Arlington Blvd "Bike Trail" is shameful (bit of a rant)

[chris_s]

Be sure to express your frustration to the County Board as well as the choir here on the forum. I agree. Arlington has been sitting for almost a decade on a project to improve the trail from Pershing, past the Washington Blvd ramps and around down to connect under the 50 bridge to the Washington Blvd Trail, but it’s clearly not anyone’s priority – my understanding is most of the money has been burned redesigning it over and over since it sits so long un-constructed that the standards change out from under it. Shameful.

With a relatively modest investment, Arlington could make the trail quite pleasant from Rosslyn all the way to the Fairfax line except for the Glebe Road crossing – the reconstruction of the Glebe Road bridge over 50 was a missed opportunity because we didn’t have an Arlington Blvd Trail plan sitting in our pocket to whip out and show VDOT.

[dasgeh]

WABA (and I) agree with you, and WABA put together a plan that identifies where the problem spots are, including where it could be improved with modest investment.

http://www.waba.org/blog/tag/route-50/

I’ll note, though, that I was terribly disappointed with the “new” portion of the trail that VDOT constructed on the north/west side of 50 along with the Courthouse interchange project (between, let’s say, Pierce St and the entrance ramp for cars coming from 10th St). The curb cuts one would use to access this trail are the 90 degree kind that leave no margin for error, and, combined with the narrow trail, mean bikes with long wheel bases can’t use them. For those who do manage to get on the trail, the crossings of the multiple ramps and streets are poorly designed and executed, including one that could have clearly been moved to allow bikes a line of sight to cars coming off 50. The signal for the ramp from Courthouse Rd requires a beg button, which was placed on the opposite side from the direction of travel. And it ends a few hundred feet from Pershing. Bikes are left with a narrow sidewalk that has a sharp drop off on one side side, and the on-ramp then 50 on the other. Again, the curb cut makes it difficult for long-wheel-based bikes to get on the sidewalk. And this section was JUST BUILT.

So as this moves forward, we need to be vigilant about ensuring good design, because this new section of trail is basically unusable to family bikes.

[dasgeh]

WABA (and I) agree with you, and WABA put together a plan that identifies where the problem spots are, including where it could be improved with modest investment.

http://www.waba.org/blog/tag/route-50/

I’ll note, though, that I was terribly disappointed with the “new” portion of the trail that VDOT constructed on the north/west side of 50 along with the Courthouse interchange project (between, let’s say, Pierce St and the entrance ramp for cars coming from 10th St). The curb cuts one would use to access this trail are the 90 degree kind that leave no margin for error, and, combined with the narrow trail, mean bikes with long wheel bases can’t use them. For those who do manage to get on the trail, the crossings of the multiple ramps and streets are poorly designed and executed, including one that could have clearly been moved to allow bikes a line of sight to cars coming off 50. The signal for the ramp from Courthouse Rd requires a beg button, which was placed on the opposite side from the direction of travel. And it ends a few hundred feet from Pershing. Bikes are left with a narrow sidewalk that has a sharp drop off on one side side, and the on-ramp then 50 on the other. Again, the curb cut makes it difficult for long-wheel-based bikes to get on the sidewalk. And this section was JUST BUILT.

So as this moves forward, we need to be vigilant about ensuring good design, because this new section of trail is basically unusable to family bikes.

[mstone]

@dasgeh 134998 wrote:

The curb cuts one would use to access this trail are the 90 degree kind that leave no margin for error, and, combined with the narrow trail, mean bikes with long wheel bases can’t use them.[/quote]

That seems to be VDOT’s new standard, I see them popping up everywhere. There’s a tension between the bike people (who are appalled) and disability & pedestrian rights people who prefer them. (The sharper edge makes it easier for visually impaired people to find it, and the higher curb at the corner reduces the incidence of people running over the curb/pedestrians when cornering and also slows them down a little.) I don’t know if there’s a good way to resolve the differing desires of the various parties. (Apart from segregated bike infrastructure, but that seems unlikely.)

[Tim Kelley]

@Alcova cyclist 134950 wrote:

The first 500′ or so is still mostly covered in 2-3′ hills of snow (now mostly ice) from the clearing of route 50 exit ramps. While I can see how you might prioritize snow removal from route 50 for a few days post-storm, but it’s been 19 days now. I managed to go over/through/around the snow piles last night, although when I attempted a similar detour the trail last week (two weeks post blizzard) it was literally impassable on a bike. The rest of the trail south of 50 was a mess of snow & ice, and north of 50 covered with an inch or so of sand and gravel.

Here’s the blow by blow of arguing with VDOT on snow clearing: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?9853-Arlington-Blvd-Rt-50-Trail-Thread

[Tim Kelley]

@Alcova cyclist 134950 wrote:

The first 500′ or so is still mostly covered in 2-3′ hills of snow (now mostly ice) from the clearing of route 50 exit ramps. While I can see how you might prioritize snow removal from route 50 for a few days post-storm, but it’s been 19 days now. I managed to go over/through/around the snow piles last night, although when I attempted a similar detour the trail last week (two weeks post blizzard) it was literally impassable on a bike. The rest of the trail south of 50 was a mess of snow & ice, and north of 50 covered with an inch or so of sand and gravel.

Here’s the blow by blow of arguing with VDOT on snow clearing: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?9853-Arlington-Blvd-Rt-50-Trail-Thread

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