consider myself a "slave to the privately owned automobile." I consider myself someone who prefers to arrive for the work day in warm, dry professional attire.

Michael - as a cyclist I use my bike for part of my commute. If cyclists are going to accomplish anything, however, let's keep the comments constructive. Alienating other road users and proposing to entirely shut down important shared thoroughfares will harm - not help - this cause. I do like you have a pet peeve (who doesnt?): better way for bikers to access Braddock metro station. Many commuters bike south on Mt Vernon to get to the metro. Generally everyone bikes in the car lane on Mt Vernon until the traffic light intersection with Braddock, but then bikers take a variety of approaches from there: some bike on the north side sidewalk of Braddock, but this is narrow and problatic for pedestrians. Some bike east against traffic on the west bound lane of Braddock. Others stay with the car traffic and turn east onto the east bound side of Braddock. Then some bikers ride up on the sidewalk to access the bike racks; others bike against the bus traffic in the bus lane and then up onto just a short section of sidewalk, and almost none follow the normal kiss and ride car traffic loop pattern. I would love to see a more unified approach that designates one clearly marked and dedicated approach for del ray bikers to the Braddock metro.

The responses to my comments are idiotic. They don;'t even connect to the content of my remarks. these people can't read...

This culture is blind to alternatives. This culture thinks its doing THE CYCLISTS a favor!!! HA HA HA HA..im already out of the car. Im not fat. I dont waste time or money. Im highly educated. etc etc. My life is already aesthetically rich you morons...I dont care what you do...although...let me guess: lets perpetuate a failed structure that requires subsidy to exists and function.

Please, do tell, what books and research do you have to back ANY of your tired, ignorant claims? And what comparative cases can you offer?...

Typical Americans: talking out of their ass...

Michael, your attitude isn't helping your cause at all. Can you suggest an alternative to the car for people with children, people with mobility issues, people whose jobs require them to be dressed in a certain way that is not conducive to cycling, people who need to carry briefcases, laptops, etc.?

Gail- I take exception to almost all of your points in your first post.Have you ever lived overseas? Amsterdam, Munich, Berlin, Copenhagen and many other cities across the pond have the majority of it's professionals commuting by means other than car- usually by bicycle.Unless you're grossly overweight or ridiculously unfit, riding a bike for 10 miles shouldn't even cause one to break a sweat.

As for inclement weather, well, there's gear for that. a rain coat, some decent fenders and a simple hat go a long way. A huge portion of Portland Oregon (not known for it's nice weather) has found a way to commute by bike. In fact, even with the near-constant rain, Portland has managed to decrease vehicular traffic.

As for Alexandria screwing the pooch on development issues, what else is new?

I want to be on the side of cyclists, but no one has addressed the issue of commuting with children. Women have other issues as well. Portland is a more casual city than DC and European cities are much more compact. Riding along the roads in DC while wearing suits isn't practial for most people. I'd love to bike to work, but it just won't work for me on most days for several reasons. I can say anecdotally that the people I see cycling to work and bringing bikes into my office building are younger men in casual dress.

Gail: It's not for everyone, but I bike to work at Union Station DC 3-4 days a week from March to late November--and my two kids are part of the deal.

I'm fortunate to have a health-club on the first floor of my building, and a bike rack in the garage under my building, so I'm able to shower and change when I get here.

As for the kids, I leave the house with my 7 year old riding his bike behind me, and my 5 year old in the bike trailer attached to my bike. We ride up to my son's school, and I drop him off (chaining his bike to the bike rack at school). We then continue to my daughter's pre-school and I drop her off. I then double-back home and leave the bike trailer in our garage, and then hit the trail by myself to get to the office.

A few years ago, when both my kids were at a pre-school in Old Town, I used to cart them up there, leave the bike trailer at their pre-school, and then hit the trail for DC to go to to work.

Again, it's not for everyone, but it's doable.

I wince everytime I see one of those kid trailers on a bike on a busy street. Accidents happen. People around here drive like maniacs, not mention DUIs, etc. I couldn't do it.

Gail - my son rides to his preschool several days a week in a bike safety seat on the back of my bike. We take a dedicated bike lane almost the entire route. The key to doing this safely is to ride a predictable and visible route along the bike lane or the sharrows and observing the same rules of the road as motorists.

After I drop him off, I ride to the metro and take the metro to work. No special biking clothes and usually not casual clothes. I've done this in a suit. It works fine. One thing I do avoid is biking with him at dark.

