22 Mile Trail Parallel to I-66 — Helpful Video and Input Needed

Yikes. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it to any of the meetings this week but I’ll definitely send an email tonight. I drove home from Georgia today and spent time observing all the road noise and debris that ends up on the side of the road. This would be an awful “Trail” as currently depicted.

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My main problem with the trail is how much Sun exposure it gets so any snow would melt faster. Ideally it should be to the south of I-66 including the south of any noise wall. However, the current design puts it to the north side of I-66, and the noise wall is north of it.

Here is the current design:

<-- Gets full Sun here

If they just switch the noise wall so it’s between the trail and cars, then the trail doesn’t get sun in the winter months:

<-- No Sun here

What I prefer:

<-- Gets some Sun here because of possible trees and building to the south

And after seeing the video, I don’t like it. We are blocked from seeing trees and birds with tall noise wall, so it’s not enjoyable, and only 2 feet tall barrier between us and cars, so it’s not safe. However; on the plus side, car drivers would be able to see us going faster than they are. Unfortunately, I can’t get to the meetings either.

I watched the video and looked at some of the designs, and the biggest question that I have on the proposed design is: Who is going to actually use this trail?

I think the people that are likely to use the trail in its current design are moderate to expert cyclists and runners. It looks to be well made for going long distances and will benefit athletes for training more than anyone else.

I think the people that are likely to not use the trail are beginner cyclists, nature lovers, children, elderly people, dog-walkers, and pedestrians in general. Trail-users will be subjected to loud, noisy traffic, oven-like conditions during the summer (all the asphalt heating up nearby and a noise wall reflecting some of the light at people without any shade), and lots of trash and debris from vehicles (especially during the winter). I don’t think people would enjoy using the trail because there are no landmarks, no interesting trees, no nature to enjoy, and as stated before, no escapes should a situation occur on the trail.

This trail is basically a narrow 2-way bike lane along an interstate and nothing more. It needs to go on the outer side of the noise wall and/or have grade separation.

I have been wandering around the website from the original post in this thread. Is there something that discusses or illustrates what happens to the bikepath at vehicular entrances/exits to I-66?

@ursus 161368 wrote:

I have been wandering around the website from the original post in this thread. Is there something that discusses or illustrates what happens to the bikepath at vehicular entrances/exits to I-66?

From the maps, it appears that they all will be tunnels, or whatever “Shared Path Structure Box” means.

If you want to see the maps, go here, then download the last map first and work your way up, so you would see them from east to west. The trail is not one straight line from west to east. Some segments detour to nearby Bike-Friendly Roads. It ends at Gallows RD at Dunn Loring Metro, and from there you would continue on Gallows to join the W&OD.

Here are the list of detours from Centreville to Dunn Loring metro:

Vienna metro: Exit at Black Lane, then use Sutton RD/Country Creek RD to get to the tunnel at Nuttly ST. See Google map here.
Rt50/Fair Oaks Mall: Get to West OX Rd, Post Forest RD, Random Hill RD. There is a trail segment from I-66 tunnel that needs to be build by others(County, etc.) to connect it to Random Hill RD. See Google map here.
Rt28/Braddock/Sully RD: Requires a trail segment from I-66 tunnel that needs to be build by others(County, etc.)

I don’t see any trails west of Centreville.

@n18 161358 wrote:

My main problem with the trail is how much Sun exposure it gets so any snow would melt faster. Ideally it should be to the south of I-66 including the south of any noise wall. However, the current design puts it to the north side of I-66, and the noise wall is north of it.

Here is the current design:

<-- Gets full Sun here

If they just switch the noise wall so it’s between the trail and cars, then the trail doesn’t get sun in the winter months:

<-- No Sun here

What I prefer:

<-- Gets some Sun here because of possible trees and building to the south

And after seeing the video, I don’t like it. We are blocked from seeing trees and birds with tall noise wall, so it’s not enjoyable, and only 2 feet tall barrier between us and cars, so it’s not safe. However; on the plus side, car drivers would be able to see us going faster than they are. Unfortunately, I can’t get to the meetings either.

The Woodrow Wilson bridge trail has clear sound barriers between traffic and the trails on the Virginia part of it which works quite well. That would be a solution to keep the trail on the north side, which I’m assuming has been surveyed out, while getting sun to the trail in winter. It would also allow drivers to see how much faster bikes go than cars during rush hour.