The new bike lanes on Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda have been a controversial topic of discussion since their recent installation took many residents by surprise. Drivers have complained of traffic backups, and their anger is compounded by seeing the bike lanes sitting unused alongside two lanes jammed with automobiles. Similar to the negative impacts of the Little Falls Parkway "road diet," the major state highway has become nearly impassable at times for emergency vehicles, presenting a danger to public safety as response times increase on a major route used to reach multi-alarm fires and Suburban Hospital. Now one resident has created a petition to have the lanes removed.
"The bike lanes must be removed without delay," the petition says. It cites the above issues, as well as cut-through traffic in the surrounding neighborhoods, and snow removal problems. The bike lanes were added by the State Highway Administration at the request of Montgomery County elected officials, after the tragic deaths of two young cyclists on the road. As of this writing, there are already 2,584 signatures on the petition to have the bike lanes removed.
26 comments:
This is a tough problem to solve. Perhaps a better solution would be to enhance the nearby Bethesda Trolley Trail. A some point it’s really a bad idea to force dedicated bike lanes on a very busy thoroughfare, even if the reduction in road capacity is tolerable. Fast moving traffic making numerous right turns through dedicated bike lanes will always be dangerous.
Thank you for the alert.
Learning
Never satisfied. Give them what they want and now they scream about how bad the solution is in relation to the problem. Well, guess what, those sticks are PERMANENT!
I like how everyone is complaining about nobody using the bike lanes, yet the petitioner wrote the petition on a day where it was 8 degrees Fahrenheit in the AM. I'm not sure why it's so tough for folks to admit to themselves that cycling traffic is lower in the wintertime because it's cold, icy, etc. There is also off and on construction of the roadway itself still occurring on Old Gtown road which in itself is causing traffic issues. It makes me wonder if the people complaining about the lane restrictions actually drive down Old Gtown often enough to be aware of the ongoing construction efforts, which definitely are affecting traffic.
I get how at a glance the added bike lanes look deserted (thought they are still not - I routinely see cyclists using these lanes even in the cold), but they will likely increase in use as time goes on/temps warm.
Also, a reminder that you are not stuck in traffic - you ARE traffic. As a car, you have other transportation options such as metro and bus (a bus which still fights traffic like a car, but if many take the bus instead of driving their personal vehicle then that reduces traffic). Nobody is forcing you to drive, it's just the most personally convenient thing for you - but there are other transportation options out there for you to consider.
I'm a cyclist, and I love bike lanes. I'm also a driver, and I hate driving.
I can tell you that the reason these bike lanes aren't used more often is because they don't go anywhere.
From South going North, the lanes connect Downtown Bethesda (via the Bethesda Trolly Trail) to a dead end. There is nothing on the north end of this bike lane. It just ends at Ryland Dr.! It doesn't even get you outside of the beltway. If you're headed North on bike, its safer to stay on the Trolly Trail.
Extend the lanes to a destination, otherwise both drivers and cyclists are going to wonder why they exist. I'm not advocating for their removal, but I'll agree that in their current state the bike lanes are not particularly useful.
I know this audience skews anti-bike, anti-pedestrian, and anti-alternative transportation... as someone who has both driven and biked throughout DC, MD, and VA we can do better for everyone. Please be mindful, patient, and respectful of your fellow humans no matter how they choose to get around.
@9:24
The petition is actually a result of the new extension of the bike lanes which continues from Ryland Dr north all the way to Nicholson Lane where it connects to other existing bike lanes.
@ 9:24, the bike lanes extend way past the beltway - are you thinking of 270 instead?
Also I would contend that there doesn't necessarily have to be a northern "destination" to the Old Gtown road bike lanes -- they feed in from all the suburbs into downtown Bethesda and vice versa.
Bike lanes are such an incredible waste of resources, it is a sad that they're seriously considered. You have a lane that is existing that is being used constantly by cars and you want to change it to a lane that is used seldom by bikes that no one uses?! It's an incredible waste of society's resources. You wanna ride your bike, fine, ride your bike. Don't take a lane on Connecticut Avenue or Old Georgetown Road. Yeah, they don't get used in the cold...or in the rain...or at night...or with snow on the ground. Uh, that leaves a very valuable piece of property only being used a small percentage of time. It's sad for humanity.
Whoever mentioned Trolley trail, thank you. And I would add to the commenter about the bike lanes don't go anywhere. Where do you want them to go? These are roads and should never have had bike lanes installed at all. We have the aforementioned Trolley Trail plus CCT. The dumbest thing I've ever seen and traffic has tripled.
Thank you for sharing this important petition.
So in both cases where they have taken traffic lanes in Bethesda for bikes (Old Georgetown Road, Little Falls Parkway), there was:
1. A cyclist who died, but it was not the striking driver's fault. On Old Georgetown, in both cases the cyclist abruptly left the sidewalk and fell onto the roadway. On Little Falls, the cyclist disobeyed a stop sign.
2. An existing, dedicated bike path no far away (Capital Crescent Trail; Bethesda Trolley).
What problem are they trying to solve exactly? Cyclists have options, and none of these cyclists was killed due to the fault of the driver.
