Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway construction

[PotomacCyclist]

It appears that Crystal Drive (or part of it) will have a new lane configuration by the summer. The Metroway bus rapid transit route should be complete by then. Part of the route consists of dedicated bus lanes, on Rte. 1 in Alexandria, and along S. Glebe Rd. and the southern part of Crystal Drive in Arlington. The dedicated lane ends at 26th St.

At least part of the existing right lane on northbound Crystal Drive could be converted to a bus-only lane, except that bikes and right turns would be allowed. That’s what a new sign indicates at the intersection with 18th St.

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Will this bus lane run from 26th St. to the north? There is a bike lane on northbound Crystal Drive, but only from 23rd to 15th St. (Southbound Crystal Drive has a bike lane from 26th to 12th St.) Will that bike lane remain, or will it be added to the new bus lane?

The new Metroway buses run fairly often, but there aren’t nearly as many Metroway buses as there are cars on that road. The new configuration might be a minor improvement when riding north on Crystal Drive, past 26th St. The entire lane would be limited to bikes for much of the day. (Metroway buses run every six minutes during peak rush hours, every 12 min. during daytime off-peak hrs and every 15 min. in the evenings. The buses run every 20 min. on weekends.)

The Metroway buses only travel north on Crystal Drive. On the southbound trip, they use Clark/Bell St. down to 27th St. From there, they switch to the dedicated lanes next to Crystal Drive and S. Glebe Rd.

I don’t know what the final traffic pattern will be, or whether it will be better for cyclists or not. But it will be different. The lanes will shift to the new designations when the Metroway route and stations are finished. That could happen by June. (At that time, Metroway will be extended to the Pentagon City Metro station.)

http://metrowayva.com/route/

[rcannon100]

I think I road the not-finished metroway route on Friday home. Made an excellent cyclocross route!

[PotomacCyclist]

After Metroway is finished, it won’t be possible (or as easy) to ride, run or walk on Rte. 1 any longer.

[For those who haven’t been to Potomac Yard lately, the right lane of northbound Rte. 1 has been closed to car traffic, between S. Glebe and almost up to 33rd St. Large orange barrels block off that lane to cars, but it’s relatively easy to bike, run or walk in that lane. Normally I would never ride or run on Rte. 1. But with the lane closed off, it’s pretty easy to do.]

[PotomacCyclist]

Most of the bike path along Crystal Drive, between 29th & 33rd Streets, has been repaved. I don’t think it’s officially open yet. I rode along part of it a few days ago. There were still some gaps, with deep dropoffs, so beware if you happen to ride on the unopened path. I was concerned that the Metroway system was going to remove that trail. But that’s not the case. I like that trail better than the bike lanes on Potomac Ave. There are a lot of people walking in those bike lanes, because there is no sidewalk on those blocks.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/arlingtondes/17493427980/in/album-72157645801567893/

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