Posts by Shane Farthing — Guest Contributor

Shane Farthing is Senior Director of Active Transportation Programs and leads the Research-into-Practice team at the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. He was formerly Senior Advisor to the Montgomery County Planning Board, Executive Director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, head of the Office of Green Economy in the DC Department of the Environment, Lecturer in Public Policy at George Washington University, and has been involved in planning and economic development projects throughout the region. Shane has graduate degrees in law and public policy from GWU and a Bachelor's in Religious Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University.

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  DC’s new protected bikeway on K and Water streets punches above its weight

  BicyclingBy Shane Farthing (Guest Contributor) August 17, 2018 9

  The importance of building a regional trail network is obvious to people who walk and bike the regions trails. But in this video, I ask a different question: Who is this new bikeway serving?  Keep reading…

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  What is “contributory negligence,” and why is it such a big danger for cyclists and pedestrians?

  BicyclingBy Shane Farthing (Guest Contributor), Tracy Hadden Loh (Board of Directors) September 24, 2014 74

  Say you are riding along on your bicycle. Your tail light battery dies one evening, and then a texting driver crashes into you. Can you recover your medical costs from the driver? Or, say you are on foot and need to cross a street where the nearest crosswalks are far away. But then a drunk driver speeds by and hits you. Or, you’re biking and get doored. A police officer, confused…  Keep reading…

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  Internal DDOT structure stalls important bike projects

  By Shane Farthing (Guest Contributor) June 20, 2013 9

  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 planning group,…  Keep reading…

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  Maryland helmet law would make cyclists less safe

  BicyclingBy Shane Farthing (Guest Contributor) February 11, 2013 177

  On Tuesday morning, the Environmental Matters Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates will hold a hearing on House Bill 339, to require that every person operating a bicycle in Maryland wear a helmet. This bill is bad policy. Mandatory helmet laws cause fewer people to bicycle, and when fewer people bicycle, cycling becomes less safe. So much less safe, in fact, that decreased…  Keep reading…

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  Montgomery and DC inaction threatens the Met Branch Trail

  BicyclingBy Shane Farthing (Guest Contributor) February 6, 2012 15

  The Metropolitan Branch Trail has been gradually becoming a reality, but now its future is threatened at both ends: in the north from the Montgomery County Executive’s short-sighted budget decisions, in the south by the District’s laissez-faire protection of trail users. Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett wants to eliminate funding to complete the trail…  Keep reading…