A cyclist seriously injured in a crash near Bluemont Park over the weekend was issued a traffic citation.
The crash happened shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday, at the intersection of Wilson Blvd and N. Manchester Street, where bike lane safety improvements were installed a few months ago.
The cyclist was “traveling eastbound on Wilson Boulevard in the travel lane” when he “collided with a motorist making a left turn onto N. Manchester Street,” according to Arlington County police. That section of Wilson Blvd, just before Manchester, features a steep downhill slope.
Lanes of Wilson Blvd were closed for 1-2 hours after the crash, according to Arlington Alert messages.
The seriously injured cyclist — a 58-year-old man, according to initial reports — was issued a citation under a section of Virginia law that requires cyclists to “ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway.”
More, below, from an ACPD statement sent to ARLnow.
At approximately 3:39 p.m. on October 4, police were dispatched to the 600 block of N. Manchester Street for the report of a crash with injuries. The preliminary investigation indicates a bicyclist was traveling eastbound on Wilson Boulevard in the travel lane when they collided with a motorist making a left turn onto N. Manchester Street. The bicyclist sustained serious injuries and was transported to an area hospital. The bicyclist was issued a citation for Virginia Code § 46.2-905.
This past summer, Arlington County installed hardened dividers between the bike lane and the vehicle travel lane on the stretch of Wilson Blvd where the crash took place.
The dividers were intended to slow drivers and reduce collisions with cyclists.
“The pilot will test the use of tactical materials to slow drivers down before turning across the bike lane and increase awareness of oncoming bicyclists, who have high momentum due to the downhill slope,” an information sheet about the project said.
