mr_bill

"The traffic is grueling, made worse by all the people trying to stop to let someone out, to pick someone up or to deliver something right in the middle of the street."

"I pulled over — into a bike lane — so I wouldn’t block traffic on Q Street NW. The other parent took a really long time to pull out, longer than I expected him to take. But the longer I waited, the more I needed to see it through. The cars and bikers coming up behind me, seeing my signal, pulled around me."

"But not every violation is a hazard. We live in a city where things can’t always be orderly. Better to focus on the violators who are making the roads more dangerous."

"Still, if we’re going to cite everyone who double-parks for a couple of minutes (with her signal on, to warn everyone behind her), no one will ever get a delivery again. Or be able to drop off a child at a downtown school."

The only school on Q Street NW that is near Dupont Circle is on this block.

IN OTHER WORDS:

If you double park on the LEFT side of the street to wait for a parking spot to open, you are a hazard to "traffic." GET OUT OF MY WAY!

But if I double park on the RIGHT side of the street to wait for a parking spot to open, that's all right then. GO AROUND ME!

Helpful hint. Instead of taking Dupont Circle consider taking Scott Circle. There's a convenient bus stop to park in right at the corner on 16th St NW. After all parking in a bus stop is even LESS DANGEROUS.

BTW, the "peloton" in Dupont Circle.

-mr. bill

prj71

Ahhhhh...the beauty of not living in a big city.

I don't encounter this silliness.

KraneXL

If its a school there's usually a place to do this so you can stop to let someone in or out. But if there's a sign that says no stopping or standing anytime, or no drop off/pick-up then you deserve that ticket and I hope its a big one.

Teamprovicycle

No everyone has the right to enjoy the recreational road just pull out a pinic table and pop a squat . make sure to shake your fist at those pesky car road racers !!!

I-Like-To-Bike

A quick review of A&S posts indicates that some would-be McGruff Police Dogs can't pass up an opportunity to confront and "scold" motorists and cyclists alike for any and all "such things" that offend their delicate sensibilities of correctness. Everything seems to be a big [darn] deal that rates a confrontation.

mr_bill

Do you write letters to the editor complaining about "scolds?"

One person made a meal of it. The other made a mountain of it.

-mr. bill

mr_bill

There are several 15 minute parking spots available for pickup/dropoff.
Chances anyone gets a parking ticket for parking over the 15 minute limit?
Chances that the letter writer would complain if they got a parking ticket for parking over the 15 minute limit?
Chances that any additional two-hour parking spaces will EVER be converted to 15 minute parking?

-mr. bill

Milton Keynes

Yes, the worst I have to worry about is a deer crossing the road in front of me.

mconlonx

This is the biggest fault of the motorist in all of this... whinging about getting whinged at. It's like meta-whinging

I dunno... in my experience, city drivers used to cyclists in their midst tend to be better around cyclists than suburban, semi-rural, or rural drivers with less experience sharing traffic with cyclists.

mr_bill

The two biggest faults are she was wrong, the meta-whinging, and the hypocrisy.
The THREE biggest faults....

-mr. bill

Arthur Peabody

A guy commuting to his job at JPL through that little bit of the Angeles National Forest hit a deer and died from the impact.

Deer are the large non-human animal that causes the most deaths - from collisions with cars. If we brought back wolves and lions we'd probably decrease human mortality.

mr_bill

Bottom line, there's amateur whinging, and there's professional whinging. He's professional whinging at the amateur whinging whingee.

Eben Weiss (Bike Snob NYC) [NSFW warning, for Eben is known for using words, bad words, that may be four lettered, or even worse] weighs in at Outside.

-mr. bill

Milton Keynes

Except then instead of threads about pepper spraying dogs, we'd have threads about pepper spraying wolves and lions.

Arthur Peabody

I didn't say that that would put an end to whinging, just decrease mortality. I encountered a lion once. It looked at me and didn't find me interesting. I haven't met a wolf yet.

KraneXL

Be grateful you're not on his food list. If I recall they avoid human contact and will run away unless cornered.

mr_bill

In the US, how many people in cars are killed by deer every year?

In the US, how many people on bikes are killed by deer every year?

In the US, how many people on bikes are killed by people in cars every year?

Never mind, continue on the tangent.

-mr. bill

prairiepedaler

The overwhelming majority of times I support motorists with very few exceptions. If they blatantly and deliberately disregard the cyclist and place them in mortal danger is one. In this case, with this driver in D.C., I wouldn't have said a word. She didn't get up that morning with the intent of blocking a bike lane for a few moments. I've only had one occasion where a driver deliberately tried to run me down - a young punk driving an old Trans Am. I had a witness in a pickup truck who tore after the guy. If I had a .45 at that point, I swear I would've pulled it and taken out his rear windshield.

livedarklions

When I lived in Silicon Valley many years ago, a mountain lion killed a jogger in the foothills. Not clear why it happened, but the area was not one in which the lion would have felt cornered by a lone runner. I suspect running makes a person look like prey.

livedarklions

I have been blocked when cops have pulled over drivers into the bike lanes. I chose not to say anything.

Daniel4

You could ask the police to ticket the car for parking in the bike lane.

starkmojo

I remember that some years ago that the most dangerous person for children getting dropped off at school was parents of other kids dropping their kids off at the same school. Something about people pulling in and out of traffic and being distracted.

Road Fan

Yep!

linberl

It only pisses me off when Amazon Fedex or UPS park in the bike lane and there is curb parking immediately on their right!!! They are too lazy to back in so they just stop and park in the bike lane. Other drivers do it as well, but those 3 are consistent where I live. Maybe they are judged on how quickly they finish their routes or something so don't want to take the time to actually pull to the curb - if that's the case, I blame the companies that set those restrictions. Either way, it is dangerous and completely unnecessary. I get it if a moving van is in the lane because there's no parking; inconvenient but understandable; same for delivery services. But if there's space at the curb, gd.it., use it. Although my favorite was the guy parked in the bike lane outside the supermarket, eating his lunch in his personal vehicle. Geezus!