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

@eminva 161389 wrote:

These are all really great comments — again, if you can’t attend a meeting and haven’t already contacted VDOT, I implore you to cut and paste your comment and send it to Transform66@VDOT.Virginia.gov.

The discussion here has been helpful for me to formulate my comment, so by all means, keep talking here, but also let VDOT know. They are the ones who can do something about it.

Thanks, everyone.

Liz

Here is what I sent if anyone would like to borrow any of my ideas.

Hello,

I was recently made aware of current plans for design of sections of the Multi-Use path that will be constructed as part of the Transform I-66 project. It is good that Virginia is improving travel choices for citizens, so thank you.

I watched this video prepared by Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling (FABB): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7nldPrXOvc&feature=youtu.be

The video shows the trail being inside the sound wall. This is an extraordinarily poor design decision for a long host of reasons:

• People on bikes and people on foot are not noisy
• There is no way to plow the trail. With the sound wall on one side and the barrier on the other, the snow cannot be pushed anywhere
• VDOT plows are likely to plow the snow onto the trail, rendering it useless (this already happens. It happened to me while I was riding. See video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJKzW2JRGos
• For debris, there would need to be some sort of custom trail cleaning vehicle that would need to be out there at least weekly. It would either have to be pretty small or it would block the entire trail (with no way to go around, see below)
• Undoubtedly stuff that falls off cars (mattresses, abandoned tires, etc.) will get thrown onto the trail, because that’s the obvious way to get it out of the road.
• In the cases of the trail being blocked (car crash involving a vehicle encroaching on the trail or something) there appears to be no way to go around. Trail users are essentially trapped in the trail by the soundwall
• Providing convenient connections to nearby streets and neighborhoods is either impossible or will require numerous breaks in the soundwall.
• The actual user experience will be highly unpleasant, close to high-speed, noisy traffic and the concomitant air pollutants. This will reduce the likelihood of people actually using the trail and therefore reducing the effect of including this multi-modal option in the Transform I-66 project.

The Custis Trail in Arlington is almost entirely outside the sound wall. Although not perfect, many people use this trail for both transportation and recreation who almost certainly would not if it were inside the sound wall next to the expressway. In fact, the least pleasant part of the trail is the section under the parking deck, where the trail is essentially adjacent to the roadway. I know of people who avoid this section of the trail, and just this section, preferring to use parallel surface streets instead.

It seems that the design engineers did not give due consideration to either user experience nor to trail maintenance issues for the Transform I-66 Multi-Use Path. I strongly support revisiting this design. As depicted in the FABB video, it is awful.

If the Transform I-66 project is to achieve its greatest success, then the choices offered to travelers of all modes should be optimized as much as possible. If the choice of walking or biking is made as convenient and pleasant as possible, then more people will choose that option, improving travel experience for everyone. The current design completely misses the mark on that count.

@Steve O 161388 wrote:

• There is no way the trail can be cleaned of debris or snow. With the soundwall on one side and the barrier on the other, it is impossible to plow.
• For debris, there would need to be some sort of custom trail cleaning vehicle that would need to be out there at least weekly. It would either have to be pretty small or it would block the entire trail (with no way to go around, see below)

“VDOT doesn’t clear trails” = problem solved

@anomad 161419 wrote:

Even on the Woodrow Wilson (495) bridge they had the sense to put the sound wall between the path and the traffic.

That sound wall is freaking amazing too. Incredibly quiet on the trail side.

I sent the following e-mail:

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed concept for the “Transform 66” Project. As an Arlington, VA resident who bikes, walks and drives in the I-66 corridor, I was pleased to see that the proposed concept includes a 22 mile multi-use path. The existing Custis Trail along I-66 in Arlington allows several thousand cyclists, joggers and walkers each day to commute, to exercise or to connect to another neighborhood. (Source: Arlington trail counter data at http://counters.bikearlington.com/counter-dashboard/)

Unfortunately, the current concept on the Transform 66 website presents a trail that at best would be extremely unpleasant and that many trail users would consider dangerous. This can be fixed by moving the trail behind the sound barrier. The proposed trail should be moved behind the sound barrier for the following reasons:

1. Interstate highways are noisy. According to a Federal Highway Administration article, “Levels of highway traffic noise typically range from 70 to 80 dB(A) at a distance of 15 meters (50 feet) from the highway. These levels affect a majority of people, interrupting concentration, increasing heart rates, or limiting the ability to carry on a conversation.” (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/03jul/06.cfm) This level of noise not only would discourage trail use, it would also make it difficult for trail users to hear bells or voice calls when passing each other, creating a safety issue.

2. Interstate highways are full of debris. Blown tires, car parts, bolts, and even a mattress or two are often found on the side of Interstates. These present a hazard when they end up on the trail and are potentially deadly when propelled from a travel lane on the trail. There is good reason that pedestrians and cyclists are banned from using Interstate Highways. Placing the trail at grade with I-66 separated by only a two foot wall and two buffer lanes presents an unnecessary risk of serious injury.

3. Interstate highways are uncomfortable heat islands. Virginia summers are hot and often humid. Add the heat island effect of a concrete sound barrier, an asphalt roadway and the heat from engines with a lack of trees or landscaping to provide shade and this trail will be unbearably hot in the summer.

I appreciate the opportunity to provide feedback. As you consider refining the concept based on public comment, I implore you to ask yourself if the current concept is the kind of trail that you would be happy to take a walk with your family or if you’d rather use a trail that is separated from the noise and debris of a high volume Interstate highway.

Thank you,

Judd Lumberjack
Arlington, VA

@Judd 161431 wrote:

…

Unfortunately, the current concept on the Transform 66 website presents a trail that at best would be extremely unpleasant and that many trail users would consider dangerous. This can be fixed by moving the trail behind the sound barrier. The proposed trail should be moved behind the sound barrier for the following reasons:

1. Interstate highways are noisy. According to a Federal Highway Administration article, “Levels of highway traffic noise typically range from 70 to 80 dB(A) at a distance of 15 meters (50 feet) from the highway. These levels affect a majority of people, interrupting concentration, increasing heart rates, or limiting the ability to carry on a conversation.” (https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/publicroads/03jul/06.cfm) This level of noise not only would discourage trail use, it would also make it difficult for trail users to hear bells or voice calls when passing each other, creating a safety issue…

And the sound barrier exists to protect homes several hundred feet away from the reduced affects of the noise, so yea, let’s put the unprotected right in the middle of it! :rolleyes:

@CBGanimal 161430 wrote:

. VDOT said they have addressed the issue and it stands as is…since they are “accommodating” a bike trail that should be enough. But after the 4th cyclist they at least said there might be a way but didn’t really say how…

This is infuriating!! Ostensibly, the whole point of “Transform I-66” is to provide a host of travel choices along the corridor. This very statement, “accommodate” exposes their hypocrisy. “We’re building this for cars, and we will ‘accommodate’ you other peons.”

@trailrunner 161356 wrote:

Seems like when I-66 gets plowed, a lot of the snow and ice from the freeway will wind up on the trail, making it unrideable until spring, and a mess throughout the year.

Does anyone have any experience riding over the Wilson Bridge during winter? What happens to the snow ? The bike trail there is not so different than what VDOT is proposing except no wall on one side….just awesome views of the Potomac.

@Judd 161422 wrote:

That sound wall is freaking amazing too. Incredibly quiet on the trail side.

Is that the plexiglass like wall?