April – 3 Police Activity at Roosevelt Island Parking Lot- 8 am

[dasgeh]

Oh, right. On my ride home last night ~5:40pm, there was police activity on the North crossing of “Washington Blvd” on the almost-VA side of the Memorial Bridge (in other words, the cars were coming off of the Memorial Bridge heading either to 395S or 50W/GWP N). I always cross on the South side of the bridge, but from what I could see, there were 3 police cars, maybe 2 stopped “normal” cars pulled off on the grass and a couple of tourist-looking families stopped. I have no idea if anyone was hurt (no ambulances) or if any cyclists or peds were involved. I admit I’m just curious, but does anyone know what happened?

[pfunkallstar]

I hope the injured bicyclist is okay, as someone mentioned earlier, head wounds tend to bleed pretty profusely. To what degree is the NPS liable for cleaning up the trail? I mean the Memorial Bridge has been pockmarked for the better part of two years now. Also, this particular location ranks third in my top-five least favorite, most-crash-prone spots between Falls Church and Metro Center. The entire list is:

1. TR wooden bridge shift to MVT (2 spills – huge thigh gash)
2. Second crossing on Parkway up to Memorial bridge (hood ride)
3. Spiral of Doom (dog leash in front wheel)
4. Pre-caulking Rosslyn downhill (road tires used to get stuck in the crack – asphalt in ass)
5. Memorial Bridge pothole collective (two flat tires and counting)

[consularrider]

The crud was cleaned up when I rode down the ramp at 5 pm. It also looks like some rocks were added to the edge of the walk where it looked like the asphalt was breaking up, but I didn’t stop for a closer examination.

[Tim Kelley]

This was forwarded to me from the Alexandria BAC listserv,

“This morning around 8am a cyclist was coming down the overpass from the Custis Trail to the MV Trail (over GW parkway) and apparently hit the steel post at the bottom in the center of the ramp. I talked to the NPS officer and he stated the cyclist was in critical condition. Upon leaving I noted there was some gravel on the lower portion of the ramp which could have been a factor although the officer said that speed was a factor. The officer was going to block the trail off but since he had not blocked the top of the trail at Lee Hwy and Lynn St it would not do much good.”

[CCrew]

Ack. Here’s wishing them a complete recovery. Doesn’t matter how it happened, just that they fully recover.

[Jerry King]

Yesterday morning around 8am a cyclist was coming down the overpass from the Custis Trail to the MV Trail (over GW parkway) and apparently hit the steel post at the bottom in the center of the ramp. I talked to the NPS officer and he stated the cyclist was in critical condition. Upon leaving I noted there was some gravel on the lower portion of the ramp which could have been a factor although the officer said that speed was a factor. The officer was going to block the trail off but since he had not blocked the top of the trail at Lee Hwy and Lynn St it would not do much good. I did not read anything in the paper about the accident.

[mstone]

yikes

[Brendan von Buckingham]

I really hope we hear that the cyclist is OK. I’m a little distressed from the vague reports.

But as a community we need to take responsibility too. Hindsight is 20/20, I would have looked at that gravel and not really thought much of it. But if I did think it was a dangerous hazard, I would have fixed it myself. It’s just gravel after all; I could clear it with my feet or bring a whisk broom on my next commute. No need for a phone call, a road crew, a work order, or specialty equipment. If it’s a chunk of road debris that would cause a cyclist to veer, I’ll dismount and move it. If it’s a tree limb on the trail small enough to move, I’ll move it. Once I even brought a saw the next day because all the branches and leaves of the downed limb blocked the line of sight on a high speed turn. I spent 10 minutes cutting it up. It would have taken NPS 10 days to get around to it, if ever.

I know every inch of my route like the back of my hand. If there’s new debris, I’ll know intuitively if it’s a problem that only a cyclist would see. We know our life and death conditions and we know fixing them are very low priorities for most everybody else. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves. If we see a problem and can fix it, we should fix it.

[KLizotte]

@Brendan von Buckingham 17599 wrote:

I really hope we hear that the cyclist is OK. I’m a little distressed from the vague reports.

But as a community we need to take responsibility too. Hindsight is 20/20, I would have looked at that gravel and not really thought much of it. But if I did think it was a dangerous hazard, I would have fixed it myself. It’s just gravel after all; I could clear it with my feet or bring a whisk broom on my next commute. No need for a phone call, a road crew, a work order, or specialty equipment. If it’s a chunk of road debris that would cause a cyclist to veer, I’ll dismount and move it. If it’s a tree limb on the trail small enough to move, I’ll move it. Once I even brought a saw the next day because all the branches and leaves of the downed limb blocked the line of sight on a high speed turn. I spent 10 minutes cutting it up. It would have taken NPS 10 days to get around to it, if ever.

I know every inch of my route like the back of my hand. If there’s new debris, I’ll know intuitively if it’s a problem that only a cyclist would see. We know our life and death conditions and we know fixing them are very low priorities for most everybody else. It shouldn’t be that way, but it is. Sometimes we have to take care of ourselves. If we see a problem and can fix it, we should fix it.

