Custis Trail Tree Work

[vvill]

I only join the Custis at Spout Run so I was amused this morning to see signs indicating that I was apparently on the detour before I even tried to get on the Custis.

For those who don’t know the areas around the trails well I’d recommend keeping a printed map of the area in your pocket, given the circumstances. I usually keep one on me (just a simple print out from Google Maps) as I like to detour anyway on my return commutes.

[Subby]

I ran through here this morning from 645 to 730ish and made it through before they dragged the detour signs out. I thought the orange cones on the piles of tree mulch were funny – why not just remove the tree mulch?

Anyway, at least they are done with Rosslyn to Spout Run. As long as they CLEARLY mark the detour route then it should be okay. Even better – why not let us know what to expect in the way of detours the day BEFORE the trail is closed?

[americancyclo]

I feel like there was slightly better communication when sections of the trail were closed for paving. or at least more posts from Mr. Tim Kelley

[sjclaeys]

@americancyclo 13022 wrote:

Tree work hadn’t started yet when I rolled through this morning, but I did notice a detour sign at the ramp that leads down to Lee highway. What was really a surprise was the two cones and pile of wood chips that were at the bottom of the S curve of death. made for an exciting morning!

Here is what I found this morning between 7:30 and 8:00. As americancyclo noted, there was a large, 1 inch thick pile of woodchips in the middle of the switchback decent after crossing Lee Highway. I cannot believe the negligence of leaving such a dangerous condition that could have been easily cleaned-up in a few minutes. Of course, if someone wiped out while trying to avoid or go around it, the county would probably admonish them for going too fast. Also, two trucks were parked in the middle of the trail near Harrison Street. They had their doors open, so they completely blocked the trail. There is a parallel road only 6 feet away, so I do not see why they had to sit there. It is part of an apparent trend of vehicles using the trail when it is convenient, rather than necessary. On the whole, this shows that Arlington County is not even paying attention to what is going on.

[rcannon100]

Arl County Board Member Jay Fisette responded that the contractors are not suppose to be working prior to 9:30 am.

Jay is on FB if you want to send him a direct message about this situation.

When I biked by the work site at 3 pm yesterday, the work crew was in their trucks leaving, proving that there was absolutely no reason for them to be working and shutting down the bike path during rush hour. They could have started later and ended still outside of rush hour.

The problem with the signs and detours is that it places the cyclists on routes that are not designed for high volume cycling traffic, creating a danger for pedestrians, cyclists, and cars.

On the whole, this shows that Arlington County is not even paying attention to what is going on.

Please email the trails address and the county board.

[americancyclo]

@rcannon100 13053 wrote:

Arl County Board Member Jay Fisette responded that the contractors are not suppose to be working prior to 9:30 am.

two of my encounters this week involved tree work between 700 and 800 am

@rcannon100 13053 wrote:

Please email the trails address and the county board.

done.

[consularrider]

On Monday between 1:30 and 2:00 pm there were three areas being worked on, at the Harrison St underpass, from Lincoln to Lee Highway and then between the 3 mile post and the Veitch St spur. Heading east, the first was sign posted with a detour sign, and I got back on the trail at St Ann, but didn’t see a detour sign going west. Maybe it was on the newer Harrison St access spur. At Lincoln the detour was after crossing under Lincoln making you turn back up the east side spur. It would have made more sense to use the west side spur. Then the detour went up Lincoln to Lee Highway, and then east on the Lee Highway bike lane to I-66 where it crossed back over at the I-66 off ramp. The spur at the I-66 on ramp was taped off. There was no notice of the work going on just past the 3 mile post, but the truck there was far enough over to ride around and one of the workers was watching for trail users.

[slowtriguy]

My latest Custis Trail tree crew sighting was at 0720 this morning. They were driving down the ramp from Fairfax Drive between Kensington and Kennebec with a chipper in tow. I give them bonus points for driving carefully down the ramp, and both the driver and passenger were looking around actively — a good thing, as right at that time there were several folks nearby on the trail.

I’ve emailed the Trails and County Board addresses as well.

Happy Riding!

[sjclaeys]

This morning’s report. The tree crew mentioned by slowtriguy was blocking the trail by 7:40 with no detour or warning. The question remains why they could not park on Fairfax Drive, which would place them just as close to the work. However, the most fun was being behind an Arlington County truck for about half a mile on the trail. The truck would abruptly stop when trail users came toward it, but made no effort to allow the line of bikes behind it to pass. It also passed several street access points, indicating that the truck did not have to drive so far on the trail. Arlington County continues to underwhelm on this issue.

[Lou]

They’d closed the trail under George Mason Drive when I (and several other cyclists) were there at 8am this morning. That’s a tricky crossing, especially when traffic’s heavy. I think it’s clear that safety isn’t a priority as far as this work goes, but still, forcing large numbers of cyclists up off the trail to try and get across a busy road like that during the rush hour doesn’t make any sense to me.

[sjclaeys]

I am at a loss on what to do about this situation. My emails to Arlington County have gone unanswered and Bike Arlington does not seem to care. How do we get across the message that supporting cycling is more than painting sharrows, having nice websites and handing out knickknacks at Bike to Work Day? It means having every County office and department recognize the needs of cyclists and the impact of the County’s activities on cyclists.

[dasgeh]

The most disappointing thing to me (following along, though I’m not a Custis commuter) is that the solution is just to wait a couple hours, as promised, and put up some signs. If there were a reasonable explanation as to why the work was being done so early, that may be different…

[Marcella]

@sjclaeys 13293 wrote:

I am at a loss on what to do about this situation. My emails to Arlington County have gone unanswered and Bike Arlington does not seem to care. How do we get across the message that supporting cycling is more than painting sharrows, having nice websites and handing out knickknacks at Bike to Work Day? It means having every County office and department recognize the needs of cyclists and the impact of the County’s activities on cyclists.

Really, I don’t think this is about supporting cycling or not supporting cycling. They do the same thing with any kind of work that requires them to block a road — random closures with no signage to warn you until you’re on top of it and have to make a u-turn and then get lost in a neighborhood with more dead-ends than through streets until you finally find your way around it and back to your original route. If you ask the workers a question, like how many days will the road be closed before they’re finished, they have no idea what the answer is. And don’t get me started on construction workers who see nothing wrong with closing a sidewalk mid-block by spray painting “SIDEWALK CLOSED – CROSS HERE” on a piece of plywood, when “here” refers to a 6-lane road.

[rcannon100]

I am curious whether the Arlington Bike Advisory Committee has addressed this issue?

And no, shutting down the Custis trail during rush hour is not the same as shutting down any other road — shutting down the Custis Trail during rush hour is like shutting down I-66 during rush hour. It is not done. And the Arlington County Board has acknowledge that it is not suppose to be done.

I think the next step would be for us to self organize, and try to meet with member of the Arlington County Board.

[sjclaeys]

I believe that the next Arlington Bike Advisory Committee meeting is February 6.

[Author]

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