now, the fun part, and that's making sure that the cars stay in their own damn lane. when i'm taking q street from dupont heading eastbound on my way home, i will invariably be crowded towards the parked cars by driving cars that refuse to stay to the left out of the bike lane. it's like they think that's a "groove" that they can put their right wheels in...

There are bike lanes in DC? Seriously, not counting Rock Creek Park, the only bike lanes I can think of are on Calvert St in Woodley Park/Adams Morga, which only last for a few blocks.

there are lots more bike lanes on capital hill. and, no disrespect ksamm15, but i'm not too concerned about making it harder for suburbanites to speed through our neighborhoods...

"almost all of Q Street NW now has a dedicated lane"

Umm, doesn't Q St. go all the way to Georgetown University? Is it fair to say "almost all" of it when you really mean, a little more than half?

Unfortunately, there's not much anyone can do about the roads layout. The diagonal arteries mean it's impossible to avoid traffic by riding on a side street for any length.

The new Q St. vert ramp is the shit!

Good news!! Bikers can already ride on sidewalks everywhere in DC except right downtown. Actually, some bike routes encourage folks to bike on the sidewalk; a signed route towards Catholic U and Mt. Rainier along Irving Street past the giant hospital complex has signs at the on and off ramps indicating both pedestrians and cyclists crossing, for instance.

I am constantly appalled at the number of bicyclists riding on the sidewalk in DC, dowtown, clean, filthy, whatever. I don't think riding a bicycle on a sidewalk past the age of 9 should be acceptable. I've actually been cursed at in Columbia Heights for walking my dog... "Didn't you effing see me coming?"

Yeah, and I was frozen in disbelief that you were pedaling full speed on a sidewalk, as though you were a child just free of his training wheels.

I guess we could allow bicyclists full reign of the sidewalks, along with motor vehicles, and open up the streets to pedestrians and people just learning to ride bikes.

In Tokyo, you can be walking on the sidewalk completely oblivious to the the fact some bicyclist is behind you, cycling impossibly slow. When you are somehow miraculously cognizant, the cyclist gives you a glare as he goes on his way.

I'm very thankful when folks use a bell to signal - get one and friggin' use it..

There are definitely many DC roads where I think cyclists should use the sidewalk. Wisconsin, Mass and Connecticut Aves can be dangerous and the sidewalks are quite wide.

I don't ride a bike at all (as you can tell by the words I use to describe it) but I felt really bad yesterday for this guy riding down 14th Street in the morning. He was between Thomas Circle and K Street being totally terrorized by a car. The car was almost running into him over and over, all the while honking his horn like a mad man. The only thing nice about the situation is that in the end, the cyclist won out, speeding by traffic that was backed up around K Street. I could not believe this guy in the car almost smashing into the cyclist over and over.

internbrian: amen, there ought to be stops at all the circles (thomas, logan, dupont, washington) for those coming in to the job core from the neighborhoods to the north and west. then maybe something on the hill...

i have to say that every time i see someone talking about bikers 'blowing through' red lights, i have to wonder about what they're talking about. it seems to me that it would be suicide for a biker to go flying through a red light at full speed. a car legally driving through their green light would kill you instantly.

here's what i do at red lights on my bike (it's about the only law i openly break while biking): i treat it as a stop sign. i'll stop at a red light, and if there's no cross traffic, i proceed through the light. i know that the cars behind me probably get pissed, but it's (i feel) a safe way to make sure that i get out into the open lane and lets the drivers behind me know that i intend to be using the lane and that i won't be a pushover...

If a biker can't make a full and complete stop at a redlight then don't expect motorists to respect your right to use the road. Everyone should follow the rules of the road without exception. All it takes is one fast car coming over a hill and going through the green light to kill a biker that thought there was no traffic.

So here's the thing about red-light running. Everyone does it.

There are two kinds of red-light running. There's "catching an orange light" - zipping through the tail end of a yellow or the very first second of a red, which everyone - pedestrians, cyclists and drivers - does. Then there's jaywalking (or jaybiking) - going through a red light after the traffic clears - which only pedestrians and cyclists do.

So why don't drivers do the second kind? Is is because they love the law so much? Is it because they are so concerned with public safety? That has not been my experience.

They don't jaydrive it because it is significantly more dangerous for them. They can't see as well as a cyclist or pedestrian. They can't hear as well either. They can't back up, or turn quickly if they make a mistake. So drivers choose not to run red lights because its far too scary for them. That's it. No moral superiority and no greater love of the law.

Drivers speed much more often then pedestrians or cyclists. Does that mean we should not respect their right to the road? Please stop making the inane "I'll respect cyclists when they respect the law" argument. That only works if drivers respect the law - which they do not.

Yeah. If motorists could run reds knowing they won't get hit or caught, they would. No question.

Running reds isn't even the best part about biking in the city. Saving $ by not buying gas and getting exercise is pretty cool, too. Oh yeah... you can get to places in the city faster than most cars can anyway. It's hilarious.

Hooray for more bike lanes.

"Please stop making the inane "I'll respect cyclists when they respect the law" argument. That only works if drivers respect the law - which they do not." - IMGoph

"but what's the rationale for a cyclist being able to do it and a motorist not being able to?"

