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

[tbronder]

@fredmeews 133258 wrote:

Does anyone know if the sidewalks are clear? Thanks.

At about 8am: the west side (upstream) had seen some plowing but most of it was a slushy mess of footprints that’s still several inches deep. Not rideable but given the warm temps it may be clear by this evening. Approaches onto the bridge from both sides looked clear to pavement, just the span of the bridge that’s not good.

I didn’t see the opposite side which IIRC usually gets more attention because of the higher ped traffic so I’d suspect it’s in better condition.

[vpik01]

Just got back from a loop to investigate Four Mile Run and Mount Vernon Trail in vicinity of Del Ray…

Four Mile Run between Rt 1 and at least Mount Vernon Rd was nicely clear by about the width of a bobcat blade. And as far further towards Shirlington that I could see looked clear as well.

Mount Vernon Trail hasn’t been touched, from the Four Mile Run intersection it had pedestrian and ski tracks but wasn’t even matted down much. Significant work to do there. I don’t see it as feasible to ride on my 26×1.95″ studded tires, maybe with a fatbike…

Of more local interest, the trail on the south side of Four MIle Run connecting Commonwealth to Rt 1 to get on Four Mile Run trail is completely unplowed, the sidewalk on the north side of Rt 1 crossing 4 Mile is also unplowed however there is a ‘trench’ dug in the shoulder of Rt 1 that provides protected crossing with an abrupt ending. Oh and the steps along 4 Mile Run under the bridges near Potomac Yards/Harris Teeter is clear enough to traverse but not the switchbacks.

Couple pictures;
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Route 1 ‘trench’

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Mount Vernon Trail at Four Mile Run intersection

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Mount Vernon Trail south alongside GW Pkwy bridge over 4 Mile Run

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Thank you Arlington! 4 Mile Run trail alongside water treatment plant is CLEAR

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4 Mile Run Trail near Mount Vernon Ave underpass gets a bit sloppy, watch for refreeze later this week.

[SeekJustice]

I just joined forum with the purpose of getting snow updates on MVT & 14th street bridge

[Harry Meatmotor]

@SeekJustice 133282 wrote:

I just joined forum with the purpose of getting snow updates on MVT & 14th street bridge

Welcome to the forum! My best guess is that MVT and 14th St Br are going to take some time to become passable on two wheels rather than two feet. Perhaps by the weekend.

The detour route through ladybird johnson was also a complete mess this morning.

[lordofthemark]

To confirm, 4MRT is about 90% rideable from Shirlington to Rte 1. But no easy access / egress anywhere I could seeeast of Shirlington. W&OD by Walter Reed looks untouched.

If they would clear the “cul de sac” at the end of Eads that connects to the 4MRT by the sewage plant, that would substantially increase the value of the 4MRT.

[NickBull]

@Steve O 133265 wrote:

Except for the fact that the plowed part doesn’t go anywhere. Feel free to ride back and forth on the one-mile section that is plowed.
See previous posts from me, nickbull and others on the infeasibility of using this section of trail for actual transportation.

Yes, they get an A for effort — at least they are trying to plow, and what they’ve done will likely mean that the trail eventually ends up rideable, sooner than would have historically been the case.

But on a pass/fail system for achievement, they fail to pass, because the trail is im-pass-able.

Nick

[DismalScientist]

@SeekJustice 133282 wrote:

I just joined forum with the purpose of getting snow updates on MVT & 14th street bridge

Having not been there yet, I can only guess that you are completely screwed. In general, the best bridge to cross into DC after snow is the Key Bridge followed by Memorial Bridge. From the south, the best detour for the MVT from the south is Commonwealth Ave. Cross the creek on the Route 1 sidewalk. Take Eads Street north through Crystal City and cut over to Long Bridge Drive at 12th Street. Follow Boundary Channel Drive to the Route 27 trail and across the south sidewalk of Memorial Bridge.

[SeekJustice]

@DismalScientist 133286 wrote:

Having not been there yet, I can only guess that you are completely screwed. In general, the best bridge to cross into DC after snow is the Key Bridge followed by Memorial Bridge. From the south, the best detour for the MVT from the south is Commonwealth Ave. Cross the creek on the Route 1 sidewalk. Take Eads Street north through Crystal City and cut over to Long Bridge Drive at 12th Street. Follow Boundary Channel Drive to the Route 27 trail and across the south sidewalk of Memorial Bridge.

At the risk of possibly being shunned…I will risk saying that I am primarily a runner, not biker. (I used to do a lot of biking before moving to the area, but my bike was damaged in my move and I haven’t had the time/resources to fix/replace it) (and I apologize for all the runners out there who do not know what a bell means, who do not wear bright/reflective gear, who run in packs that take up the entire trail!)

Does that change any assessments of the bridge conditions? (I run home from work: Gallery Place to Crystal City)

[KWL]

@DismalScientist 133286 wrote:

… Follow Boundary Channel Drive to the Route 27 trail and across the south sidewalk of Memorial Bridge.

As of yesterday evening the Route 27 trail was untouched and impassable, which is why I found myself out on Washington Blvd yesterday morning. And the south sidewalk of Memorial Bridge was uncleared yesterday for the first time I can remember. This normally is the best snow route from Alexandria into DC.

[mstone]

@mstone 133235 wrote:

On local roads in my part of (western) Fairfax the riding is mostly great on studs: the plows have created a nicely dressed sheet of ice. Beware of cars, they have no control and will slide turning or breaking (fun to watch, but only from a distance). In spots where there’s a lot of sun & salt, you sometimes sink suddenly, which affects control if you have a nice speed on the ice. In areas with heavy traffic the brown slime is gross and best avoided. I’m going to try to go out early tomorrow before it thaws.

