Good News on Infrastructure thread

[Steve O]

@n18 195644 wrote:

I doubt they would keep it open. Sunset Hills RD has a sidewalk on one side, and it’s not the W&OD side, which makes it harder for some. So it means using the road for one block, and on the next block there is a parking lot/service road that takes you to the rest of the W&OD. See this map link.

Disagree. There is a lot of room there. They can either reroute the trail over 20 feet for the duration or build the bridge a bit off to one side (like was done over the beltway).

[ursus]

@Steve O 195653 wrote:

Disagree. There is a lot of room there. They can either reroute the trail over 20 feet for the duration or build the bridge a bit off to one side (like was done over the beltway).

I hope that you are correct. There are enough detours already on the W&OD.

[bentbike33]

Fairfax County put up a temporary bike/ped lane on Tysons Blvd., the main road around the Galleria Mall (Tysons II), to provide extra exercise space during the pandemic. See: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/transportation/news/t12_20

I’m not sure how necessary the effort is. Traffic is unbelievably light in the area even during what would normally be morning and evening rush hours.

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[Pedal2DC]

@bentbike33 201286 wrote:

Fairfax County put up a temporary bike/ped lane on Tysons Blvd., the main road around the Galleria Mall (Tysons II), to provide extra exercise space during the pandemic. See: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/transportation/news/t12_20

I’m not sure how necessary the effort is. Traffic is unbelievably light in the area even during what would normally be morning and evening rush hours.

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This is a good start. Next the county should look at more densely populated areas, like the Rt 1 corridor.

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[mstone]

At least we don’t have all the problems this guy has! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McvZ68qlho4

Seriously though, I think his head would literally explode if he had to deal with VDOT.

[arlcxrider]

@mstone 201416 wrote:

At least we don’t have all the problems this guy has! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McvZ68qlho4

Seriously though, I think his head would literally explode if he had to deal with VDOT.

He should do a piece on the crappy design we’re probably going to get at the bike/ped Long Bridge, with hairpin ramps at both ends…

[mstone]

@arlcxrider 201417 wrote:

He should do a piece on the crappy design we’re probably going to get at the bike/ped Long Bridge, with hairpin ramps at both ends…

the problem is that we’re so desperate for infrastructure that any bridge, hairpin ramps or not, will be a miracle if it happens (don’t count your bridges until you’ve ridden across them…)

I guess that’s why it’s hilarious/depressing to watch someone complain that 3 of something like 15 cycling bridges in Copenhagen aren’t quite good enough

[bentbike33]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/feds-to-take-arlington-land-by-eminent-domain-for-cemeterys-expansion/2020/06/16/9ba18102-af58-11ea-856d-5054296735e5_story.html

“The Justice Department plans to condemn nine acres of land adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery to add about 60,000 new graves and a columbarium that could extend the life of the cemetery beyond 2050.”

“Government lawyers filed a civil suit Monday in Alexandria federal court to take the land, which is owned by Arlington County, by eminent domain. In exchange, the Justice Department will realign Columbia Pike, a major highway running through the county, as well as build a new 10-foot-wide bike path, widen sidewalks, install street lighting and plant trees on both sides of the widened Columbia Pike. Overhead power lines will be buried. A portion of Southgate Road will be closed for the realignment.”

No design map in the article, so can’t tell if this will make things better or worse.

[Judd]

@bentbike33 201539 wrote:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/feds-to-take-arlington-land-by-eminent-domain-for-cemeterys-expansion/2020/06/16/9ba18102-af58-11ea-856d-5054296735e5_story.html

“The Justice Department plans to condemn nine acres of land adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery to add about 60,000 new graves and a columbarium that could extend the life of the cemetery beyond 2050.”

“Government lawyers filed a civil suit Monday in Alexandria federal court to take the land, which is owned by Arlington County, by eminent domain. In exchange, the Justice Department will realign Columbia Pike, a major highway running through the county, as well as build a new 10-foot-wide bike path, widen sidewalks, install street lighting and plant trees on both sides of the widened Columbia Pike. Overhead power lines will be buried. A portion of Southgate Road will be closed for the realignment.”

No design map in the article, so can’t tell if this will make things better or worse.

Design document is here: https://projects.arlingtonva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2017/06/Cemetery-Expansion-DES_Columbia_Pike_Multimodal_Segment_A.pdf

This was a win for the folks that provided comments at the last public meeting which led to a dedicated cycle track. It was a surprise to see the plan changed based on the dismissive staff member that Arlngton provided for the open house.

The prior plan called for a shared use sidewalk (10 feet wide if I recall correctly) that would have been challenging in the spring and summer with tour groups walking from the Pentagon to the Air Force Memorial. I wouldn’t want to be a ped with someone bombing down the hill on the sidewalk.

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[zsionakides]

@Judd 201544 wrote:

Design document is here: https://projects.arlingtonva.us/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2017/06/Cemetery-Expansion-DES_Columbia_Pike_Multimodal_Segment_A.pdf

This was a win for the folks that provided comments at the last public meeting which led to a dedicated cycle track. It was a surprise to see the plan changed based on the dismissive staff member that Arlngton provided for the open house.

The prior plan called for a shared use sidewalk (10 feet wide if I recall correctly) that would have been challenging in the spring and summer with tour groups walking from the Pentagon to the Air Force Memorial. I wouldn’t want to be a ped with someone bombing down the hill on the sidewalk.

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This design document doesn’t have a separate bike path. Have they updated it since.

[Relwal Noj]

@zsionakides 201547 wrote:

This design document doesn’t have a separate bike path. Have they updated it since.

Yes, you can view the February 2020 presentation at: https://highways.dot.gov/sites/fhwa.dot.gov/files/PublicHearingPresentation.pdf

Slide 18 shows the cross-section for the 10′-wide separated bike facility that is separated on both sides using trees from the travel lanes and the pedestrian sidewalk. Slide 23 is also really interesting because it shows how much easier the new street and trail alignment will be vertically.

The project website is https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/projects/va/st-anc-1

[chris_s]

Last week the NVTA awarded Arlington nearly $12 million for the “Rosslyn Multimodal Network Improvements” project. The official project description at NVTA is extremely vague, but here’s the detail:

– North Lynn Street protected bike lanes from Arlington Boulevard (US 50) to Wilson Boulevard
– Fort Myer Drive western sidewalk improvements from westbound Lee Highway (US 29) to eastbound Lee Highway
– Fort Myer Drive cycle track between Wilson Boulevard and North Fairfax Drive
– North Lynn Street cycle track between Wilson Boulevard and eastbound Lee Highway
– Wilson Boulevard protected bike lanes between North Lynn Street and North Oak Street
– Wilson Boulevard protected bike lanes between North Lynn Street and North Kent Street

Coming your way in 2026

[Starduster]

In this morning’s Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/government-officials-adopt-plan-to-expand-washington-region-trail-network-to-1400-miles/2020/08/01/f651239c-d32e-11ea-9038-af089b63ac21_story.html?hpid=hp_local1-8-12_trails-840pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory-ans

I think this counts as good news…

[chris_s]

The Army Navy Drive Complete Streets project (PBL / Transitway Extension / Road Diet) has reached the 90% design milestone and the schedule has been updated. Estimated construction start: Spring 2022.

[chris_s]

North-side sidewalk on the Columbia Pike Bridge over 4MR being expanded to a 10′ shared-use path! Should drastically improve access to Arlington Mill CC from the W&OD.

[Author]

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