January ’16 – Trail Condition: That time they predicted mind-boggling amounts of snow

[accordioneur]

I biked roughly W&OD Mile 4.5 to Virginia Square this morning (about 8 AM). The first part of W&OD was in great shape – with some easily managed icy spots. Custis east from the S-curve had been plowed at some point but there was enough snow that it was unrideable on my MTB (it looked like someone had made it through on a fat bike earlier). I gave up on the trail @ George Mason & took the streets from there. George Mason and Wilson Blvd were easily rideable.

Which leads me to the question, why would they half-plow the trail? They did enough work to ruin the section near my house for XC skiing, but didn’t clear it enough for biking.

[PotomacCyclist]

Even other species are hard at work clearing the snow in Kentucky. I’m not sure how effective he is though. He seems to be shoveling the snow back into the street.

[video]https://www.facebook.com/TheWeatherChannel/videos/10153997113400921/[/video]

[Fast Friendly Guy]

I’m at Mike’s now wish you were here

[sjclaeys]

@accordioneur 133196 wrote:

I biked roughly W&OD Mile 4.5 to Virginia Square this morning (about 8 AM). The first part of W&OD was in great shape – with some easily managed icy spots. Custis east from the S-curve had been plowed at some point but there was enough snow that it was unrideable on my MTB (it looked like someone had made it through on a fat bike earlier). I gave up on the trail @ George Mason & took the streets from there. George Mason and Wilson Blvd were easily rideable.

Which leads me to the question, why would they half-plow the trail? They did enough work to ruin the section near my house for XC skiing, but didn’t clear it enough for biking.

How did you get to the W&OD? Ride cleared sidewalks or portage?

[bobco85]

The major roads this morning were passable, but neighborhood roads and apartment parking lots are still in bad shape. Just check your local jurisdiction’s snow plow maps and plan your routes accordingly.

The major roads that I took (Beauregard St, Walter Reed Dr, Four Mile Run Dr, George Mason Dr, Henderson Dr, Glebe Rd) are passable, but all the 2 lane ones are really 1 to 1.5 lanes due to the snow. Due to this, I rode in the right lane which effectively became an advisory bike lane with the dashed lines, and I happily was not harassed on my ride. (Edit: added) A lot of sidewalks are impassible, so I saw pedestrians walking in the street. Keep an eye out for pedestrians in the right lane.

As for the trails that I saw:
Holmes Run Trail – untouched and completely covered in snow
W&OD Trail (Shirlington to Columbia Pike) – untouched and completely covered in snow

[PotomacCyclist]

ARLNOW posted a link to the Arlington Snow Plow Status Map. Green means the street has been plowed (although more snow could have fallen or blown onto those streets after the first pass). The dark lines are roads and highways not maintained by Arlington (VDOT or federal agencies or privately-maintained streets).

You can click to display “Bike Routes – Snow Removal Priority Trails” in the Layers menu. I think the map only displays trails maintained by Arlington, so the status of the MVT and W&OD don’t appear to be included on the map.

The map is updated at noon and midnight. (It wasn’t updated over the weekend during the worst of the storm.)

http://arlgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/PublicInformation/index.html?appid=44487d1598354623b595e450adbd53e8

The County is now working on clearing neighborhood streets.
https://www.arlnow.com/2016/01/25/major-roads-passable-as-county-enters-phase-3-of-snow-removal/

NOTE – The strong winds and heavy snow ended on Saturday so it’s unlikely that plowed streets would have gotten covered up again after they were plowed. But snow and melted snow could have frozen overnight.

[accordioneur]

@sjclaeys 133199 wrote:

How did you get to the W&OD? Ride cleared sidewalks or portage?

A combination of sidewalks and carrying the bike. Access @ the end of Powhatan St. is pretty clear. I was inspired by seeing you out on Saturday!

[mikoglaces]

@accordioneur 133202 wrote:

A combination of sidewalks and carrying the bike. Access @ the end of Powhatan St. is pretty clear. I was inspired by seeing you out on Saturday!

