Alternate Routes to Maine Ave?

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  • August 25, 2014 at 4:00 pm #915785
    JerseyVol
    Participant

    Hello, first time poster here, and my first year bike commuting.

    My commute takes me across the 14th street bridge to the Navy Yard Area (M St SE). Part of this commute involves Maine Ave from the monuments to the 7th/I St SW bike lane. Maine Ave is always under construction, the car traffic is always flying, and it just feels dangerous. The sidewalk is busy during my commute and is in disrepair, so its use as an alternative is suspect. The stoplights are timed for cars and not ideal for bikes (or pedestrians trying to cross 6 lanes). Today, I finally wiped out on one of the metal plates while trying to turn. I give up.

    Is there an alternate route that would give me a safer ride, mostly with road condition but also car traffic if possible? Time isn’t really a factor as I wake up to give myself plenty of time. I normally hit that area of my commute around 6 AM.

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  • August 25, 2014 at 4:20 pm #1008665
    Steve
    Participant

    This thread might have some good info for you: link.

    Your best way to change or avoid that is probably to take the Case Bridge over the Waterfront. The bridge starts along the little road half way up Buckeye Dr (in Hains Point) behind the NPS HQ. It drops you at the North corner of 9th and Maine. From there you can cross 9th and go up to G, or take Maine for a block. I know you don’t like Maine, but from there at least you are entering it with a lower flow of traffic, not along Maine, and so going one block with only a few cars isn’t that bad. Anyways, hope that helps. Other options would be to take go up Ohio and then ride along the mall up to 4th, and ride that down to I St (or take Memorial Bridge if you are coming from the North on MVT.

    August 25, 2014 at 4:30 pm #1008666
    JerseyVol
    Participant

    Steve,

    Thanks so much, that is a surprisingly simple change that I will try tonight on my ride home. I never knew how to get to that path on the bridge and it looks easy enough. I’ll also go back and read that thread. Thanks for the help! :)

    August 25, 2014 at 6:18 pm #1008669
    KLizotte
    Participant

    My daily commute to Independence Ave is shown below. I don’t go to the Navy Yard on a daily basis but when I have to go to DOT, upon leaving the L’Enfant circle area I take either 9th, Maine, 7th, I Street, or G Street, 3rd, I Street. You can then take 1st St to get to the Navy Yard. I avoid M and Maine like the plague.

    [ATTACH=CONFIG]6490[/ATTACH]

    October 15, 2014 at 10:59 am #1012196
    Brendan von Buckingham
    Participant

    When counterflowing on the Maine Avenue sidewalk, please be careful at this blind corner under 14th Street Bridge. http://tinyurl.com/mlwrckk. Last evening I came across the aftermath of a head-on collision between two cyclists. They were already being taken care of by a crowd of pedestrians but according to witnesses one of the cyclists was going too fast.

    October 15, 2014 at 12:49 pm #1012194
    lordofthemark
    Participant

    @Brendan von Buckingham 96980 wrote:

    When counterflowing on the Maine Avenue sidewalk, please be careful at this blind corner under 14th Street Bridge. http://tinyurl.com/mlwrckk. Last evening I came across the aftermath of a head-on collision between two cyclists. They were already being taken care of by a crowd of pedestrians but according to witnesses one of the cyclists was going too fast.

    That curve always scares me a bit – it has motivated me to ring my bell a lot, and to go slowly. So far I have been lucky.

    As to Maine, I have managed to put up with the pedestrians on the north sidewalk between 9th and 7th. The sidewalk west of the fish market is relatively wide, mostly. I have once gone in the lanes on Maine from 9th to 7th, and probably will again if my speed and confidence get better before any alternatives appear (which seems likely) but I am not at all tempted to use the general travel lanes on Maine west of 9th.

    I will be away on vacation for a week and half, and did not ride to work this week ;( Is it too much to hope that things will be looking better in the Wharf area by the end of October?

    October 15, 2014 at 3:00 pm #1012245
    creadinger
    Participant

    I destroyed a 10-month old rim the other day by hitting a pothole along that mucked up section of Maine Ave. The construction has absolutely killed any sense of a safe or fun ride in that area. It completely, absolutely sucks.

    October 15, 2014 at 6:10 pm #1012290
    Brendan von Buckingham
    Participant

    @lordofthemark 96985 wrote:

    Is it too much to hope that things will be looking better in the Wharf area by the end of October?

    Yes, too much to hope for. Three more years if they stay on schedule. Started in March 2014. Right now we’re in the middle of Item #4: Utility relocation work in Maine Avenue. Coming up soon is #6: Permanent closure of Water Street from Fish Market to 7th. Then it’s the Parade of Dumptrucks as they excavate foundations for the next 12 months.

    Check out the spreadsheet in the middle of this artcle: http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/construction_to_start_on_the_wharf_in_march/8112

    October 15, 2014 at 6:30 pm #1012293
    lordofthemark
    Participant

    @Brendan von Buckingham 97079 wrote:

    Yes, too much to hope for. Three more years if they stay on schedule. Started in March 2014. Right now we’re in the middle of Item #4: Utility relocation work in Maine Avenue. Coming up soon is #6: Permanent closure of Water Street from Fish Market to 7th. Then it’s the Parade of Dumptrucks as they excavate foundations for the next 12 months.

    Check out the spreadsheet in the middle of this artcle: http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/construction_to_start_on_the_wharf_in_march/8112

    Well I do hope they restore the sidewalk on the south side of Maine west of 9th before they close the stub of Water from 9th to the fish market (and the fish market parking lot.) Even a bit better would be restoring the sidewalk on the south side of Maine between 9th and 7th. What I really want to know, that is not in the chart, is when the promised Maine Avenue cycle track opens. But I guess that is in fact a DDOT project only indirectly tied to the Wharf and not something to be delivered by Hoffman? I was hoping it will deliver before 2017, but now I am wondering.

    October 15, 2014 at 6:58 pm #1012295
    rcannon100
    Participant

    @Brendan von Buckingham 97079 wrote:

    Yes, too much to hope for. Three more years if they stay on schedule.

    Right in time for the Friday Coffee Club’s lease to expire and we move off to new digs. yay.

    fcc%20cop-1.jpg

    October 15, 2014 at 10:19 pm #1012316
    Steve O
    Participant

    @creadinger 97031 wrote:

    I destroyed a 10-month old rim the other day by hitting a pothole along that mucked up section of Maine Ave. The construction has absolutely killed any sense of a safe or fun ride in that area. It completely, absolutely sucks.

    Yeah, but at least you didn’t end up looking like this.

    October 16, 2014 at 12:07 pm #1012342
    creadinger
    Participant

    @Steve O 97107 wrote:

    Yeah, but at least you didn’t end up looking like this.

    Ugh… yeah. I am thankful for that. Sorry you took a spill.

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