WO & D path under Carlin Springs – the quick turn of possible unhappiness

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  • December 31, 2011 at 1:09 am #910768
    JustinW
    Participant

    Folks,

    As one goes along the WO & D just north of the Rt 50 intersection, the trail goes under Carlin Springs Road and, in so doing, offers a couple of low-visibility turns as the path briefly nestles in next to Four Mile Run itself. Unhappiness factors:

    – Passes under the road, so it is dark (no lights present)
    – Rider’s line of sight is abbreviated due to the quick turns
    – From both approaches this section is lower than the rest of the path, so riders can easily carry speed into this area, more speed than is safe

    Many times I’ve found “surprises” at this point due to cyclists or peds. Sometimes you just don’t see them ’til late, while other times the other person may not respect the center line (due to the quick turns). Collisions and near-collisions are thus inevitable.

    While riding today I came upon one such instance involving a pair of cyclists. One rider seemed fairly ok, while the other was on the ground, glasses broken, and blood dripping from a gash on his head. The collision came about due to a center line “incursion” it seems, yet the guy who came out the worse for it had gone through this spot some minutes earlier (in the other direction, I guess) and had had a near-miss then, too, so why did he not learn the second time…?

    So, what can be done to make this area safer for all users? Big mirrors revealing both approaches? Lights under the road? Warning signs about traffic issues? A more vivid center line through the area?

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  • December 31, 2011 at 2:47 am #934022
    Arlingtonrider
    Participant

    Sorry to hear about those cyclists.

    This does present an opportunity to mention that it can help in places like this to slow down and ring your bell once or twice as you go into the underpass, even though you can’t see if anyone is on the other side. (Of course, this assumes that you’ve ridden there and are aware that it presents visibility issues, and that any cyclists coming toward you aren’t listening to loud music through headphones.).

    I don’t think lights would help here because the issue is the blind turns, and even mirrors might not help that much because of the distances and angles. It might be one of those places where people just have to learn to be extra careful. I think some sort of caution sign might help, provided people pay attention to it, and a more vivid center line could possibly help too.

    December 31, 2011 at 4:22 pm #934033
    OneEighth
    Participant

    What time did this happen yesterday? I rode through there a little after 4PM and saw three people, at least one of whom was a rider, standing in a clump at the worst possible part of the blind corner.

    December 31, 2011 at 5:29 pm #934034
    JustinW
    Participant

    Yeah that was likely the same thing. 3 cyclists in total were affected (one in a very minor way), and three others stopped to check on the injured. While the positioning of the affected cyclists was not ideal, enough of us had on bright clothing and kept checking the approaches to the degree possible.

    Worst part – two people called 911, and in neither case could the dispatcher figure out where the heck we were. I wonder if they have any guidance when it comes to bikepaths, locations on bikepaths and access to those paths from roadways.

    February 2, 2012 at 8:56 pm #935617
    jpaulwhite
    Participant

    @Arlingtonrider 12437 wrote:

    Sorry to hear about those cyclists.

    This does present an opportunity to mention that it can help in places like this to slow down and ring your bell once or twice as you go into the underpass, even though you can’t see if anyone is on the other side. (Of course, this assumes that you’ve ridden there and are aware that it presents visibility issues, and that any cyclists coming toward you aren’t listening to loud music through headphones.).

    I don’t think lights would help here because the issue is the blind turns, and even mirrors might not help that much because of the distances and angles. It might be one of those places where people just have to learn to be extra careful. I think some sort of caution sign might help, provided people pay attention to it, and a more vivid center line could possibly help too.

    This is what I do. There also is a bubble mirror there (Or used to be. Haven’t rode that trail in a while) Ringing the bell works for me and you have to SLOW DOWN

    February 3, 2012 at 7:09 am #935649
    JimF22003
    Participant

    I just baaaaaarely missed getting creamed under there by a bike rider crossing way over onto my side of the trail a few weeks ago.

    I’m not sure the big mirrors help much (against idiots anyway.) There’s a big mirror like that on a similar underpass on the W&OD in Leesburg. I’ve had exactly the same thing happen there going both ways.

    February 3, 2012 at 12:31 pm #935654
    JustinW
    Participant

    Nope, no mirrors available at this point. Those ( and speed bumps … JOKING) would likely help. I have also done the “warming bell” thing but that seems to work inconsistently.

    February 3, 2012 at 7:22 pm #935692
    theakston
    Participant

    There used to be a mirror there but it was washed away in one of our many recent floods (these are much more common now that most of Arlington is covered in concrete or pavement).
    I run through there with my dog most mornings (before I jump on my bike and head to work). I have seen my fair share of accidents, especially in the dark mornings, where cyclists have wiped out a ninja or two. It scares the bejeebus out of me to be honest. I have my LED headlight on and shake my head vigourously going under that tunnel so that the beam reflects off all the surfaces and (hopefully) makes my presence known to any oncoming cyclists. I’ve also had a few bikes pass me when going down into the tunnel, which is very foolish but so far they have not met another bike coming the opposite way.

    February 3, 2012 at 8:43 pm #935703
    rcannon100
    Participant

    Agreed. Always ring my bell several times as I enter the underpass.

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