Four Mile Run Trail at W Glebe Rd has some problems

[elbows]

I think the Four Mile Run Trail at W Glebe Rd has some problems.

If you’re coming north on W Glebe and are trying to get onto the sidewalk in front of Pizza Hut in order to get on the trail, the road is bumpy and the skinny sidewalk is cracked and hazardous. I fell once badly here and almost fell another time. I’m not prone to falling; had a few but all others due to pedal issues. I have talked to others who have fallen here as well.

I really don’t like the W Glebe Rd crossing (I use it to cross W Glebe so that I can turn left on W Glebe to ride down to Valley) . There is a crosswalk but about 2% of cars yield to a bicycle in the crosswalk. There is no traffic signal when you are crossing W Glebe in that direction. Cars do not use a turn signal. Frankly, I’m not sure whether the turn signal would be for turning right onto W Glebe (straight, but new road) or for turning left (to stay on S Glebe, same road) but there should be a turn signal one way or the other. Anyway, I’ve had a number of close calls here. Last night, a guy beeped at me when he was turning left from S Glebe and I was in the crosswalk, after waiting considerable length of time.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=arlington,+va&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Arlington,+Virginia&gl=us&ei=K9APTPWfJMP38AbQl9DdBQ&ved=0CB0Q8gEwAA&ll=38.843518,-77.076988&spn=0.002661,0.004635&t=h&z=18

[Dirt]

That is a really bad area. Where are you trying to go? When going through that area, I often either head south at Mount Vernon Ave. and cut across to where I need to go, or I take the new Shirlington Bypass and then take the pedestiran bridge back across 395. It adds 5 or so minutes to your trip, but it is almost completely out of traffic.

[catamountred6]

I come down from Army/Navy to S Adams, and that corner is nasty, its very difficult to make a good decision at that corner. The pedestrian cross walk at S Glebe is nearly nonexistent.

[Tim Kelley]

Elbows, this area by Pizza Hut is actually in Alexandria. They’ve been given a heads up on your message….

It also sounds like the Arlington engineers are working on a signal/intersection project at the S. Glebe & W. Glebe crossing.

Keep the suggestions coming!

[consularrider]

I think he means the light across the stream from the Pizza Hut, so the it would still be in Arlington, while the condition and width of whole length of the sidewalk leading from Valley Dr down to 4 Mile Run in Alexandria is not conducive to cycling anyway. Lately when I decide I want to go left on W Glebe up to Valley, I have taken the underpass, then turn on to S 4 Mile Run Dr back to W Glebe. A little more convoluted, but does avoid playing dodgems at the light. Of course, I’m only taking this route to add milage to my normal commute anyway, so it’s not an inconvenience. Your best chance to cross at the light comes when there is traffic coming off S 4 Mile Run Dr, but you can’t count on that and the light for them is very short. It’s curious that there was never a pedestrian walk light there before the new 4 Mile Run Trail extension was put in.

[Tim Kelley]

@Consularrider – Either way, the sidewalk in front of Pizza Hut in Alexandria is pretty beaten up.

Here are the details on the intersection plan from one of the Arlington engineers:

“The project at this intersection will involve significant upgrades to the crosswalk across S. Glebe Road. It will be restriped as a ladder-style marking and will feature a new cut through the median between Four Mile Run Drive (basically a frontage road here) and S. Glebe Road. The crosswalk across W. Glebe Road will just be restriped, as it received more recent improvements such as the median refuge. There will be a crosswalk striped across Four Mile Run Drive on the west side of the intersection and the ramps for this crosswalk will be upgraded as well.

This is a VDOT project and we are only involved in the MOT phase (long story) so the design is already finalized. The project has yet to go out to bid, so I would not expect to see construction here until the fall at the earliest.”

[elbows]

Thanks for the responses. Being that the intersection is somewhat heavily used by cyclists, I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask that it be made better. Some days I do go other ways, but I ride my bicycle fairly often (don’t own a car) and don’t always have the luxury of going a longer way.

Out of curiousity, because I’m not even sure, don’t drivers have an obligation to yield to someone in the crosswalk in certain circumstances there?

[Author]

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