The Morning Commute is an occasional look at meetings or other #BikeSpecific discussions happening in the District. It also looks at interesting bike ideas or concepts from other places across the globe that could possibly work around here.
Today’s commute includes:
- 20 miles of protected lanes – some day
- Hub motor demand
- People in El Paso are confused
- MBT robbery suspects apprehended
- Safety and selfies
- Cortland is at it again
Not the 2020 plan we were looking for. The Washington Post reported that District Department of Transportation Director Jeff Marootian released a plan to increase the number of protected bike lanes by 20 miles over the next three years, a change from the previous plan that aimed to build 10 miles of protected lanes over a six-year period.
This is still hundreds of miles less than the MoveDC plan produced by former Mayor Gray in 2013 who hoped to build 213 miles of additional bike infrastructure by 2o40.
When asked about the new plan Jeremiah Lowery, advocacy director at the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, essentially summed up the new plan in the following way, ‘eh’. Washington Post
The E-Bike Movement is getting a boost. The Denton Chronicle reported that your probably going to see more e-bikes, scooters, and similarly powered vehicles on District streets soon.
The projected value of the global two-wheel hub motor market will nearly double from $4.8 billion to $8.5 billion by 2024.
This could mean that the smarty pants Wall Street folks are betting that as people and governments become more concerned about climate change that they will invest in modes that emit fewer harmful combustion related byproducts. Denton Chronicle
Why we can’t have nice things. What we’re missing. In an letter to the editor, Deborah Friese of Bethesda discusses how she felt struck by the dismissive tone of the November 20th column by Cortland Milloy regarding the things we cannot do to make our streets a little safer. The Washcycle has it’s own view of the Milloy’s column. Washington Post
Two suspects connected to a rash of robberies on the Metropolitan Branch Trail have been arrested. According to Popville, two juveniles are in custody accused of committing several robbery along the trail over the past few weeks. Popville
Again, why we can’t have nice things. The people of Spring Valley in DC still have bike issues. I mean, why give away a lane for people? Greater Greater Washington
But don’t take a selfie while you’re scooting. Soon to make an appearance in the District, scootshare company Bird will introduce a new program that rewards its users with ride credits for subsequent rides when they take pictures of themselves wearing a helmet after using a Bird scooter trip.
In the article, Governing sites some interesting statistics regarding scooters and their safety. According to the article, the Centers for Disease Control said a recent study of 190 scooter crashes found “a high proportion of e-scooter related injuries involved potentially preventable risk factors, such as lack of helmet use or motor vehicle interaction.” So if a car crashes into someone on a scooter, it’s the person on the scooter. Got it. Governing
Sadly, a young person in Elizabeth, New Jersey suffered that fate and was struck and killed after the driver of a tow truck hit him will attempting to make a turn. WCBS
In El Paso, TX, if a couple of people don’t know what a green bike box is, it’s too expensive and just not worth it. Also, if it rains and they were in properly installed or maintained, it proved that the people of El Paso do not bike. KFOX
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