Cars going off GW Parkway between North Boundary Channel and Trollheim

[DrP]

Every few months I see freshly torn-up turf and mud in the stretch of MVT between Trollheim and the northern end of the boundary channel. Sometimes there is still a car there (or in the river), but often not. I fear the day that the car goes off the parkway and hits a trail user (pedestrian, cyclist or even a scooter). Perhaps NPS is not aware how frequently this happens so that they do not feel the need to modify the roadway or at least install a wall? With that thinking, I figured that if we kept track, we could provide numbers to them. Please add as you either witness the event or the remains.

So, starting the 2019 count, sometime between 7:30am Friday, 4 January 2018 and 7:30am Monday, 7 January a vehicle clearly left the parkway and entered the trail. That is 1, so far.

Topic

[BTC_DC]

There seems to have been another one, and apparently did not end too well for the driver:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/vehicle-goes-into-water-near-roosevelt-island-authorities-say/2019/05/06/12136cfe-6fa6-11e9-9f06-5fc2ee80027a_story.html?utm_term=.efb5a3398710

[DrP]

It has been a while since I was sure I saw the remains of one of these (there have been several cases of muddy tracks this summer and last, but since the appeared when the grass was freshly mowed, I was thinking it was the Park Service mowing the steep hill and slipping in the mud). That streak seems to have ended.
Some time before Wednesday (12/2) morning, a vehicle drove off the GW Parkway, taking the “End Roadwork” sign down and travelled on or across the trail leaving bits of glass and other car parts on the trail.

[Judd]

Stopped for pics of the latest incident.

Here’s the approach to where drivers are going off the road.

A bit closer.

What’s left of the sign.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bentbike33]

Yes, GWMP is far too dangerous for cars. They clearly need to be banned. Let cyclists have the Parkway, and pedestrians the MVT.

[rcannon100]

@bentbike33 202927 wrote:

Yes, GWMP is far too dangerous for cars. They clearly need to be banned. Let cyclists have the Parkway, and pedestrians the MVT.

We Demand that the Forum Overlords Bring Back the ELITE button!!

[DrP]

[cross posting the main contents]
At 7:15 am today, there were two cars that had left the GW parkway between trollheim and boundary channel (it happened before then, but not likely too long before). I am not sure what happened. One had travelled across the trail and was in the trees and shrubs. The other was on the trail with tow cables. Not sure if both went off at once or if one was getting ready to be pulled up when the other went over or was it being towed, broke loose and ended up on the trail. Police were present and one tow truck. And the car traffic was backing up quickly.

[Author]

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