February 2015 Trail Conditions

[consularrider]

Mid-morning ride report:
Custis was 99% clear from the Roosevelt Island Parking lot to Van Buren St in EFC! Numerous access trails were cleared (can’t say what the curb cuts at the streets were like though), yea Arlington County DPR! The Fairfax Blvd bike lanes through Ballston and Virginia Square weren’t cleared and were slushy where they weren’t blocked by cars or snow/ice piles from the last storm. Same with the Quincy St from Fairfax to the W&OD. Closer to noon, even the neighborhood streets I was on were clear.

Now just watch out for the water freezing where it usually does tonight.

[scoot]

@PotomacCyclist 109547 wrote:

The MVT isn’t just a trail for a couple people. It’s the ONLY route to DC for people from South Arlington.

(assuming Fort Myer is off limits)

FTFY.

[Steve O]

@sjclaeys 109535 wrote:

However, after going under 66 on the Custis in what was the Underpass of Eternal Gloom and then being on the Custis next to 66, a snow plow on 66 shot a wave of slush and salt on me. Quite surprising.

You missed my video from a few days ago:
@Steve O 109135 wrote:

[video=youtube_share;mJKzW2JRGos]http://youtu.be/mJKzW2JRGos[/video]

[scoot]

Eh that’s actually not true I guess, given the Route 27 Trail.

But that’s NPS also. Which was my point: the only non-military-base bicycling routes from south Arlington to DC all involve NPS property that they refuse to maintain for winter commuters. If they can’t or won’t recognize the fact that they are responsible for a major transportation artery, they should be replaced with someone who will.

[DismalScientist]

You can get between either South or North Arlington and the Memorial bridge without going through Fort Meyer or the MVT trail.

From Crystal City, take Long Bridge Drive to Boundary Channel to Washington Blvd bike path.
From Shirlington, take 4MR to Crystal City, or take Army Navy to Joyce or the pedestrian tunnel under I-395 to the Washington Blvd bike path.

From Rosslyn, take the 110 trail to Memorial Bridge.
From farther west, go to Rosslyn or go to Pershing and Arlington Blvd, take the Route 50 trail to 110 trail to the bridge. Oops, the Route 50 trail is not plowed.

[BTC_DC]

@DismalScientist 109563 wrote:

From Crystal City, take Long Bridge Drive to Boundary Channel to Washington Blvd bike path.

How long does it normally take for Washington Blvd bike path to be cleared? Would tomorrow be overly optimistic?

Just learned about this route, tried it a few times this week, and it worked really well. I wonder if it might even be faster in the summer to avoid all the pedestrian traffic on MVT (vs. 4MR to 14th St. Bridge).

[PotomacCyclist]

@DismalScientist 109563 wrote:

You can get between either South or North Arlington and the Memorial bridge without going through Fort Meyer or the MVT trail.

From Crystal City, take Long Bridge Drive to Boundary Channel to Washington Blvd bike path.
From Shirlington, take 4MR to Crystal City, or take Army Navy to Joyce or the pedestrian tunnel under I-395 to the Washington Blvd bike path.

From Rosslyn, take the 110 trail to Memorial Bridge.
From farther west, go to Rosslyn or go to Pershing and Arlington Blvd, take the Route 50 trail to 110 trail to the bridge. Oops, the Route 50 trail is not plowed.

Some of us prefer not to go to Memorial Bridge from the south, because of the dangerous road crossings. I haven’t ridden over there in a couple years (I think) precisely because of that issue. It’s also a bit of a detour, although that’s the secondary concern. Those Memorial Bridge-area crossings are more than just unpleasant. People get killed there just as they do at the “Intersection of Doom.” Even when you don’t get struck, you have to time your crossing and scamper across the road with the high-speed car traffic there. That’s just not something I’m willing to do on a regular basis, playing Frogger with speeding car drivers, especially during busy rush hour periods. The roads are busy even in non-peak periods, from what I’ve seen in the past. The only times I’ve seen it relatively empty is very late at night.

Temperatures should be in the mid to upper 40s for most of next week, so hopefully we’ll finally see a lot of the snow and ice melting away. I can wait a few more days. But if the MVT had been clear, I would have ridden much more often this winter. I rode on one of the 0F wind chill days, but the MVT was clear that day.

[Tim Kelley]

@BTC_DC 109565 wrote:

How long does it normally take for Washington Blvd bike path to be cleared? Would tomorrow be overly optimistic?

Just learned about this route, tried it a few times this week, and it worked really well. I wonder if it might even be faster in the summer to avoid all the pedestrian traffic on MVT (vs. 4MR to 14th St. Bridge).

VDOT has choosen not to plow or maintain it in any way, despite that it’s on land they own.. I think we’re looking at waiting for it to melt at this point.

[DismalScientist]

@BTC_DC 109565 wrote:

How long does it normally take for Washington Blvd bike path to be cleared?

The path from the south side of the Pentagon to the Boundary Channel ramp on the north side of the north Pentagon parking lot is cleared quickly by the Pentagon. North of that, you are at the mercy of NPS, but it is only about a 1/4 mile or less.

