Author: Shane Farthing

We are pleased to announce that Nelle Pierson will serve as WABA’s Interim Executive Director starting July 1st.

Five years ago I came to WABA with a list of priorities that I believed the organization should pursue to make biking safer and more popular throughout the region. For the last five years, I have led the organization, systematically realizing those priorities in pursuit of our mission.

DC Residents: The Mayor’s Office of Talent Acquisition (MOTA) is seeking three new appointees to the District’s Recreational Trails Advisory Committee. This Committee advises the District on how to use approximately $700K in annual Federal Highway Administration passthrough dollars, designated in the National Recreational Trails Fund Act. The Mayor’s office is looking for a diversity […]

You’re about to see more big, vibrant bikes in DC—and we don’t mean Capital Bikeshare expansion.

Last week in the District’s small claims court, a judge made a significant ruling for District bicyclists.

Today, D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety tabled a proposed bill to improve access to compensation for crash victim–effectively killing it for this legislative session. Mary Cheh (Ward 3) introduced the motion to table. Councilmember Evans (Ward 2) and Chairman Mendelson voted to table the bill. Councilmember Wells (Ward 6) voted against the motion. […]

As many of you know, WABA is working hard to change the contributory negligence doctrine in DC. We have been publicly pushing for this change for years because of the negative effects the doctrine has on the District’s cyclists. Hundreds of you emailed your Councilmembers to show support for a bill that would change the doctrine to […]

It’s tempting to just oppose Graham’s bill because it’s out of touch with the realities of urban riding, but simply opposing any legislation to deal with the issue would be a missed opportunity to improve and rationalize the District’s regulation of the relationship between bicyclists and pedestrians.

A more in depth explanation of the problems contributory negligence poses for bicyclists.

Our testimony in support of the Bicycle and Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Amendment Act of 2014 is here. For more information on WABA’s efforts to address this issue, and to get involved in the push for a solution visit our Campaign Page.

Based on a day of answering questions from members and reporters about yesterday’s blog post, here are a few details and clarifications about the proposed regulation that would ban bicyclists from using the streetcar guideway: WABA does not oppose the streetcar. We do oppose an overly broad regulation that singles out bicycles as the only vehicles […]

After years of public input and agreement on the design for the future Capital Crescent trail, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT) just moved unilaterally to eliminate the long-promised grade-separated crossing of busy Jones Mill Rd.

It’s been a busy summer, but on the final Saturday of July the Anacostia Library hosted the final mobile bike repair clinic of the season, and we’re pleased to report over fifty bikes were repaired. That brings our season total to over 200  bikes repaired through this season’s partnership among DCPL, The Bike House, and […]

Yesterday, The Washington Post published a column by Courtland Milloy that attempts to justify the violent assault of bicyclists by motorists, writing: “It’s a $500 fine for a motorist to hit a bicyclist in the District, but some behaviors are so egregious that some drivers might think it’s worth paying the fine.” The “egregious” behavior […]

This spring, we’re launching our Everyday Biking Seminar program. It’s the evolution of our Commuter Seminars, which were lunchtime sessions held at offices interested in helping employees figure out the details of biking to work. The Everyday Biking Seminar is a short presentation designed to introduce the basics of how to safely and easily fit […]

On Friday, I will be testifying on behalf of WABA at the Committee on the Judiciary & Public Safety’s annual oversight hearing on the efforts of the Metropolitan Police Department. On Monday, I will be testifying at the Transportation & Environment Committee’s oversight hearing on the efforts of the District Department of Transportation. It’s time […]

WABA’s annual meeting is scheduled for Mon., Feb. 24 at 6:30 p.m. at the Silver Spring Public Library (8901 Colesville Road).  This is your chance to meet and speak with the current members of WABA’s board, ask questions of staff and board members, and vote for the 2014 slate of directors. If you wish to […]

Last week, we posted a quick listing of the primary bike-related bills in the Virginia and Maryland legislatures this session.  Since then, a few procedural steps have been scheduled and we’ve identified a couple more bills of note to the bicycling community.  We will post more on that shortly. But, as promised, things move quickly […]

Where’s the M Street cycletrack, the long-promised eastbound parallel to the L Street cycletrack? We don’t know. Weeks ago, DDOT decided to amend the design to remove the physical separation on a block of the cycletrack, leaving a standard bike lane. A spate of news coverage focused on the AME Metropolitan church’s displeasure with the […]

During the government shutdown, wouldn’t it be nice if our Trail Rangers could just tell us which of D.C.’s National Park Service-controlled trails are open and which are closed from their daily patrols? Since July, WABA’s team of Trail Rangers has been riding the D.C. trails, conducting cleanups, reporting maintenance issues, helping trail users, and […]

During the government shutdown, wouldn’t it be nice if our Trail Rangers could just tell us which of D.C.’s National Park Service-controlled trails are open and which are closed from their daily patrols? Since July, WABA’s team of Trail Rangers has been riding the D.C. trails, conducting cleanups, reporting maintenance issues, helping trail users, and […]

The DC Office of Police Complaints has issued a follow-up report on the Metropolitan Police Department’s efforts to improve in the enforcement of laws related to bicycling. You can find a bit of background and the original 2011 OPC report here. The report has an excessive focus on the single “riding abreast” citation, rather than […]

  On Tuesday night, DDOT held a well-attended meeting to update residents on the status of the South Capitol Bridge planning. Previously, WABA raised a number of concerns about the the project’s scale, accommodations for bicyclists, and contribution to overall connectivity for bicycling.  We have met several times with DDOT’s Anacostia Waterfront Initiative team, and […]

District Department of Transportation (DDOT) project managers are hard at work on a lot of roadway projects, but they’re not in charge of repaving the 15th Street cycle track, or finishing the Metropolitan Branch Trail, or one of many other bicycle projects waiting for action. The agency segregates its bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure into the […]

Many of you have seen the video of the cyclist struck while riding illegally during a community ride last week. We’re glad the cyclist is OK, but we’re disappointed at the way the incident and the video portray the bicycling community. I have no doubt, given the number of voicemails I have received, that this […]

Yesterday, long-simmering displeasure with the pattern of illegal u-turns across the Pennsylvania Avenue bike lanes netted considerable media attention from NBC4. Reporter Mark Segraves was most interested in a video by Bill Walsh of a police officer actually pulling someone over for u-turning. However, this is far from standard; more often, drivers u-turn with impunity. It […]

Last Friday’s Bike to Work Day was a great success, setting a new record for registered riders and number of pit stops.  Thanks to the beautiful weather and great activities provided by pit stop sponsors, the over 14,500 riders who came out were treated to a fantastic celebration of biking to work. This weekend, I […]

While we have not been contacted directly by anyone associated with the bicyclists involved in crashes this morning and therefore can offer no further detail than what the media has already reported, we offer our best wishes and support to all involved. Anyone who needs help dealing with a bicycle crash or advice on any […]

Last week, we learned from a Montgomery County Department of Transportation presentation to the county’s Transportation & Environment Committee that progress on the Metropolitan Branch Trail in the county had stalled due to the unwillingness of the nonprofit owner of the historic Silver Spring train station to agree to submit the trail plans for historical […]

Yesterday, representatives of the Montgomery County Department of Transportation provided the County Council’s Transportation and Environment Committee with an update on its work on the Metropolitan Branch Trail. Work on the MBT been stalled for some time due to disputes over its crossing at Georgia Avenue and proposed routing that would have the trail pass […]