Cops Ticket Scofflaw Cyclists Near 16th and U
We’ve gotten several reports of D.C. police issuing tickets to bicyclists going the wrong way down one-way portions of New Hampshire Avenue NW near the intersection of 16th and U Streets yesterday and this morning.
A bystander took a picture of about 10 cyclists being ticketed north of the intersection at about 9 a.m. this morning:
We’ve heard the tickets came with a $25 fine. A police spokesperson said he hadn’t heard of any enforcement effort, but is currently checking into it. The ticketing effort comes about two weeks after the tragic death of cyclist Alice Swanson in Dupont Circle; it can’t be said enough that Swanson appears to have broken no laws when she was struck by a private trash truck, but the incident focused attention on issues of bike safety and road-sharing.
If you saw the ticketing or, gasp, got a ticket, tell us in the comments.
UPDATE, 1:05 P.M.: Pete Welsch, who lives near the intersection, is the fellow who took the photo. He calls in to report that police were waving down cyclists as they approached the 16th-and-U intersection from the north. “People were whipping out camera phones and things like that,” he says.
7 Responses to “Cops Ticket Scofflaw Cyclists Near 16th and U”
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July 24th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I can’t help point and laugh, but how about MPD starts ticketing the folks who make 14th by the Reeves center a clusterfuck, or the bike lane double parkers on 14th? Maybe alternating enforcement days on bikers and drivers?
July 24th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I have no problem with this. Cyclists come up my street (one way) the wrong way all the time and it’s very disconcerting. The street is narrow and it’s actually a little tricky to safely negotiate with a cyclist, who’s typically coming at me chicken-style in the middle of the one-lane road. If you’re going to go the wrong way, at least bike on the sidewalk.
At the same time I’d also like to see the police enforce an occasional traffic law for cars in DC. If I had a nickel for every time someone is stopped in the middle of a road, waiting to make a turn without their turn signal on…
July 24th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I think that it is about time that negligent cyclists are getting ticketed for their rash conduct on the roads. Into my 6th month of pregnancy, I realized that the biggest road menace for me while walking to work, were rash cyclists speeding in wrong directions, crossing red lights, and going up and down pedestrian walks. Dodging them while keeping steady has been a very difficult task during my pregnancy.
THANK YOU DC COPS for enforcing the requisite traffic rules!!!!
July 24th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
These bicyclists are raping our babies.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
It’s time to also start issuing citations to bicyclists who ride on the sidewalks. I’m tired of being nearly mowed down from behind!
July 24th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
And when are the cops going to start citing the idiots busy jabbering on their cell phones in heavy traffic (usually in cars but I have seen cyclists also doing this)
July 25th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
For $25 more, you could hit and run an 86 year old homeless man. These guys have to upgrade.