Ideas/Topics For A Meeting with the National Park Service?

[acc]

Granted, I am directionally challenged but a few signs at places where the trail branches. I once ended up riding up to the Kennedy Center without meaning to and why yes, I was completely sober.

[DismalScientist]

They put a a sign at the junction of the MVT and Roosevelt Bridge a couple of weeks ago.

[dbb]

I would include effective closeout of the Humpback bridge project (drainage, repairs to the detour and pedestrian cutoff at end of the bridge, and possibly the new T intersection); removal of stakes along the curb across from the Tourmobile facility on Buckeye on Hains Point (they are hanging out pretty far into the street); and more consistent opening of the gates at Hains Point (or paving a curb cut around the entrance gate).

Thanks!

[DSalovesh]

MVT has a really badly banked turn very near the bridge closest to Mount Vernon. I hit my pedal there a few weeks ago (tossed me sideways and then my tire bead popped out so I took a slider & left a couple of significant patches of skin behind) and while I was pulling myself together a rider going the opposite way did the same thing – he had a worse crash into a tree.

I can provide exact GPS coordinates if needed – it’s where my speed drops to zero and I stand around for fifteen minutes – but there are tons of pedal scrapes there that tell me it happens a lot and shouldn’t be hard to find. There’s effectively no way to use half the trail at that turn because of the contours – if you’re going over about 5 mph you’ll probably scrape going over the rise.

(This is the section between Mt. Vernon and Riverside Park where I frequently see people riding on the roadway. I usually turn around at Riverside Park to skip the hill & rest area entirely, but I was with people who wanted to go the whole distance.)

[PotomacCyclist]

Allowing Capital Bikeshare stations on the Mall. There are plenty of locations where a CaBi station could be placed discreetly without spoiling the aesthetics of the Mall. I don’t see how a low-lying CaBi station would damage the image of the Mall anymore than all of the cars and massive tour buses already do.

No more no-bid monopoly contracts like the one they gave to Tourmobile for decades. It sounds like Tourmobile will finally lose their no-bid monopoly on the Mall. That contract was used as a poor excuse to keep CaBi and Circulator buses off of the Mall or certain streets (Jefferson and Madison Drives), and also to hound bike pedicabs who try to operate near the monuments and memorials on the Mall. I don’t mind if something like Tourmobile operates on the Mall. But there’s no way that they should get a no-bid monopoly. And there’s no way that contract with a private company should bar services like CaBi and Circulator from operating on or near the Mall. That’s just plain ridiculous.

CaBi stations near the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, FDR/MLK Memorials, East Potomac Park and the Smithsonian museums on the eastern part of the Mall would greatly increase the quality of life for local residents, and make sightseeing much easier for many visitors. The stations can be set back from the memorials to maintain existing views, but still be close enough to be convenient. I don’t understand why a dilapidated Tourmobile kiosk is supposed to be more aesthetically pleasing than a CaBi station.

I’ll also put in a complaint about the network of trail crossings south of Arlington Memorial Bridge. The grade crossings of both the GW Parkway and Washington Blvd. are dangerous, for cyclists, pedestrians and drivers. The numerous ramps and roads make it difficult to find a solution without spending a lot of money on a tunnel or a bike/pedestrian bridge. But if safety is a concern, then the bridge or tunnel option should be considered. A bridge would probably be safer than a tunnel (less opportunity for crime). If there are objections to the aesthetics of a bridge, I would counter that speeding cars and trucks in the middle of a park isn’t that aesthetically pleasing either. And yet NPS allows thousands of those vehicles on the GW Parkway and also in the middle of Rock Creek Park.

As long as we’re at it, I’d suggest a widening of the Mt. Vernon Trail at some point. It is much narrower than the W&OD Trail. The section south of the airport has a lot of blind curves. I’ve seen more than a few cyclists downed by crashes in that area.

In general, I think it would be useful to emphasize that the NPS is not seen as receptive to the needs of cyclists on NPS-administered areas. Why are cars supposed to be compatible with parklands but not bikes? Doesn’t make any sense to me. NPS should also rethink it’s policy of treating all parkland the same. There are major differences between grand, rural parks like Yellowstone, and a centrally located, urban area like the National Mall and East Potomac Park.

[Greenbelt]

Speed enforcement on the Parkways. They’re supposed to be park roadways — scenic, relaxing, available to all users (that is, with facilities for bikes, hikers, horseback, you name it). They’re not supposed to be superhighways. Weren’t designed for ultra high-speed, high-flow car traffic. Speed cameras, traffic calming lane improvements. Let the people have their parks back — not get bullied off them by speeders.

[KLizotte]

I agree with Potomac Cyclist on all of his points. The crossings along GW and Wash Blvd are very dangerous, esp along Wash Blvd due to narrow sidewalk, poor sight lines, and speeding cars.

Fix the “need to cross street and go under bridge and hope cars stop in both directions” bridge at the very southern end of the MVT (where you end up traversing a residential street for a bit).

Dream request: Expand the width of the MVT sufficiently so that peds and cyclists can be segregated completely. At minimum, it needs to be expanded.

Put in a detour at Gravelly Point so cyclists can avoid the port-o-potty/ped landmine. Make sure signs indicate that it is for cyclists only (wouldn’t want it to turn into a joggers circuit).

Install real, well-maintained bathrooms along the MVT, esp Gravelly Point. If they can do it on Hain’s Pt, the Mall, other national parks, etc….

Install lighting along the MVT so winter/night time riding/walking is safer.

More signage in general would be much appreciated by the out-of-towners and directionally challenged.

Frequent signage listing the rules for the MVT – for instance, speed restrictions and telling peds they should stay right and single file, all dogs on a leash, etc.