As IMGoph said, there's no "being able to". It's still illegal; but then again, so is driving 30 mph in a 25 mph zone. But to the extent that there is a disparite societal view with regards to the two, I would suggest that it has something to do with the 2 tons of steel and glass that the motorist is hurling through our streets. It's like the difference between threatening someone with a fist and threatening someone with a loaded revolver.

today around noon, a motorist was screaming at a bicyclist (also screaming back), until the motorist (in business casual clothing) stopped the car at a corner, ran out, and knocked the bicyclist off his bike. the biker fought back. i don't know what the eff the backstory was there because who knows...

however, i'm a pretty conscientious bicyclist (and motorist, when i have access to a car), and shit like that terrifies me. i've had cars not see me, motorists scream at me when i'm clearly and safely in the bike lane, and i've seen bicyclist take sharp lefts through traffic with no signals. both are bad, but clearly the fist/loaded revolver analogy is apt.

Whenever I drive downtown, I always have an ecrimina stick ready to shove in bike spokes. And when I bike downtwon, I always have some caltrops ready for errant drivers' tires. Finally, ninja foot spikes are de regeure for anyone who commutes by hopping from bus roof to bus roof.

The more commuting in DC resembles Death Race 2000 and Rollerball, the more we need to make it a kickass adventure.

washcycle: On the extremely rare occasions when I do drive, I do follow the law, not so much out of respect for it, but rather as a matter of safety. So, again, why don't others? This is tangential to the red light issue, but I've had many close calls in crosswalks with cyclists zipping out in front of me when I have the right of way. I don't like it when cars do it, and I don't like it when cyclists do it. I'm ok with people admitting that there's a double standard and that they're ok with it -- just don't pretend that it doesn't exist.

I have a difficult time using the words "reasonable" and "DC" in the same breath.

Now, "ninjas" and "bus surfing" I have no problem with.

i'm calling bullshit on that. most of the douchebags in DC drive overpriced automobiles. most of the bikers you'll meet are pretty damn down-to-earth people who've made the decision to save money on that aspect of their life in order to have money for other things they find more important. we're not all tour de france wannabes.

melbell, I'm sure you do follow the law. There are many drivers who do. And there are a lot of footdroppers on bikes too. I'm talking about pedestrians, cyclists and drivers as classes and I suspect that each breaks the law less often then the next in that list.

Where is your double standard? Cyclist who run red lights risk a collision or a ticket - same as drivers. The only argument you could make is that cyclists are immune to red light cameras, but that's a pretty weak point.

Cyclists don't have anything close to a monopoly on breaking the law. Yet, as a class they're held up as scofflaws and douchbags. If there is a double standard, that's it. Drivers break the law and that's just how it is, but cyclists do it and they're selfish, self-righteous anarchists.

I really think what we're dealing with is a taboo. Red light running of the second variety is viewed as so dangerous by drivers that a cultural norm against it has been formed. When cyclists "blow through" a red light they're doing more than breaking the law, they're breaking a taboo - even though the safety argument isn't applicable to them in the same way - and my anthropologist friend is always saying that breaking the law people can accept but breaking a taboo makes them batsh*t crazy (although he has technical term for it).

They're a notch beneath child molesters.

And guys in jetpacks with ass chaps.

@monkeyrotica, I appreciate your attempts to inject some humor into this discussion. Especially the "cock of nothing" bit - I can still hear Mr. Burns saying it.

@washcycle, @IMGoph, thank you for doing such a good job articulating the biker's POV here. Yes, we break the law, just as driver and pedestrians and almost everyone else in the world does. But we do so within certain mores that make sense for us. People might be surprised to learn that there is honor among bikers, and certain things are taboo even amongst our own (for me, it's biking down a bike path the wrong direction - that drives me nuts and it's unsafe).

We're no different than you, drivers of the world (well, we're in slightly better shape and we don't pollute as much, but whatever). If you run us over, do we not bleed? Please stop honking at us from 2 ft. behind - your horn is really loud. And we will try to stay as far to the right as we can. I guess what I'm trying to say is: can't we all just get along? (I know we can't, but it's nice to ask once in a while).

Wow, my 2 comments were both full of typos. Sorry about that. My mind must be elsewhere. Shouldn't be commenting while riding my bike, anyway.

I take it everyone here has already seen the Hungarian government's "bike to work" ad campaign?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZM_HTdpgcRE

(NSFW, unless you have headphones.)

I'm just waiting for that one biker to run a redlight when I have the greenlight so when I hit them I'll sue the Hell out of them for damaging my vehicle and for causing so much emotional distress that I have to go to therapy for years. I just hope they're wearing a helmet so they survive to go to trial so I can hear them explain why it's OK for bikers to run redlights. Also, I want to see their jaw drop when the judge reads my award. Take that douchbags.

ksamm15, the best estimate is that over the course of a week, three out of every four cars driven in the District are from out-of-town. While that does leave a fair number of District drivers -- me among them every once in a while -- it's pretty clear that the District's roadways are primarily for the use of non-locals.

(It may also be worth noting that the average suburban vehicle is significantly larger than the average District vehicle, so suburbanites do proportionally even more damage to the pavement. But, hey, they pay sales tax when they get a Vegi Muffaletta at Cosi, which ought to pay for a new roadway system in no time flat.)

dc4life wrote, "Being sweaty at 7:30 in the morning is gross." It is such comments/statements that make Americans look like the completely lazy, fat, spoiled people that we (the collective "we") are. A little sweat never scared anyone away, trust me. We are a nation of obese, lazy people who act as though driving a vehicle is some sort of right granted to us by the Constitution. This attitude does not exist in Europe, and they are all the healthier and happier for it. We should be embracing all forms of transportation that do NOT involve getting in a personal automobile. Finally, I am not disagreeing that some cyclists blatantly disregard the law. I know in the instances that I have disregarded the law, it has only been in the interest of my personal safety. As DC becomes more "bike accessible," there will be fewer instances where cyclists are basically forced to disregard the law for safety reasons.