Enjoying the trail

[scoot]

Interesting.

On a dark and rainy evening commute once I saw a few reflections of blue and red lights as I was riding up HRT under the railroad tracks toward Jordan Street. Next thing I knew I was face to face with an oncoming Alexandria police cruiser using the trail as a cut-through to Eisenhower. But this cop immediately pulled over as far as possible, ceding the entire trail to me, and waited until I was past. I’m guessing he had official business relating to an insane traffic cluster I had just escaped (eastbound Beltway looked dead stopped, with a lot of confused drivers bailing to the Clermont Connector), and that was his quickest route.

In any case, it is nice to know that I am clearly visible, even when there are police strobe lights cluttering the scene.

[Emm]

@CaseyKane50 113500 wrote:

Yesterday afternoon while riding on the Holmes Run Trail, I ran into six Alexandria City Police officers enjoying an afternoon ride.

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Since their lights were flashing, I pulled off the trail to let them pass. I sent a message to the Chief asking him why his police officers were on the trail.

I see officers on their motorcycles on the MVT and 4MRT/W&OD all the time, especially on the weekends. I figure it’s normal? At least they usually call their passes.

[CaseyKane50]

@Emm 113515 wrote:

I see officers on their motorcycles on the MVT and 4MRT/W&OD all the time, especially on the weekends. I figure it’s normal? At least they usually call their passes.

Alexandria used to have police officers on bikes who patrolled Holmes Run. Now, I see one officer who walks his dog between Eisenhower and the Holmes Run Parkway and South Jenkins intersection. Usually, police cars on the Holmes Run Trail cover this stretch of the trail. As it happens, South Jenkins provides a convenient shortcut to Wheeler Avenue. And the police headquarters happens to be on Wheeler Avenue.

There was an assault on the trail a couple of years ago and there was a noticible police presence from North Ripley to Eisenhower, but now it is one officer on foot and the cars rolling through

I actually like the police presence, but the trail between Eisenhower and South Jenkins was not built for cars and trucks. The trail is being damaged by these vehicles, especially on the edges and the ground beside the trail.

[scorchedearth]

I saw a police car on the HRT around the Beatley Bridge on one of the BPAC counting days. It happened to be a beautiful day when there were many people out enjoying the pleasant weather. Why the officer had to be driving their car on the trail on such a day, I couldn’t understand. There was no traffic chaos or any emergency to which they were responding.

When I brought this up to the APD via Call Click Connect, my concerns were rebuffed with a condescending tone.

Cars have no business being on the trail especially considering that the surface of the path is not designed to accommodate two ton vehicles and the damage from them is apparent.

The worst thing about all of this is that the police started driving on the trail and now, other city staff have taken such liberties. My wife has seen a backhoe on the trail. It was not heading to or from any visible construction. To me, it seemed like city staff wanted to take a shortcut in their heavy equipment. Not cool.

[Kolohe]

I’m not going too much heartburn over police motorcycles, which on average are lighter than a horse, but yeah, cars and larger vehicles should be verboten unless responding to an emergency.

[PotomacCyclist]

I saw an officer driving on Four Mile Run Trail near S. Lang St. and Mt. Vernon Ave. in a non-emergency situation, a couple years ago. He was rolling along slowly, no lights, so it wasn’t part of a hot pursuit. I noticed him because… I was riding on the trail at the time, only I was on a bike.

[scorchedearth]

@PotomacCyclist 113673 wrote:

I saw an officer driving on Four Mile Run Trail near S. Lang St. and Mt. Vernon Ave. in a non-emergency situation, a couple years ago. He was rolling along slowly, no lights, so it wasn’t part of a hot pursuit. I noticed him because… I was riding on the trail at the time, only I was on a bike.

You can see the results of their driving on that section of trail in an earlier thread.

[CaseyKane50]

@CaseyKane50 113500 wrote:

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Since their lights were flashing, I pulled off the trail to let them pass. I sent a message to the Chief asking him why his police officers were on the trail.

Captain Wemple, from the Alexandria Police Department, responded to my message. He said the police officers were on a training ride to become familiar with the trail. Police and other city staff have been directed to use their emergency lights while on the trail. City vehicles are also supposed to yield to trail users.

[scoot]

Methinks a bicycle is a better way to become “familiar with the trail”. Just saying

[mstone]

better a motorcycle than a car; I suspect they’re not nearly as bad for the trail

[Crickey7]

I frequently see MPD officers on the CCT in the morning, including this morning. On bikes.

[PotomacCyclist]

Are there officers on bikes on the MBT, in the mornings or evenings? I know that most people don’t experience issues there, but some have. If they have bike patrols, they should include the MBT too.

[CaseyKane50]

Methinks a bicycle is a better way to become “familiar with the trail”. Just saying

It has been several years since I saw Alexandria Police on bicycles on Holmes Run

better a motorcycle than a car; I suspect they’re not nearly as bad for the trail

Agreed, but the vehicle most often seen on the trail are police cars. I had suggested to the police that patrol coverage should be best handled by bikes, then motorcycles and finally cars. One advantage to the first two is they can cover the entire trail from Eisenhower Avenue to Chambliss Street while the car is limited on where it can go, not to mention the damage to the trail. According to Captain Wemple, staffing does not allow them to prioritize in my suggested order.

[Author]

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