North of Military Road, on the west side of 16th Street there are exactly 2 street crossings all the way to Silver Spring (a distance of about 3 miles) because it borders Rock Creek Park. This is the area I am talking about mostly.

But honestly when I said the sidewalk on 16th Street I was saying “even the sidewalk.” There is a bike lane on 14th and traffic is much slower moving, and Beach Drive which essentially parallels 16th Street is already a very popular and reasonably safe bike commuting route. I just can’t think of a good reason to bike with two lanes of rush hour traffic, and no shoulder, in 16th Street.

I ride my bike on 16th all the time, and Monkey Daddy is right about the buses in the right lane. If the hill is too much for you, get off and WALK your bike on the sidewalk. Riding on the sidewalk is dangerous to pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers. It’s just stupid if you’re over the age of 7 and plan on crossing a street.

@Monkey Daddy – no, but a light timed for 60 would also be timed for 30. If you get to a light twice as fast as expected, you will just have to wait longer for it to change; however, if you take twice as long to get there, it will have already gone through a cycle by the time you get there. Even if you get through several 30 mph lights at 60 mph, you’ll eventually catch up to the lights that haven’t turned green yet.

@Sophiagrrl – I *love* that idea!

And in general – I’ve seen a lot more cars getting pulled over by DC cops recently. That makes me happy, even as a driver. It’s not just the cyclists that get angered by terrible drivers!

I had a thought while riding on Saturday: what if, instead of a Critical Mass or a Bike To Work Day, we had a Follow the Rules Week. I envision all cyclists en masse really, truly, madly, deeply following the rules. We’d have to do some education because a lot of folks hold dearly to the belief that they know the traffic laws when they don’t. Thousands of bike commuters riding exactly with the traffic, stopping in their queue at the light, signaling turns… taking the lane when it is too dangerous for cars to pass on the left. Never exceeding the posted speed limit (which no one believes is 25/15 MPH on Michigan Ave NE)… Never rolling a stop sign, but coming to a complete and full stop with foot on the ground, looking both ways and then crossing.

Then, after that amazing example of law-abiding, every driver in the city will spend a solid week following every traffic law to the T. No rolling stops, no speeding.

Just an exercise in self-discipline on both sides. If nothing else, it’d be an interesting educational campaign, since I think a lot of the ‘issues’ stem from folks who think they know the rules but don’t… and could use some humbling.

(and yes, I know that’s a wholly unrealistic idea, given human nature.)

and then one day someone “picking a path between stopped cars” will get hit by someone who doesn’t see them, and once again we will hear from all the whiny bikers complaining that the drivers in this town are out to get them.

Hopefully she will be okay!