But onto your two concerns and how more intelligent traffic planning could address those two concerns. First, bikes and bikes with kids makes you wince (I'm glad you are concerned about biker safety). More bike lanes, sharrows, and signage will encourage more consistent and predictable cyclist behavior and make cyclists more visible to motorists, thus lowering the risk of accidents. Second, you are concerned that not everyone can bike. That's fine - "Complete Streets" doesn't contemplate a biker utopia where everyone must bike and ditch the car (sorry Michael and McBrinn, keep on dreaming). Rather it advocates an inclusive approach that addresses the needs not just or motorists but of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, and bus commuters, etc.

billdsd, you state that accidents are avoidable. That may be true, but they happen anyway. You can take every precaution, but you can't rely on everyone else to do the same. It's simple physics - in a collision between a car and bike, the car will always win. No matter who is at fault, the cyclist will almost always be the one to suffer the more serious injuries. You may think it's silly to say "accidents happen" but I think it's silly to think that they won't. I saw a car/bike collision in Philadelphia this September. Yes, it was the car driver's fault, but guess who walked away and who didn't?

Bill, maybe you're the one assessing rish using the affect heuristic. "If one’s feelings towards an activity is positive, then people are more likely to judge the risks as low and the benefits high...". I actually like cycling, so I don't think I'm assessing the risks as too high. It's just that the risks, when coupled with the impracticalities, make a car the better choice for me personally. The risk may be statistically low, but it's still a helluva lot higher than getting hit by a meteor.

What the hell is bicycle safety training? Did you actually spend money to enroll in a course that tells you it's a good idea to use a helmet, wear reflective clothing, obey traffic laws, and use a head lamp?

If you couldn't figure that out on your own I'm pretty sure you have no business being on the roads.

Your first three links were a long-winded, half-assed, recap of what I'd just stated above.

So, no. I know exactly what I'm talking about. If you want to elaborate rather than link to things repeating what I've just stated, than feel free. Otherwise, throw some more reflectors on.

You really don't know what you are talking about.

You need to understand all sorts of crossing conflicts, screening risks and ways to avoid them including proper lane positioning (far right is usually not safe).

I just want to chime in on the value of bicycle training. WABA (www.waba.org) offers classes on Confident City Cycling, covering such things as lane positioning for visibility and for getting safely through intersections, maneuvering around obstacles, emergency turns and stops, how to do a quick check of a bicycle, etc. Studies show a strong correlation between crashes and unsafe riding, such as riding against the flow of traffic or riding at night without lights. I know taking a class takes time and is not the quick fix of "wear a helmet," but a helmet is only useful when a crash occurs.

As for the anger, I don't think it is always constructive, but I certainly understand it. In Alexandria we are told, again and again, that we want people to drive less and ride more. Yet, when it is clearly time to put those words into action, as with the striping of new roads, we instead see that the bike lanes stop on the wrong side of the Alexandria city limits. After a while it feels like we are being lied to.

Then we are told as in some comments, that we are somehow arrogant for wanting to be able to ride safely on the roads. If by "arrogant" you mean "scared s--tless and praying not to be hit by a car while riding on Glebe because we are in a hurry to get where we are going and the safe routes are way out of the way" then yes we are rather "arrogant." And would like to be less so.

I am seeing an argument that Complete Streets aren't worthwhile because some cyclists and pedestrians make foolish choices. That's akin to closing the interstates because some people drive badly (me, included, according to some). Humans are flawed; the question is how do we minimize the risk arising from bad behavior?
The generally accepted thinking supported by various studies is to separate transportation modes and introduce better enforcement. If you don't want pedestrians to be hit by cars, build a sidewalk. If you want to keep bikes and cars from tangling, put in a bike lane. To make sure everyone behaves, train your police officers on proper enforcement and insist they actually do it.
As for whether biking or walking is used by enough people to be worth encouraging, the answer is an obvious yes. Just check out he Mount Vernon Trail during rush hour, and that heavy use is in spite of our weak feeder infrastructure.
It's been observed throughout the US that building supporting infrastructure encourages use of a given mode. Alas, that is why car traffic is so bad all over: it's what transportation planners used to encourage almost exclusively. Thankfully, we've realized what a colossal mistake that was. See our polluted skies, Middle Eastern wars, and freeway-bisected neighborhoods for examples. Complete Streets is just a new label for something we should all be familiar with: common sense.

I say bicyclists get stuff when they learn to FOLLOW TRAFFIC LAWS. There are signs ALL OVER OLD TOWN: Bicyclists MUST obey all traffic signs and signals. But like typical bike-snobs, they blow right through, and then get mad at drivers when we gesture and honk and yell at them. I'll share the road when they learn how ride safely and responsibly :P (sorry, GIANT pet peeve of mine. Maybe it stems from my hatred for hipsters :P)