Perhaps the bike lanes aren’t very full because it’s December. Similarly, I never see traffic back-ups at 2am. Drivers — especially older drivers — won’t change behavior unless the alternative is more appealing than the status quo. Pretty much every study of road lane reduction has shown the appropriate behavior change over time. i predict that in 5 years the majority of petition signatories will be bragging to their grand children that they just electric-biked to Whole Foods.
Oh no, I sure feel bad for traffic.
Isn't the road construction still ongoing? Isn't that a major contributor to the current gridlock?
Bike lanes don’t work bc Bicylists always wind up on the sidewalk or on the road in the non bike lane. Also, what constitutes a bike ? Notice that the bike lanes are being occupied by electric bicycles and mini food delivery motorcycles which are a danger to the actual Bicylists in the bike lane …end the insanity!
None of the delays I’ve witnessed were caused by any construction l, rather it’s all traffic volume. This road was built and the area planned to handle a certain capacity, and that being cut by 1/3 messes up the equation. Even at 7AM on December 26, I was unable to drive faster than 30 MPH (10 MPH UNDER the speed limit) simply due to volume and capacity issues.
I reject that argument that “it’s cold so no one is using them now.” You’re 100% correct, but this road will NEVER have the volume to compare the volume of planned and developed traffic requirements for this major area artery.
We are a suburb, not a city. We are a car culture, not The Netherlands. I welcome and hope for change, but this was asked for by a vocal minority, not given a chance for ANY meaningful public comment and was shoved down our throats unwillingly.
Residents are suffering daily, businesses are suffering daily. They need to be removed immediately.
@ 12:29 get a grip. "Sad for humanity"? Calm down. They are an annoyance to some drivers at most, not an oil barge fire/disaster.
@ 4:01 none were killed due to the driver? Were they killed by the fairy godmother instead? Perhaps by Santa? They were killed because the sidewalk was not a sensible place to bike and so they merged into the roadway, getting hit by a car. To say that it is solely one party's responsibility is ignorant.
In many cities it is ILLEGAL to bike on the sidewalk, yet people like you are complaining that cyclists are NOT biking on the sidewalk. It's absurd. Mentioning that cyclists can instead take the CCT over Old Georgetown Road is also absurd - they are in two totally different locations. I'm not sure some of these commenters are even from Bethesda at this point getting something like that so wrong.
About the cyclists who were riding on the sidewalk and fell into the road and we're hit and killed - the problem they are trying to solve is to help separate car traffic from pedestrians and bikes. With the buffer, even if a pedestrian falls off the sidewalk, the buffer will protect them. Bikes are separated from faster moving car traffic.
The existence of the Trolley Trail doesn't mean that there shouldn't be other roads for bikes to take. To create a network of bike lanes and paths, it will take more than just the Trolley Trail. The Trolley Trail also includes sidewalk on Rockville Pike, which isn't safe for pedestrians let alone bikes. More people would use bike lanes if they take them to where they want to go. Some bike lanes end abruptly or aren't connected to anything. People won't use them if they don't go anywhere. Some drivers I noticed are confused with the change and end up blocking a whole lane, while trying to change lanes. Even before the change, I would see drivers doing this though. Some signage would help. When the construction is done, the bike lanes would allow students to get to the school nearby, or to Pike and Rose (when Towne Road is done).
@ 4:01 PM:
On Old Georgetown, the cyclist abruptly left the sidewalk and fell onto the roadway.
"Abruptly left the sidewalk" because a trashcan had been left in the middle of it. Stop reflexively blaming the victim.
An existing, dedicated bike path no far away (Capital Crescent Trail)
Have you ever walked or ridden on the Capital Crescent Trail in the first mile south of Bethesda Avenue? It is dangerously overcrowded on weekends and even weekday evenings when the weather is nice.
4:20 - spot on and well stated
Tell me as I go to my doctor appointments, thanks.
https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1608751806997499904
3:43 - Thanks for sharing that clip. The cycle loons. That about sums up our issue here. How dare an ambulance or Amazon vehicle enter her sacred bike lane? The bike lobby in our area is seemingly powerful. As another said, a vocal minority. You know why the majority isn't vocal? Cause we have stuff to do, kids to raise, work to get to. These will be taken out eventually I predict but folks need to fight back on this one. This isn't the Netherlands. I love that.
Yup, the horror of participating in life's meritocracy while the left just wants the shortcut to equal outcomes, (except the ruling class which is more equal than others). In the meantime these leftists will simply satisfy themselves by tell us how good things are now versus the last administration, (just don't believe your lying eyes).
Brace yourself, the city of Rockville is beginning its own Road Diets in the town center area to be completed by the end of the first quarter.
I heard from a reliable source that Ariana Kelly, far Left state official from Bethesda, said that the state receives very few letters regarding issues with roads. For Old Geo'twn they received hundreds. Keep it up. Also, the surveys for that road were all done over Covid. Typical govt that the surveys take two years. Apparently a revised survey is being fast tracked. Let's hope. Don't let up.
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