[dasgeh]

@PotomacCyclist 109566 wrote:

Some of us prefer not to go to Memorial Bridge from the south, because of the dangerous road crossings. I haven’t ridden over there in a couple years (I think) precisely because of that issue. It’s also a bit of a detour, although that’s the secondary concern. Those Memorial Bridge-area crossings are more than just unpleasant. People get killed there just as they do at the “Intersection of Doom.” Even when you don’t get struck, you have to time your crossing and scamper across the road with the high-speed car traffic there. That’s just not something I’m willing to do on a regular basis, playing Frogger with speeding car drivers, especially during busy rush hour periods. The roads are busy even in non-peak periods, from what I’ve seen in the past. The only times I’ve seen it relatively empty is very late at night.

This a pet peeve of mine: There are not many cyclist deaths in Arlington. Not at the crossings of the GWMP, not at the Intersection of Doom, not on the roads. Posts like this could very easily be taken to imply otherwise.

Yes, these at-grade crossings are not as safe as they need to be. The jogger that was killed was at the crossing of the GWMP, where two lanes of traffic are traveling on highway-like conditions at high-speed. The crossings required to use the 27 Trail to get to Memorial Bridge are all one-lane and all ramps where cars are transitioning from one road to another. Having driven on them, they are a different experience and discourage high speeds better than the GWMP crossing. The crossing required to get from the ANC Metro to the downstream side of the Memorial Bridge does cross two lanes, but it is also a transition point for cars coming off of 27 and getting on to the Bridge, and most are preparing for the possibility of having to stop at the circle or on the bridge.

We should certainly work hard to make these crossings safer. However, this scare tactic that CYCLISTS GET KILLED at these crossings is not helpful and not all that true. I completely understand if you don’t feel comfortable at these crossings. But let’s stick to that kind of language, as not to imply that cycling is more dangerous than it is.

PS. At some of these crossings, I actually feel safer at rush hour, because cars are more prepared to stop for other car traffic. It’s Saturday drivers expecting wide open roads and driving accordingly that really scare me. But I’ve never had a problem getting across these areas at any time. I’m willing to ignore that I should have right-of-way and wait for drivers to acknowledge me and that they’re stopping. I wait longer than I should have to, but we’re talking in terms of 15-30 seconds longer than I should have to, not minutes. I behave this way at most unsignalized crossings around here.

PPS. I am not aware of any cyclist or pedestrian fatality at the Intersection of Doom. Far too many collisions, but no fatalities. That makes sense, as the conflict is with turning cars, which will be traveling slow enough to significantly reduce the chance of a fatality. And please correct me if I’m wrong.

[alrob]

Does anyone know the condition of the W&OD between Columbia Pike north/west out to the junction with the Custis? This part was cleared by the county until this year when NVRPA made them stop, claiming they would do it. However, I have not seen this happen yet. Should I ride up George Mason from Shirlington to the Custis instead?

[Tim Kelley]

@dasgeh 109572 wrote:

PPS. I am not aware of any cyclist or pedestrian fatality at the Intersection of Doom. Far too many collisions, but no fatalities. That makes sense, as the conflict is with turning cars, which will be traveling slow enough to significantly reduce the chance of a fatality. And please correct me if I’m wrong.

Yeah, the “D” in IoD stands for Doom, not Death.

[mstone]

@PotomacCyclist 109547 wrote:

Well, Arlington already has the agreement with VDOT for a key Arlington trail.

Arlington has that agreement because the trail was part of the deal for I66. Fairfax didn’t drive such a bargain, and Fairfax didn’t get a trail. VDOT fervently wishes that Arlington didn’t have a trail, and that VDOT could use the extra ROW for another lane. If Arlington were trying to make that agreement today, they’d probably get about as far as Fairfax has on the I66 trail outside the beltway. Unless Arlington has some ability to retroactively block or delay the building of the GWMP they have no leverage.

[GB]

Pet peeve of mine: overly harsh responses.

[DismalScientist]

@mstone 109575 wrote:

Arlington has that agreement because the trail was part of the deal for I66. Fairfax didn’t drive such a bargain, and Fairfax didn’t get a trail. VDOT fervently wishes that Arlington didn’t have a trail, and that VDOT could use the extra ROW for another lane. If Arlington were trying to make that agreement today, they’d probably get about as far as Fairfax has on the I66 trail outside the beltway. Unless Arlington has some ability to retroactively block or delay the building of the GWMP they have no leverage.

Puhlease. There’s room within the sound wall for an extra lane. Opposition within Arlington is delaying widening of I-66, not the trail. Apparently, there is an agreement with VDOT to clear the 110 trail as well. I would assume the negotiation of the trail clearing agreement goes like this:

Arlington: We would like to clear the very important trail that you won’t clear that is in your right of way.
VDOT: OK.

As far as the WOD, I have no idea why NVRPA can’t reach a deal with Arlington. Apparently the part that is co-named the Custis trail (Custis to EFC) is cleared. The solution probably is to just to call the trail all the way to Shirlington the Custis trail as well.

One complication with the MVT is that a significant part of the trail around Memorial Bridge is not in Arlington County, but the District instead.

[Author]

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