The MVT needs to be repaved in some parts, it’s getting bumpy and full of holes.

Plow the MVT in the winter!

That’s all for now.

[dasgeh]

I also second everything PotomacCyclist lists, which I think are the priorities.

On a more mundane level, general maintenance of trails and bridges — e.g. right now there are some rapidly growing holes on the Memorial Bridge.

Thanks!

[paulg]

Nice Post PotomacCyclist and nice follow up Klizotte.

Allow CaBi on the mall – Agree
Pedicabs on the mall – Agree, I like seeing them there and would like it to continue.
Create safer crossings of GW Parkway and roads around Memorial Bridge – Agree, this is getting crazy here and for NPS Police to be pulling over and ticketing vehicle drivers for stopping at these crossings really underlines that NPS does not understand the issues here.
Widen and straighten out the MVT – Agree. This trail is so heavily used and yet has quite a few blind corners, just think of the trail around the power plant north of old town Alexandria. (I guess this is off NPS land but you get the idea!)
Snow Plow the MVT – Agree Again this and other trails gets so much use even in the winter. They plow the Wilson Bridge trail for goodness sake! I think there are far more people who want to ride this trail in the winter than those who would like to ski it, which is sometimes the argument for not plowing.
Gravelly Point detour – Agree. Way too congested here.
Proper bathrooms at Gravelly Point and other places – agree. Porta Johns have been at this spot for over 10 years. Not really a good long range plan!
NPS is not seen as receptive to the needs of cyclists on NPS-administered areas – Agree. National Park Service’s mission says this: ‘The National Park Service preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world.’ I’m actually combining my commute with recreation by riding the MVT to work every day. Not sure the vehicle drivers on the GW parkway can say the same thing.
The MVT needs to be repaved in some parts, it’s getting bumpy and full of holes. – Agree. Does NPS have a regular survey of the trails noting problems with a plan to fix?

A few new/old ones:
Rock Creek Park Trail – This should be the jewel in the crown, it’s very far from that. I know there are plans to fix it up but it’s taken way too long years and years in fact. The part through the zoo needs to stay open 24 -7 it’s far too unsafe to send people through the tunnel. the bridge to the south of the zoo is far too narrow to even walk two bikes past each other.
MVT trail crossing of road out of National Airport – I’m not sure if this is NPS or not. It’s the on ramp to GW parkway leaving National to go North. It’s a tricky crossing. Cars coming round a corner that are obscured by trees and road furniture. A rough transition from the trail to the road doesn’t help the balance. Why not add rumble strips on the road or some other traffic calming measure to slow them down ahead of this crossing. Or dream fix is a bridge just like the two to the north. A common theme with these all these types of road crossings is that vehicles are not impeded on their commute but bikes who are recreating have to stop, or slow down.
Vehicle Barrier between GW parkway and MVT just north of the airport and south of Gravelly point – It seems to me that a vehicle accident at this location in the fast moving traffic could quite easily result in vehicles involved in the incident mounting the curb and ending up on the trail and hitting anyone who happens to be there. This section always scares me a little. http://g.co/maps/485r

Wow, that’s enough for now. I’m sure I’ll think of some more. Good luck at the meeting!

Paul G

[PotomacCyclist]

There may be a detour around Gravelly Point in a couple years, but it involves moving off the MVT and into Crystal City. After heading north on Crystal Drive, cyclists and pedestrians will be able to take the soon-to-be-open trail on the esplanade in Long Bridge Park. However, the current construction will only take the trail close to the MVT, not all the way there.

Arlington’s bike projects plan includes an item for connecting the park to the MVT just south of the 14th St. Bridges and adjacent to the railroad tracks. But I fear that the connector bridge won’t be built for at least a couple years.

[OneEighth]

I would settle for NPS just having some consistency. I very specifically warned them about the dangers posed by painting the boardwalks. I am certain I was not the only one. And yet, NPS is now painting them again.
Frankly this points to an internal control problem that ultimately should be reflected in someone’s performance evaluation.

[mvs202]

The #1 priority is a set of bridges or tunnels to connect Arlington Memorial Bridge to the Mount Vernon Trail. Crossing the GQ parkway is just too dangerous. (I’ve heard that lands belongs to DC and not Arlington, but oh well.)

Also agree MVT needs to be widened to accommodate cyclists and peds and joggers and roller bladers.

Teddy Roosevelt Island parking lot has a bad 90-degree turn, and tree wells make chunks of the trail disappear – dangerous at night!

If the NPS wonders why they have a bad rep, it’s because they body slam people dancing at the Jefferson, shoot pedicab drivers with tasers (twice!), and act as evil henchmen for our idiot taxicab commission, arresting people for taking pix at a public forum. Seriously, they come off as idiots.

[Tim Kelley]

Thanks to everyone for all the suggestions! The meeting went well, although it was very focused on much of the infrastructure planning on a number of proposed future projects. We did get into the crossings along the GW Parkway which I will follow up on in a new thread shortly.

The good news is that the NPS has a staff member who is devoted specifically to the GW Parkway and is already very much aware of a number of the issues pointed out already.

Thanks!

[JCFlack]

Pave the trail along Rt. 110 from the Pentagon to Memorial Bridge. If paved, this would be a safer route from the MVT to Memorial Bridge, Arlington National Cemetery, and Rosslyn than the GW Parkway crossing.

[chris_s]

@Tim Kelley 7602 wrote:

The meeting went well, although it was very focused on much of the infrastructure planning on a number of proposed future projects.

Hopefully the proposed Lynn St crossing bypass tunnel and Long Bridge park / MVT connector trails are included in those future projects…

[Author]

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