And another accident at GW crossing

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  • October 28, 2011 at 1:46 pm #910529
    baiskeli
    Participant

    Just as I crossed the GW Parkway today south of Memorial bridge, an ambulance was loading up an injured person. He appeared to be a cyclist though I saw now bike or helmet.

    There was an upset woman standing next to a car who appeared to be the one who hit him. The car had a bike rack on it.

    This is the second time this year I’ve come across an accident there.

    Anyone else see anything?

    NPS needs to do something about that crossing! I think they should narrow it to one lane there to both control speed and make crossing safer. But that will never happen.

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  • October 28, 2011 at 2:04 pm #931631
    rcannon100
    Participant

    I saw it too – but later. All I saw was a NPS Cop with a car pulled over that had a bike rack on it. When I went by, I saw no victim or EMS. One lane was blocked.

    Over years and years of biking, I have seen SO MANY pedestrian accidents at those crossings…. and SO MANY car accidents up on memorial circle on the west end. It’s really really negligent on NPS part for not doing something to solve that area.

    October 31, 2011 at 1:14 pm #931739
    5555624
    Participant

    I had heard it was a runner.

    Personally, I don’t see why cyclists continue to cross the parkway at that spot. I’ve heard the complain that taking the tunnel under the Humpback Bridge adds maybe half mile or so and a small hill, but that’s a small price to pay.

    October 31, 2011 at 1:17 pm #931740
    baiskeli
    Participant

    Yeah, I saw on TheWashCycle that it was a pedestrian. Looks like the classic case of one lane stopping but not the other.

    I still cross there, but only when there is a very large gap in traffic. I won’t go in front of stopped cars there. And I take a different route home.

    October 31, 2011 at 1:20 pm #931741
    pfunkallstar
    Participant

    That is really sickening. Having witnessed a number of accidents at that intersection, it is crazy that the Park Service refuses to do anything about it. As for the Humpback Bridge, it gets dicey in its own way depending on if you have to cross with traffic.

    Personally, I always dismount at the GW crossing, remember it is DC – contributory negligence, and wait for a solid break in traffic. If that means another five minutes on my commute, so be it, I just want to get to work and get home alive.

    October 31, 2011 at 2:37 pm #931761
    5555624
    Participant

    @pfunkallstar 9905 wrote:

    That is really sickening. Having witnessed a number of accidents at that intersection, it is crazy that the Park Service refuses to do anything about it. As for the Humpback Bridge, it gets dicey in its own way depending on if you have to cross with traffic.

    I don’t follow this, “cross with traffic”? Do you mean getting from the MVT to the tunnel? If you’re heading north, you need to slow a little, but you are (or should be) on the right side of the trail, so a right turn isn’t too hard. Heading south? Just stick continue on along the river, rather than veering off towards the bridge.

    The dicey part is at the north end of the parking lot on Columbia Island (and has nothing to do with cycling).

    October 31, 2011 at 5:52 pm #931797
    pfunkallstar
    Participant

    Coming in from Rosslyn you still have to cross the parkway at least once to get over to the other side? Am I wrong on this one?

    October 31, 2011 at 6:06 pm #931800
    rcannon100
    Participant

    @pfunkallstar 9964 wrote:

    Coming in from Rosslyn you still have to cross the parkway at least once to get over to the other side? Am I wrong on this one?

    I am heading to the FCC in SW. I enter the GW Trail from the Custis Trail in Rosslyn – bike the GW trail to the 14th, and cross on the 14th bridge. By taking the 14th st bridge, I avoid 6 road crossings (2 West Side memorial bridge, 2 East side memorial bridge where I was hit by a car, and at least two on the Mall). It lands me by the Jefferson without having crossed a single road since leaving Rosslyn – adding more than a half mile to my commute over crossing at the Memorial Bridge. I’ll take that bargain any day.

    October 31, 2011 at 7:56 pm #931817
    DaveK
    Participant

    @pfunkallstar 9964 wrote:

    Coming in from Rosslyn you still have to cross the parkway at least once to get over to the other side? Am I wrong on this one?

    There’s no way to get from Rosslyn to DC without either crossing at Lee & Lynn or crossing the Parkway.

    November 2, 2011 at 12:39 pm #931890
    pfunkallstar
    Participant

    That makes a lot more sense if you are taking the 14th, I was trying to work out exactly what kind of wizardry you were using there! Personally, I’m most freaked out by the Lynn St. crossing, I’ve had more close calls there than I care to remember. With the parkway, as long as you are patient, you WILL eventually get across. Also the crossing closer to Memorial bridge is a lot easier since people are slowing down to merge.

    November 2, 2011 at 1:22 pm #931900
    DismalScientist
    Participant

    Rather than dealing with Lee/Lynn, I suggest taking Fairfax and Clarendon from Ballston. Turn left at Lynn and the path to Roosevelt Island is now a right turn and you are traveling in the direction of road traffic, which I find safer. As an added bonus, you don’t get off the Custis trail downhill, which, particularly past Scott, is a glorified sidewalk. An alternative may be Custis to Scott/Key (over Lee Hwy) and then right on Lynn. Of course, riding in traffic bothers me less than some trail riding. YMMV.

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