I completely agree with Brendan, thank you. It does make me realize that an organization like the NPS should have one person dedicated to bike issues and who is a committed biker him/herself, because as you say, only a cyclist can truly see conditions for what they are.

[oldbikechick]

@Tim Kelley 17561 wrote:

This was forwarded to me from the Alexandria BAC listserv,

“This morning around 8am a cyclist was coming down the overpass from the Custis Trail to the MV Trail (over GW parkway) and apparently hit the steel post at the bottom in the center of the ramp. I talked to the NPS officer and he stated the cyclist was in critical condition. Upon leaving I noted there was some gravel on the lower portion of the ramp which could have been a factor although the officer said that speed was a factor. The officer was going to block the trail off but since he had not blocked the top of the trail at Lee Hwy and Lynn St it would not do much good.”

This was indeed a very scary and sad situation, which I unfortunately came upon shortly after it happened and did what I could to help. I sincerely hope the cyclist is OK. For the record, I don’t understand why the officer would say that “speed was a factor” since the only person who did see the accident happen did not seem to think so. I don’t know whether speed was a factor or not, but the officer certainly would not know that either, so why say it?

[5555624]

@oldbikechick 17691 wrote:

For the record, I don’t understand why the officer would say that “speed was a factor” since the only person who did see the accident happen did not seem to think so. I don’t know whether speed was a factor or not, but the officer certainly would not know that either, so why say it?

Because it’s a safe catch-all (and probably true). He did not say it was the reason for the crash, just part of it. The gravel is probably the main factor; but, if you slow down enough, you probably ride through it without a problem. With only two tiny points of contact with the ground, you always have to be aware of the trail/road conditions.

[Steve O]

And as the unofficial president of RUB (Remove Useless Bollards), one wonders if that bollard is actually necessary. There’s not a good way for cars to access the bridge without jumping the curb anyway, so it seems pretty unlikely there would ever be any encroachment.

As you know, Arlington has been working on removing some bollards and replacing others with a less dangerous design. Is this bollard the responsibility of NPS? Probably, I suspect. Would they be open to removing it or replacing it I wonder? Particularly now that it’s been shown to be a hazard.

One alternative idea, if they are truly concerned about cars, would be to place a low railing along the curb by the road which would then separate the road traffic from the sidewalk but would not interfere with ped or bike travel. Just a thought.

Steve

[Tim Kelley]

I’ve got confirmation that the bridge is indeed Arlington’s property and that the offending bollard is been planned to be removed soon. It’s actually been in the queue for removal for some time so this isn’t a response to the crash last week. (which may or may not have involved the bollard). The rigid steel bollards will be replaced with flexible bollards.

Looks like another bollard falls due in a large part to Steve O’s successful “RUB” program!!

Relevant posts here:

http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?1459-Hazardous-Bollard-and-Bollard-Collar-Map

http://www.commuterpageblog.com/2010/02/to-stanchion-or-not-to-stanchion.html

http://www.commuterpageblog.com/2012/02/dangerous-bollards-being-removed-from-arlington-trails.html

[consularrider]

On Wednesday evening, the upper bollard on the GW Parkway overpass bridge was removed and a hard plastic one was in its place with a traffic cone over the asphalt patch where the old bollard had been. The lower bollard was removed sometime on Thursday and a new hard plastic one is there. The new hard plastic posts are placed about a foot before (as you approach the bridge) the location of the old bollards. Hopefully the new plastic ones won’t break too quickly since there is little vehicle traffic running them over. I’ve see a couple of these type of posts broken fairly soon after they were installed because the county drives trucks over them for park maintenance (check out the one in Bon Air Park).

[Steve O]

I’m glad it’s working!

The more I think about it the more it seems bollards are, in fact, a deliberate attempt (although unintentionally deliberate, if that makes any sense) to injure people–the steel ones, that is. Think about it. An immovable, solid steel object is deliberately placed exactly in the middle of the lanes of travel. We all know people are fallible, so eventually someone is going to run into it. It’s just a matter of time. So when a dangerous bollard is placed right where cyclists have to pass by it, we know that someone will eventually be injured by it. Guaranteed. We know. Repeat: it’s going to happen.
And yes, it’s likely whoever is injured may have been inattentive or careless, but that’s irrelevant. Traffic engineers put in safety devices on abutments and other solid objects all over our roads and highways to help reduce the impact for cars. Those are placed on objects that could only possibly be run into by reckless or inattentive drivers. But we protect them anyway.
Here are some examples:
http://g.co/maps/xe458
http://g.co/maps/9k6pv
http://g.co/maps/t65y3
http://g.co/maps/ne59j
http://g.co/maps/mkh9k
http://g.co/maps/p94me

Bollards, though, are not protected AND they are deliberately placed right where it’s guaranteed they will cause injury. Seems almost like it ought to be criminal.

Steve (President of RUB – Remove Useless Bollards)

[Author]

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