Bike connection on north end/DC side of 14th St. Bridge needs improvement

[PotomacCyclist]

No new problems that I’m aware of, but the existing bike trail running up the hill from the Jefferson Memorial area to the 14th St. Bridge bike/pedestrian lane needs to be improved. The trail is very narrow, barely able to handle two-way bike traffic. Cyclists riding uphill have a steep drop-off to their right, with only a 4 to 6 INCH set of wooden planks to “prevent” a fall. Someone also mentioned on another thread the potential hazard of the stairs adjacent to the bridge path.

Many cyclists coming down from the bridge use the grassy patch between the paved trail and the car lanes to get around the lamppost and to avoid oncoming uphill bike traffic. It can’t be that difficult for DDOT or NPS to pave that area, and widen the entire bike/run path down the hill to East Basin Drive SW. It’s just over 300 feet from the bridge to the road, following the current bike/run trail.

Since that entire area is under NPS jurisdiction, I figured that an email to NPS would be the best way to forward this suggestion. But the NPS website does not have any convenient contact links. There is a search feature for employee email addresses but the National Capital Region has dozens of email addresses. The new regional director (Steve Whitesell) does not have an email address (yet).

Any ideas about the best person to contact at NPS about this suggestion? Or does DDOT handle this section of the trail?

While NPS can be slow to address many bike-related concerns, I’ve found that they can be spurred to action when a safety issue is raised. Two years ago, after a bad tumble on the CCT because of unmarked hazards (the fluorescent spray paint had almost completely faded), I wrote to the CCT Coalition. They forwarded my message to NPS. Within a week or two, they repaired the series of bumps on the trail, near the DC/MD border. I later found out that the problem had existed for about two years. When I told them that I had a potentially very serious crash because of the safety hazards, they went out and repaired the entire section of the trail very quickly. (I did a header over the handlebars that day. I landed on the back of a shoulder and then my face. Fortunately I landed on the dirt and grass, about six inches to the side of the asphalt. Landing on grass = sore shoulder for a month, bruise and cut on the face. Landing on the asphalt = broken shoulder? broken cheekbone? broken neck?)

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[DaveK]

The problems only continue once you get off that ramp and have to ride on the sidewalk to avoid wrong-way riding in traffic. Then you’re mixing with tourists on foot, buses unloading… it’s a bad scene, especially at one of the busiest points for cyclists around the region. One progressive person at NPS could make a real difference here with proper cycling facilities.

[Author]

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