ISO route advice — near Seminary Rd and 395 in Alexandria

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Viewing 7 posts - 1 through 7 (of 7 total)
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  • December 5, 2016 at 8:19 pm #1061287
    bentbike33
    Participant

    @wheels&wings 149897 wrote:

    Hi – I have an appointment tomorrow at 4660 Kenmore Ave in Alexandria. I can easily make it as far as Shirlington and Fairlington, but the roads beyond are foreign territory for me. Does anyone have a recommendation on which route to take? (Happy to do back-street detours and hills to avoid more treacherous highway-riding.)
    Thanks for any suggestions! w&w

    Not my neighborhood, but looks like cartopia to me. All the side streets are cul-de-sacs and other types of dead ends, and all the through streets are multi-lane and high speed (at least by design if not actual function). You may have to drive just to make it in and out alive. :(

    December 5, 2016 at 8:24 pm #1061289
    bobco85
    Participant

    Hey, you’ll get to ride on the new North Van Dorn Street buffered bike lanes! Use this route (I use it when I feel like detouring through Shirlington on my commute home): https://goo.gl/maps/UujezjAHUMu

    It uses:

    • bike lanes to sharrows up the big hill on S Quincy St/31st St S
    • bike lanes on S Abingdon St/34th St S
    • on-street on S Wakefield St, King St service road, & Menokin Dr
    • buffered bike lanes to sharrows on North Van Dorn Street
    • bike lanes on Kenmore Ave

    The only pains are the hill climb up Quincy/31st and turning left from North Van Dorn St onto Kenmore Ave. For the latter, they have put a bike symbol for guidance after crossing the North Van Dorn/Braddock Rd intersection, so you’ll need to get in the left lane and stay there until reaching the left turn lane.

    December 5, 2016 at 8:50 pm #1061291
    lordofthemark
    Participant

    What Bobco says. And yeah, more people using the Van Dorn Street bike lanes is a very good thing.

    December 5, 2016 at 9:35 pm #1061294
    scoot
    Participant

    Based on your criteria, I think you will prefer Bobco’s route (less traffic, more residential back streets) vs. mine (more direct, gentler slope), but I’ll share it anyway.

    If riding to this area, I typically go SW on Walter Reed, then left on King, right on Hampton, left on Braddock, right on Van Dorn, left on Kenmore. Taking the lane for two blocks of King Street is much tamer than it sounds, because by turning from Walter Reed, you avoid the main herd of traffic. They’re all stuck at that light. The same effect works in your favor on Braddock and on Van Dorn too.

    December 5, 2016 at 10:13 pm #1061298
    DismalScientist
    Participant

    You may want to take the hill on 28th/Abingdon between Walter Reed/Wakefield and the 34th Street bridge. It’s shorter than going all the way to Shirlington. The hill is shorter and steeper, but that’s good for your soul.

    December 5, 2016 at 10:35 pm #1061299
    lordofthemark
    Participant

    @scoot 149905 wrote:

    Taking the lane for two blocks of King Street is much tamer than it sounds, because by turning from Walter Reed, you avoid the main herd of traffic. They’re all stuck at that light.

    This is true. Even I have taken the lane on that length of King a few times (I don’t do the 31st street hill at rush hour, I usually do the Lucky Run Trail next to Walter Reed and then the sidewalk on King, but if I can see pedestrians on the sidewalk on King, and can time the light right, I will take the lane instead – plus its a safer right onto Hampton than from the sidewalk, due the presence of the slip lane from King to North Hampton)

    December 6, 2016 at 8:45 pm #1061353
    wheelswings
    Participant

    Thanks, Bobco et al., for spoon-feeding me such a clear and comfortable route to my dental appointment on Kenmore Ave in Alexandria. The Van Dorn St. lane was smooth and well-manicured. The hardest part was actually the fact that you made it so EASY (despite the downpour!)… I kept waiting for ”the hard part” and all of a sudden I looked up and there was my destination! Thank you for making my world bigger.

    As some of you know, for my first few years of bicycle commuting I pulled my girls in the double Burley and we never ventured beyond the Arlington borders, as that is where the routes ended on my paper-map. We’d lock up the bike/trailer and take the bus. But thanks to the wealth of expertise in this two-wheeled community, I’ve become a regular in DC, Fairfax, Falls Church, even faraway Maryland (admittedly that last one is still a bit intimidating :)). Thanks for sharing… I am really grateful. w&w

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