Early ride was great. By the time I stopped the sun was out and the ice was turning rotten and hard to ride. The entertainment value of this snowfall has probably passed, now we just have the nasty remnants to live with indefinitely. (It’s cute reading the ArlCo angst over trail clearing: in these parts VDOT just uses the trails as convenient places to pile snow at intersections. Probably a month before our major trails are passable.

[hozn]

Am curious if anyone has updates on W&OD in Falls Church and westward. I hear that we should expect it to be partly cleared out to Vienna, which would probably make the trip to Reston doable.

[Boo Boo]

@hozn 133290 wrote:

Am curious if anyone has updates on W&OD in Falls Church and westward. I hear that we should expect it to be partly cleared out to Vienna, which would probably make the trip to Reston doable.

Falls Church: I rode up to the Giant on Broad St today and passed by the Grove Ave intersection. Snow on the trail as far as I could see. Pedestrians have tramped down a bit of a path going eastbound, but it didn’t look rideable except for MAYBE with a fatty.

That said, riding down Broad was great. It’s plowed to about a lane and a half wide, so the right lane has become a de-facto bike lane. I feel confident getting to Fair Lakes tomorrow, should the office be open, taking streets and not bothering with the trail.

[PotomacCyclist]

@SeekJustice 133287 wrote:

At the risk of possibly being shunned…I will risk saying that I am primarily a runner, not biker. (I used to do a lot of biking before moving to the area, but my bike was damaged in my move and I haven’t had the time/resources to fix/replace it) (and I apologize for all the runners out there who do not know what a bell means, who do not wear bright/reflective gear, who run in packs that take up the entire trail!)

Does that change any assessments of the bridge conditions? (I run home from work: Gallery Place to Crystal City)

Well, I’m a cyclist, runner, walker, Metro rider and occasional bus rider and no one has kicked me out yet.

As for bikes, once the worst of the winter is over (maybe in a couple weeks), if you are still interested in cycling, I’d suggest signing up with Capital Bikeshare. (CaBi is the informal nickname.) There are several bike stations in Crystal City and Pentagon City. The ride from Crystal City to Gallery Place is relatively comfortable for most of the trip (MVT, 15th St protected bike lane). There are bike stations in Gallery Place too. You don’t have to worry about bike maintenance or replacing your bike. If you currently take Metro, then you can save money by switching some of your AM trips to CaBi. An annual membership is $85 (or $96 if you pay in monthly installments.) Peak Metro fare to Gallery Place is $2.45 so if you took 35 one-way trips on CaBi during the year, you would break even. You might decide to bike back in the evenings on some days too. Or use CaBi for errands and other trips, including recreational rides on weekends.

The only issue is that once the weather gets nicer, the demand at stations in central DC bumps up. If you don’t get to some of those stations early on weekday mornings, then the stations will be full. While rebalancing vans sweep through and clear out some of the docks, it’s a slow process. They started up CaBi bike corrals near 13th & NY Ave NW and near Foggy Bottom, where anyone can drop off a bike on weekday mornings, even if those stations are already full, but there aren’t any bike corrals yet near Gallery Place. (The current bike corrals run from the spring to late fall.) I wish they would add more bike corrals this year, near Metro Center and Gallery Place, but they haven’t announced any such plans.

If you’re interested in CaBi, be sure to check their website (http://www.capitalbikeshare.com) in the mornings to see if the central DC stations have filled up. You can also use the free smartphone app Spotcycle (Android and iOS) to check station status and for nearby stations, if the closest station is full. If a station is full, key-card members can get a 15-minute time credit by checking in with the CaBi key. Usually your membership includes unlimited ride of 30 min. or shorter. You can extend trips by docking and undocking a bike within the 30-min. time period. You can’t do this if the station is full, but you can get the extra 15 min. to find another station.

[SeekJustice]

@PotomacCyclist 133299 wrote:

Well, I’m a cyclist, runner, walker, Metro rider and occasional bus rider and no one has kicked me out yet.

As for bikes, once the worst of the winter is over (maybe in a couple weeks), if you are still interested in cycling, I’d suggest signing up with Capital Bikeshare. (CaBi is the informal nickname.) There are several bike stations in Crystal City and Pentagon City. The ride from Crystal City to Gallery Place is relatively comfortable for most of the trip (MVT, 15th St protected bike lane). There are bike stations in Gallery Place too. You don’t have to worry about bike maintenance or replacing your bike. If you currently take Metro, then you can save money by switching some of your AM trips to CaBi. An annual membership is $85 (or $96 if you pay in monthly installments.) Peak Metro fare to Gallery Place is $2.45 so if you took 35 one-way trips on CaBi during the year, you would break even. You might decide to bike back in the evenings on some days too. Or use CaBi for errands and other trips, including recreational rides on weekends.

Thanks! I’ve considered doing CaBi, but wasn’t sure if the lower quality bikes would drive me crazy…I have a friend who says it can be frustrating not being able to get up to a decent speed. I think I’ll give it a try though once the snow is clear!

I also am psyching myself up to just make my run home 14th St & MVT and just deal with whatever I encounter…I’ll report back with very wet feet.

[vern]

@hozn 133290 wrote:

Am curious if anyone has updates on W&OD in Falls Church and westward. I hear that we should expect it to be partly cleared out to Vienna, which would probably make the trip to Reston doable.

At noon the WOD at Wiehle was untouched but for some footprints.

[Author]

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