Jan 2023 Road and Trail Conditions

[Henry]

Because riding conditions this month have generally been awesome, forgot to start this thread.

It’s wet out there this AM, so be careful, especially on the leaves.

Henry

[dbb]

I’d like to report the removal of all the trees between the trail and the flood wall to the east of Glebe bridge under construction. WTF? The trees between the trail and roadway are still there.

Not sure what problem this action was intended to solve.

[bentbike33]

@dbb 222664 wrote:

I’d like to report the removal of all the trees between the trail and the flood wall to the east of Glebe bridge under construction. WTF? The trees between the trail and roadway are still there.

Not sure what problem this action was intended to solve.

Damn. Those trees always had such great color in the fall. And they weren’t causing root heaves on the trail either. To close to the flood wall?

[Steve O]

@dbb 222664 wrote:

I’d like to report the removal of all the trees between the trail and the flood wall to the east of Glebe bridge under construction. WTF? The trees between the trail and roadway are still there.

Not sure what problem this action was intended to solve.

Sounds like something Bernie Bernie Berne Burn (or whatever his name actually is) should rant about

[dbb]

@dbb 222664 wrote:

I’d like to report the removal of all the trees between the trail and the flood wall to the east of Glebe bridge under construction. WTF? The trees between the trail and roadway are still there.

Not sure what problem this action was intended to solve.

Pretty amazing it happened under the radar (well, my radar) when just a few years ago the Washington Blvd trail to the west of Fort Myer was delayed because some trees needed to be selectively removed.

Along the Four Mile Run trail the selection process seemed to be “all of them”.

I’ve reached out to Arlington Parks and Dominion to see if anybody fesses up to the action.

[dbb]

Dominion indicates it wasn’t them but suggested the FMR dredging project might be responsible.

[lordofthemark]

@dbb 222722 wrote:

Dominion indicates it wasn’t them but suggested the FMR dredging project might be responsible.

Any word on what killed the fox? Are the remains still there? They were yesterday.

[dbb]

Well, it seems ArCo was responsible for the tree cutting.

Note from the FMR dredging project manager “The trees were not removed as part of the dredging project, but as a requirement from the Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps des periodic inspections of the flood channel and provides a report with required maintenance and repair activities. They determined that these trees were too close to the flood wall, and if they fell over, they could cause part of the flood wall to fall over as well. We will be planting replacement trees in a more suitable location and are working with our urban forestry staff to locate the new trees.”

[Steve O]

@lordofthemark 222725 wrote:

Any word on what killed the fox? Are the remains still there? They were yesterday.

Still there this morning. yum.

[huberww]

Traversing Arlington westbound on the Wilson Boulevard and Fairfax bikelanes through Clarendon and Ballston continues to be horrendously affected by construction. I highly recommend the pleasant Key Boulevard parallel route. Key has recently been repaved and is smooth as a baby’s bottom. Wilson and Fairfax not so much.

[Starduster]

@Steve O 222733 wrote:

Still there this morning. yum.

Road Kill Cafe is now open. Allez cuisine!

[Starduster]

The following is a Columbia Pike travel update +:

Now that the old Navy Annex/AF Memorial potion of Columbia Pike is now closed for reconstruction, I decided to take a tour of the Southgate detour, to relay how “bike friendly” it truly is. And along the way, I decided, “Hell, let’s document all the construction detours on my route!” So…

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29887[/ATTACH] The West Glebe Rd. bridge rebuild, today’s image. Coming together faster than I thought.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29888[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]29889[/ATTACH] The Four Mile Run boardwalk section by the substation. Almost ready. Soon?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29890[/ATTACH] Crystal City Connector, by the water park. Not very ridable present, and the future.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29891[/ATTACH] Boundary Drive, by Long Bridge Aquatic.

Cont…

[Starduster]

*Now* to The Pike:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29892[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]29893[/ATTACH] Up S. Joyce St. past the detour required to rebuild the Pike to this new intersection. The road is only 2 lanes wide here with barriers on all sides. You are honestly better on the sidewalk here, even though crosswalks at either end (the Pike, and Army-Navy Dr/S. 12th) are painfully *not* bike friendly.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29894[/ATTACH] [ATTACH=CONFIG]29895[/ATTACH] For the moment, it appears that Columbia Pike traffic is being routed along the “Navy Annex side” of Southgate. Which leaves the cemetery side open for bike traffic, with only parked vehicles to deal with. That 2nd image however…is unacceptable. Just…NO.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29896[/ATTACH] The newly created S. Nash St. They have made this road detour 4 lanes wide as much as they can, for benefit of this major bus route. Note that you cannot get to there from the bike detour. So, unless you are very comfortable taking the lane here, I will recommend continuing to use S. Orme St, and…

[Starduster]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29897[/ATTACH]
…to use the bike detour downhill, cross over to the left of the barrier (next to the street sweeper). All of this of course subject to change.

P.S. The software rotated my portrait mode photos on me. Boo hiss. (Who knows how to fix this?)

[Steve O]

@Starduster 223255 wrote:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]29897[/ATTACH]
…to use the bike detour downhill, cross over to the left of the barrier (next to the street sweeper). All of this of course subject to change.

The problem with this is that there is no curb cut. One must lift their bike onto the sidewalk. This is, of course, impossible for wheelchair users and extremely difficult for many heavier cargo- and e-bikes.

[Author]

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