So W&OD from Powhatan to Custis is clear, and then Custis is passable to George mason, is that right? I rode from Dunn Loring on streets, in Arlington Washington Blvd and Clarendon, and they were passable but it’s gonna be much worse tomorrow during rush hour .

[mikoglaces]

@accordioneur 133202 wrote:

A combination of sidewalks and carrying the bike. Access @ the end of Powhatan St. is pretty clear. I was inspired by seeing you out on Saturday!

So W&OD from Powhatan to Custis is clear, and then Custis is passable to George mason, is that right? I rode from Dunn Loring on streets, in Arlington Washington Blvd and Clarendon, and they were passable but it’s gonna be much worse tomorrow during rush hour .

[vern]

@mikoglaces 133210 wrote:

So W&OD from Powhatan to Custis is clear, and then Custis is passable to George mason, is that right? I rode from Dunn Loring on streets, in Arlington Washington Blvd and Clarendon, and they were passable but it’s gonna be much worse tomorrow during rush hour .

I think your comment assumes there will be a rush hour tomorrow, which I think is doubtful at this point. The FEDS won’t open until the Metro is fully operational and DC is quasi-functional, and that’s a long way off.

[KWL]

Memorial Bridge sidewalk was cleared only about 1/2 way across from the DC side.

[PotomacCyclist]

https://www.facebook.com/MetroForward/photos/a.236797613016402.72066.225880554108108/1190433000986187/?type=3&theater

A few of the above-ground Metro stations have opened today, on the Orange, Green and Red Lines. But none of those lines are open completely and the other lines are not open at all (other than shared stations with the Orange and Green lines). At least they are making some progress.

There are still long stretches that are closed. Temperatures are in the low 40s today and in the same range tomorrow plus some rain. I’m really hoping they can get most of the system running by tomorrow. The only stations open in Virginia now are on the Rosslyn-Ballston section of the Orange Line. Nothing south of DC in Arlington, Alexandria or Fairfax.

[ginacico]

@vern 133214 wrote:

I think your comment assumes there will be a rush hour tomorrow, which I think is doubtful at this point. The FEDS won’t open until the Metro is fully operational and DC is quasi-functional, and that’s a long way off.

FWIW I just saw a Metro train leave EFC heading towards Ballston. Not to say they’ve opened above-ground segments yet, but obviously the track-clearing and staging is underway. And I just read this:

Metro spokesman Dan Stessel says that in addition to the 24 mostly outdoor stations that were reopened at 11 a.m., the transit agency tentatively plans to reopen several more this afternoon and is “hoping for” a fully open rail system for Tuesday.

But he could not be sure. And if the system does entirely reopen, the wait times for trains could still be longer than normal, he said.

Still, so many neighborhood roads are unplowed that it’s questionable the Feds or other businesses will open tomorrow. No need to commute if work is closed.

[PotomacCyclist]

It would be great if they can open up the Blue and Yellow Lines soon, but all of the lines are important.

I won’t mind if the wait times are long tomorrow if the entire system is open. I agree that it’s questionable whether most businesses reopen tomorrow. I would take the Metro just to go somewhere, not to commute. I’ve walked around on local sidewalks, but I haven’t gone too far since Friday afternoon. I need to move around more, not just a couple blocks here and there. At least if Metro is operating, I could walk around the National Mall or somewhere else.

Even if I wanted to use my own bike, I don’t know if that would be practical. Unless NPS has changed their policy, I don’t think they are plowing the MVT and no one is plowing the 14th St/George Mason Bridge path. Those are likely to be unusable now.

[accordioneur]

@mikoglaces 133210 wrote:

So W&OD from Powhatan to Custis is clear, and then Custis is passable to George mason, is that right? I rode from Dunn Loring on streets, in Arlington Washington Blvd and Clarendon, and they were passable but it’s gonna be much worse tomorrow during rush hour .

Not quite. W&OD was clear from Powhatan (I have heard it is clear all the way to Sycamore, but don’t know that first hand). Custis was too snowy to ride starting at the S-curve under I66. I walked it until Geo Mason then gave up.

[Author]

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