Arlington County Moving Forward With Pedestrian Bridge Near Shirlington

[rcannon100]

This should make Robyn happy

[Emm]

@rcannon100 197034 wrote:

This should make Robyn happy

Except it doesn’t get rid of having to cross Shirlington road to get to/from the trail from what I read, so Reji will still have to look out for cement trucks…

Per the article:
The Four Mile Run plan also considered an underpass running beneath the bridge, negating the need for cyclists and other trail users to cross busy Shirlington Road, though that was not discussed at the Transportation Commission meeting. Arlington County is currently working on a $15.5 million renovation project for Jennie Dean Park, adjacent to the future bridge.

[wheelswings]

@rcannon100 197034 wrote:

This should make Robyn happy

Not necessarily. The dangerous part is crossing Shirlington Road and also 4MR Dr. There is no safe way to get across. Crossing 4MR Drive first is perilous because of the speeding right and left turns. Crossing Shirlington Rd at either location is equally bad. At 4MR Drive and Shirlington Rd the cars do not stop before their turns. If you do cross 4MR Dr. first, you can use the beg button to cross Shirlington Rd. But drivers ignore (or speed up at) the flashing yellow lights (why aren’t they red?) triggered by the beg button, even if they are approaching a red light. It is a terrible set of intersections if you’re not in a 4000 lb tank.

According to the article, we will have a better bridge across Four Mile Run stream. But the bridge is not really the problem. Personally I’m fine on the narrow bridge, even if there are others using it at the same time. I can go super slow and we will all stay alive. It’s crossing the road that’s the real problem. That’s where we can die. And that’s where our kids will get a false sense of security when they press the button, not realizing that the drivers will accelerate rather than stop. It appears there’s been no resolution… I hope I am misunderstanding…

From ArlNow: “The Four Mile Run plan also considered an underpass running beneath the bridge, negating the need for cyclists and other trail users to cross busy Shirlington Road, though that was not discussed at the Transportation Commission meeting.”

[reji]

@rcannon100 197034 wrote:

This should make Robyn happy

All new bike infra makes me happy. But in the interim, I’ll remain on high alert so I can keep dodging those nasty cement trucks.

[Steve O]

@rcannon100 197034 wrote:

This should make Robyne happy

No. This bridge does nothing to improve the crossing of Shirlington Road. It just makes it easier to cross Four Mile Run.

Creating a grade-separated crossing on Shirlington Road is discussed in the 4MR plan, but I’ll put good money that that won’t happen until after Robyne retires, if ever.

[Subby]

Shout out to the commenter who complained about cyclists riding into moving traffic without looking. I always ride into moving traffic without looking, what an astute observation.

[zsionakides]

@reji 197042 wrote:

All new bike infra makes me happy. But in the interim, I’ll remain on high alert so I can keep dodging those nasty cement trucks.

The cement truck issue is due to a poor design on that side of the intersection which doesn’t make clear who has right of way. The fact that the cement factory has a signal light confuses drivers as it’s not obvious they don’t have right of way when it’s green. Changing their current green light to a flashing red when 4MR has a green would properly signal that they only have typical right of way for a vehicle leaving a driveway.

[lordofthemark]

@wheels&wings 197040 wrote:

Not necessarily. The dangerous part is crossing Shirlington Road and also 4MR Dr. There is no safe way to get across. Crossing 4MR Drive first is perilous because of the speeding right and left turns. Crossing Shirlington Rd at either location is equally bad. At 4MR Drive and Shirlington Rd the cars do not stop before their turns. If you do cross 4MR Dr. first, you can use the beg button to cross Shirlington Rd. But drivers ignore (or speed up at) the flashing yellow lights (why aren’t they red?) triggered by the beg button, even if they are approaching a red light. It is a terrible set of intersections if you’re not in a 4000 lb tank.

According to the article, we will have a better bridge across Four Mile Run stream. But the bridge is not really the problem. Personally I’m fine on the narrow bridge, even if there are others using it at the same time. I can go super slow and we will all stay alive. It’s crossing the road that’s the real problem. That’s where we can die. And that’s where our kids will get a false sense of security when they press the button, not realizing that the drivers will accelerate rather than stop. It appears there’s been no resolution… I hope I am misunderstanding…

From ArlNow: “The Four Mile Run plan also considered an underpass running beneath the bridge, negating the need for cyclists and other trail users to cross busy Shirlington Road, though that was not discussed at the Transportation Commission meeting.”

This. The new bridge will be helpful as ped volumes increase with the other changes to the area (which will still not be as dramatic as what I hoped for when I went to the first visioning session (a day I won’t forget as it was the day my Kona Dew was stolen)) But its not really a big improvement over the current status quo – I proceed on this sidewalk as W&W says, or (esp going NB) avoid it by going 27th to Nelson to the bridge near the dog park (which sometimes has peds, but with more room than the sidewalk on Shirlington Road) OTOH 27th is going away I guess? (I also occasionally take the lane on Arlington Mill SB, and go vehicular throught the intersection, though some issues making the sharp turn from Shirlington Road onto the trail usually deter me from that.

[huskerdont]

@Subby 197048 wrote:

Shout out to the commenter who complained about cyclists riding into moving traffic without looking. I always ride into moving traffic without looking, what an astute observation.

Specific quote:

“Pedestrians walk into moving traffic without looking, bikes too”

So we have walking bicycles that don’t look where they’re going. I believe this surpasses “astute” and moves into “brilliant” territory.

[dbb]

@reji 197042 wrote:

I’ll remain on high alert so I can keep dodging those nasty cement trucks.

Striving to be pedantic, they are actually concrete trucks.

[rcannon100]

@reji 197042 wrote:

FTFY: All new bikes makes me happy. But in the interim, I’ll remain on high alert so I can keep dodging those nasty cement trucks.

Too soon?? 😮

[ImaCynic]

“An open house for the pedestrian bridge project is scheduled for Feb. 11 from 6-8 p.m., in which nearby civic associations will be invited, though the location of the open house was not announced. Staff said renderings for the bridge will be available at the open house.”

Here is where you can get all your questions answered. But wait! You have to be invited, to some undisclosed location… So I guess it’s not really an open house.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[reji]

@rcannon100 197077 wrote:

Too soon?? 😮

Ha! It’s never too soon for a new bike, but I’d much prefer it’s to add, not replace, one in the stable.

[accordioneur]

@dbb 197075 wrote:

Striving to be pedantic, they are actually concrete trucks.

When I rode by yesterday morning there were both cement and concrete trucks idling in the Vulcan Materials driveway. You may be wrong about one or another individual truck, but you are correct in the aggregate.

[arlcxrider]

@accordioneur 197275 wrote:

When I rode by yesterday morning there were both cement and concrete trucks idling in the Vulcan Materials driveway. You may be wrong about one or another individual truck, but you are correct in the aggregate.

The ready-mix plant is one of the last remaining legacies of the W&OD. All this stuff (ingredients of portland cement concrete) used to arrive by rail–and there was an at-grade crossing of Shirley Highway. That must have been exciting.

[Author]

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