How to report construction that blocks bike lanes?

[CaseyKane50]

@chris_s 145905 wrote:

The guidelines Transportation Commission would like to see are things like “Under what circumstances are lane closures allowed?” “When a lane closure is allowed, what mitigation is required?” Because right now sometimes lane closures are allowed and sometimes contractors are required to do their work without a closure. When sidewalks are closed sometimes a covered walkway is provided to replace it and sometimes pedestrians are forced to detour across the street. How come sometimes we get a walkway and sometimes we don’t? How come sometimes lanes are allowed to be closed and sometimes they aren’t? Nobody seems to be able to say other than “each situation is unique”.

All Arlington has is “if we let you close a lane, here are where the signs go”.

Yes, that is a problem, the manual tries to address that:

Quote:

The various TTC provisions for pedestrian and worker safety set forth in this Manual and Part 6 of the 2009 MUTCD shall be applied by knowledgeable (for example, trained and/or certified in Advanced Work Zone Traffic Control) persons after appropriate evaluation and engineering judgment.[emphasis mine]

However, it still leaves you wondering how they decide. When the permit is submitted with the MOT is when Staff should be using their knowledge and judgement to approve the contractor’s plan. Frankly, the decision should be based on safety and accessibility for pedestrians. If it is not safe, it should be fixed or the project gets shut down.

Virginia has also prepared a Pedestrian and Bicycle manual based on the Virginia Work Area Protection Manual. It is a lot easier to read and should be provided to contractors. I asked Alexandria to make it available on their web site, but it hasn’t shown up.

[DrP]

Okay, I was given a permit number, PWT1603150. However, I cannot find it on the county permit search page, perhaps because it is now complete (?).

I was also told:
“Kalos Construction should have posted signage that to advise cyclists and drivers that bicycles may occupy a full lane of traffic during construction. They also report that construction should be complete. “

And that it sounded like they were not inspected for compliance. This will be brought to the attention of the county construction managers.

However, this didn’t make them have a way for pedestrians or ever have the signs when they blocked the bike lane only. And they are still constructing a building, so it is likely it will continue to happen.

[DrP]

Update: I have heard nothing further from the county, but I have noticed that a covered pedestrian walkway has been installed. Not the best for a bike, but one could get through there slowly if need be. At least the pedestrians, the most vulnerable of users of the area (and I am one there at times too), are protected and do not need to cross the road during the remainder of the construction period.

[Author]

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