Cars going off GW Parkway between North Boundary Channel and Trollheim

[Sunyata]

Pictures may help solidify your point to NPS. I know it can be hard to grab a photo, especially early in the morning or late in the evening, but it definitely would help the cause.

[scoot]

@DrP 185137 wrote:

install a wall?

Easy. Just tell the current administration that some of the GWMP drivers are immigrants.

[TwoWheelsDC]

I’ve seen the direct aftermath of at least two in the last 2-3 years and I’m seriously baffled about why this happens. Whenever I drive the GWMP through that section I think “what is going on here that would force me off the right side of the road on a right-handed curve with decent sightlines?” I can’t figure it out.

[dasgeh]

@TwoWheelsDC 185176 wrote:

I’ve seen the direct aftermath of at least two in the last 2-3 years and I’m seriously baffled about why this happens. Whenever I drive the GWMP through that section I think “what is going on here that would force me off the right side of the road on a right-handed curve with decent sightlines?” I can’t figure it out.

Speed.

[mstone]

@dasgeh 185179 wrote:

Speed.

This. Also, if they did add a wall, they’d probably put the trail between the wall and the road, because that’s safer for out-of-control drivers.

[bobco85]

dasgeh is right. Drivers treat the GWMP as a highway, so even though the speed limit is 40, drivers hit 50 and even 60 mph (if not more in some cases).

On the idea of a wall (not THAT one), the main issue NPS has always had with building stuff is the following word: viewshed. A wall would mess with the viewshed of the Potomac River and surrounding park areas, so that might be a no-go.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Well of course speed is a factor for crashes/incidents all along the GWMP, but this spot and the incidents that happen there are pretty unique and speed on its own can’t explain it. The physics of it just don’t add up…going off the right side of the road in a sweeping right turn is exactly the opposite of what should happen when taking a corner too fast. So what about the road design in this particular area contributes to these incidents? Like it or not, the speed issues aren’t likely to be addressed, but if there’s a road design issue that’s contributing to these issues (maybe the merge from S Arlington Blvd plays a role?), then those seem like the places where NPS may be more willing to take action (in addition to some sort of physical barrier to protect the trail). But if the solution is “people just need to slow down,” well…good luck with that.

[consularrider]

@bobco85 185188 wrote:

dasgeh is right. Drivers treat the GWMP as a highway, so even though the speed limit is 40, drivers hit 50 and even 60 mph (if not more in some cases).

On the idea of a wall (not THAT one), the main issue NPS has always had with building stuff is the following word: viewshed. A wall would mess with the viewshed of the Potomac River and surrounding park areas, so that might be a no-go.

NPS hasr three foot high stone walls along the Parkway in the area, so there is a precedent.

As far as the cause, I’ve speculated before that the drivers merging in from the S Arlington Blvd/Washington Blvd/Memorial Circle are probably the ones going too fast as they come across two lanes of the GW Parkway and if it is wet or icy they hit the grass and the MVT. Of course, the reports on the incidents never provide that kind of detail.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@consularrider 185203 wrote:

NPS hasr three foot high stone walls along the Parkway in the area, so there is a precedent.

My favorite is the wall on 123 eastbound over the GWMP where the GWPM offramps onto 123, which has been hit several times in the last couple of years. Imagine being so bad at driving that you hit a wall on the **inside** of a merge area.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@TwoWheelsDC 185192 wrote:

Well of course speed is a factor for crashes/incidents all along the GWMP, but this spot and the incidents that happen there are pretty unique and speed on its own can’t explain it. The physics of it just don’t add up…going off the right side of the road in a sweeping right turn is exactly the opposite of what should happen when taking a corner too fast. So what about the road design in this particular area contributes to these incidents?

Night time combination of poor lighting and optical illusion. The trail and road are barely separated: no shoulder, faded white line, low curb, no overhead lights. Driver trying to stay to the right on the turn mistakes the bike lane for the right lane of the GWMP. If a car is not following the brakes lights of a car ahead of them, their headlights don’t give them much reaction time to even a small mistake.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@Brendan von Buckingham 185341 wrote:

Night time combination of poor lighting and optical illusion. The trail and road are barely separated: no shoulder, faded white line, low curb, no overhead lights. Driver trying to stay to the right on the turn mistakes the bike lane for the right lane of the GWMP. If a car is not following the brakes lights of a car ahead of them, their headlights don’t give them much reaction time to even a small mistake.

Are we talking about the same spot? Also, the times I know where cars have gone off the road here have all been during morning rush hour in essentially normal weather conditions. ::shrug::

[Brendan von Buckingham]

@TwoWheelsDC 185389 wrote:

Are we talking about the same spot? Also, the times I know where cars have gone off the road here have all been during morning rush hour in essentially normal weather conditions. ::shrug::

Pretty much yeh, but from this spot . I thought you were talking about finding the remnants of overnight crashes. If it’s daytime though I have to up the Stupid Meter and guess that people are driving while looking at a map on their phone. And they think the trail is an entrance ramp to the Roosevelt Bridge? But that would be off the chart stupid.

[DrP]

@TwoWheelsDC 185389 wrote:

Are we talking about the same spot? Also, the times I know where cars have gone off the road here have all been during morning rush hour in essentially normal weather conditions. ::shrug::

I was first commenting on that whole stretch, but most seem to end up where you reference. They may start having issues where Brendan references and I am certain over the years I have seen some there. I think that is about where I saw a dead deer once too. Perhaps that is a cause? Although I have rarely seen deer on this stretch while the same state of twilight I have seen deer on the W&OD and Custis.

[DrP]

Okay, I know I started this thread and with a very specific region of the trail, but not too far from there about two weeks ago a car clearly went off the trail, as per the mud tracks. Still near Boundary Channel, but on Columbia Island, so recording that here just to keep track, although this is not the same area. So, count of 1 for the small region between Boundary Channel and Trollheim and a count of 1 for just south of Boundary Channel.

[DrP]

Yesterday a car was in this region, just off the parkway, but still at the top of the hill. No one around. It looked like the remains of an accident to be cleared out later.
Today there were clear mud tracks of a car sliding down the hill from there and then going up. So, two for the year in this area so far.

[Author]

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