EMS on MVT near Natl Airport this AM

[Rootchopper]

That intersection is one of the dregs of the DCA renovation. There used to be a similar at-grade intersection at the north end of the airport that was the site of crashes on a regular basis. Trail traffic now flies over that airport roadway. The remaining at-grade crossing where today’s accident happened needs to be re-worked. Anytime you have a sign saying “Dismount” you can bet there is a design flaw involved.

On a related note, farther south on the trail, just after the Metro bridge underpass, is a stop sign that serves little purpose. It is followed by a dangerous S-curve. This area is also the site of accidents and could be re-designed for very little money. Maybe they could sell some of the Jersey barriers that block the old access from the GW parkway. That access ramp hasn’t been used in a decade or more.

[DaveK]

I came upon this before EMS was there. One of the witnesses told me that the cyclist hit the sharp lip at the airport ramp crossing, lost control, and went down. He was briefly unconscious and had rash on his face and a cut on his nose. This is one of the spots called out in the Mount Vernon Trail RSA specifically because of how dangerous these lips are for cyclists. A few thousand dollars and one day to build new ramps that meet design standards and this crash never would have happened. The cyclist was transported by EMS.

http://yfrog.com/h3x9qlplj

[Justin Antos]

More info. Be careful out there. That bump on the trail is a real nasty one.

[PotomacCyclist]

I wrote to the Arlington Environmental Services about that crossing last year or the year before. I don’t remember if they forwarded my complaint onto NPS or whoever has jurisdiction. Anyway, the surface of the crosswalk was even worse then, with deep potholes (I think). They filled in the potholes but they didn’t improve the transitions between the road and the trail. I hope they fix it sometime in the near future.

[dbb]

@Rootchopper 24439 wrote:

On a related note, farther south on the trail, just after the Metro bridge underpass, is a stop sign that serves little purpose. It is followed by a dangerous S-curve. This area is also the site of accidents and could be re-designed for very little money. Maybe they could sell some of the Jersey barriers that block the old access from the GW parkway. That access ramp hasn’t been used in a decade or more.

That stop sign (for cyclists) is wasted. How about move a couple of jersey barriers to protect the cross walk from the airport vehicle traffic and take the stop sign down? Realigning the MVT at that point might also help but in 20 minutes with a forklift, I could improve the safety of that intersection quite easily.

[J. Szukiewicz]

Hello~
Rolled up on this crash as the second person at the scene. Am a tourist from Vegas on a rental road bike. Came up on the accident 10 minutes into the ride. Posting to check in on the man, whose injuries appeared to be far more than just abrasions to the face(as posted before). If anyone knows the poor guy who was hurt please post to let us know how he is?
Thanks so much~

[DaveK]

@J. Szukiewicz 24457 wrote:

Hello~
Rolled up on this crash as the second person at the scene. Am a tourist from Vegas on a rental road bike. Came up on the accident 10 minutes into the ride. Posting to check in on the man, whose injuries appeared to be far more than just abrasions to the face(as posted before). If anyone knows the poor guy who was hurt please post to let us know how he is?
Thanks so much~

To clarify – as I said, the EMTs were told he was briefly unconscious after the initial impact. His visible injuries were as I listed indicating he had taken some kind of impact to the head.

[Author]

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