August 2015 Trail and Road Conditiona

[TwoWheelsDC]

From what I could tell, paving on Westmoreland is waaaaay behind. And now they’ve got Great Falls completely milled as well, severely limiting north/south routes between north Arlington and points north.

[komorebi]

@CaseyKane50 122911 wrote:

Final paving of the last section of the trail will be done on Friday, August 28.

Paving appeared complete this evening, although the amended sign suggested that construction work might continue through next Wednesday. In any event, the trail is much less bumpy now.

20150828_192619 on Flickr

[CaseyKane50]

@komorebi 123064 wrote:

Paving appeared complete this evening, although the amended sign suggested that construction work might continue through next Wednesday. In any event, the trail is much less bumpy now.

The grading work is to the west side of the trail, it shouldn’t impact the nicely paved trail.

[mstone]

well, that bollard violates safety standards

[CaseyKane50]

@mstone 123068 wrote:

well, that bollard violates safety standards

There is one more!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9468[/ATTACH]

[GovernorSilver]

@CaseyKane50 123077 wrote:

There is one more!

[ATTACH=CONFIG]9468[/ATTACH]

Both are annoyances, considering there’s no way for any car to fit in there anyway.

Also, the drain does not work very well – I’m pretty sure the puddle I’ve seen there all of last week was from the previous week’s rainfall.

[Steve O]

@GovernorSilver 123100 wrote:

Both are annoyances, considering there’s no way for any car to fit in there anyway.

Also, the drain does not work very well – I’m pretty sure the puddle I’ve seen there all of last week was from the previous week’s rainfall.

They are black! And steel! What are they thinking?
They are contrary to FHWA guidance on bollard placement. They are far more than an annoyance; they are a hazard to trail users.

[GovernorSilver]

Since I’m a regular user of that MUP, I’ll send a report to City of Alexandria. This is the correct site to report the issues, right?

http://request.alexandriava.gov/CCC/#tab=Find

I will include this link in my submission:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian/guidance/design_guidance/bollards/index1.cfm

[CaseyKane50]

@GovernorSilver 123174 wrote:

Since I’m a regular user of that MUP, I’ll send a report to City of Alexandria. This is the correct site to report the issues, right?

http://request.alexandriava.gov/CCC/#tab=Find

I will include this link in my submission:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bicycle_pedestrian/guidance/design_guidance/bollards/index1.cfm

After going to Call.Click.Connect under Categories select “Streets and Sidewalks” and then select “Complete Streets”. The person responsible for Complete Streets is also responsible for paved trails.

[bentbike33]

@TwoWheelsDC 122914 wrote:

From what I could tell, paving on Westmoreland is waaaaay behind. And now they’ve got Great Falls completely milled as well, severely limiting north/south routes between north Arlington and points north.

Westmoreland was done when I did my Sunday morning ride, and Great Falls was about 1/4 done. North West St. in Falls Church City got redone (although the speed hump wasn’t back yet), and there were more signs warning of upcoming work in other places all around Falls Church/North Arlington.

Could Williamsburg be (mercifully) next?!?

[TwoWheelsDC]

@bentbike33 123209 wrote:

Westmoreland was done when I did my Sunday morning ride, and Great Falls was about 1/4 done. North West St. in Falls Church City got redone (although the speed hump wasn’t back yet), and there were more signs warning of upcoming work in other places all around Falls Church/North Arlington.

Could Williamsburg be (mercifully) next?!?

Yeah, I drove through yesterday and it was like buttah…still some painting left to be done, but I don’t commute during road work hours, so that’s NBD.

I don’t think Williamsburg is scheduled for this year though…and even Patrick Henry and 16th, which are scheduled, haven’t been touched. So who knows.

https://arlingtonva.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2015/02/DES_Paving_Map_20151.pdf

[GovernorSilver]

@CaseyKane50 123208 wrote:

After going to Call.Click.Connect under Categories select “Streets and Sidewalks” and then select “Complete Streets”. The person responsible for Complete Streets is also responsible for paved trails.

Thanks. I downloaded your photo and submitted a ticket with your photo attached.

[Kolohe]

@GovernorSilver 123100 wrote:

Both are annoyances, considering there’s no way for any car to fit in there anyway.

Also, the drain does not work very well – I’m pretty sure the puddle I’ve seen there all of last week was from the previous week’s rainfall.

I’m going mildly defend the bollard as 1) there’s two stone walls right there so you have to slow anyway and 2) frequent heavy pedestrian traffic on a narrow sidewalk and erratic car traffic on Braddock means most people aren’t going to be able to go through that junction at speed -or even without stopping- anyway.

Plus the point of the current construction and the delay in final paving and striping is that they’re (re-) building the drainage ditch next to the path that someone either forgot to build or forgot to design.

[mstone]

@Kolohe 123254 wrote:

I’m going mildly defend the bollard as 1) there’s two stone walls right there so you have to slow anyway and 2) frequent heavy pedestrian traffic on a narrow sidewalk and erratic car traffic on Braddock means most people aren’t going to be able to go through that junction at speed -or even without stopping- anyway.[/quote]

Regs require a reflective bollard, not a stealth bollard. The only reason for a stealth bollard is to see how many people you can maim. Regs also say that you shouldn’t put in a bollard unless there’s a demonstrated problem with people driving their cars on the trail in that location. Do you think that’s likely there?

And even if you don’t care about cyclist safety, why spend extra money? Bollards don’t install themselves.

[bobco85]

@CaseyKane50 123208 wrote:

After going to Call.Click.Connect under Categories select “Streets and Sidewalks” and then select “Complete Streets”. The person responsible for Complete Streets is also responsible for paved trails.

@GovernorSilver 123221 wrote:

Thanks. I downloaded your photo and submitted a ticket with your photo attached.

Thanks for the info. I submitted a ticket for this as well (I didn’t use a photo, but I did identify the location on their map) with the following text:

I noticed there are 2 bollards painted black on the north side of the connection between Potomac Yard Trail and Braddock Road. Because they are not flexible, difficult to see, and placed in the middle of the trail, the bollards pose a risk to cyclists.

2 bollards are not needed here. A single flexpost on the Braddock Road side would suffice to deter vehicles and would be much safer. Also, the bollards, if kept, need to have reflective striping on them for better visibility at night.

Thank you.

[Author]

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