January 2015 Trail Conditions

[ShawnoftheDread]

“Accident free since Tuesday” is a fine motto.

[Greenbelt]

MD trails in Prince George’s are in pretty horrible shape. The College Park trolley trail is rideable between 193 and Lakeland Road, but not from Lakeland to Paint Branch Expressway. The sidepath under the Metro on Paint Branch is impassable. Better to cross under at the Metro station pedestrian tunnel. From there, take neighborhood streets (Old Riverdale, Jefferson, Hamilton, 38th, Arundel to get to DC. The Hyattsville trolley trail behind the arts district and Franklins to old Riverdale was unrideable.

Once in DC, it’s smooth sailing. The streets are good, the Met Branch is beautifully plowed, the 1st street bikeway is good, the PA Ave median bikelanes are good, the 15th street bikeway is good.

You can really tell the difference in priorities — in DC, they’re making an effort to clear the bike lanes and sidewalks. In Maryland, the usual contempt and unconcern for non-motorized transport.

Met Branch trail in DC:
[IMG]https://fbcdn-sphotos-b-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/10897830_776548885745164_8161537929196674214_n.jpg?oh=75d705da40a949f7f1761474bce8371b&oe=55257D11&__gda__=1433349581_7397e397cb5e7595102fabdef0264cad[/IMG]

[Crickey7]

@Greenbelt 104452 wrote:

You can really tell the difference in priorities — in DC, they’re making an effort to clear the bike lanes and sidewalks. In Maryland, the usual contempt and unconcern for non-motorized transport.

MontCo cleared the CCT, but it’s still mostly ice. Joggers got to it first, and too much of it is shaded, including the patch of perpetual shade by the Dalecarlia Tunnel.

[sethpo]

The MoCo side of the CCT was icy but with plenty of clear paths so not bad at all. The DC side had been plowed at a different time and had a layer of thin-ish smooth ice. Some parts were ridable near the edge but many were not. I took to the tow path at Fletchers and rode that in. Still slow but it worked.

With the sun out and the warmer temps I think the thin layer of ice will melt fast so this afternoon will prob. be perfect. Hopefully that’s the same on the MVT.

It was a gorgeous morning and worth the extra time for these views.

Video of CCT ride.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7387[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]7388[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]7389[/ATTACH]

[dasgeh]

@alrob 104425 wrote:

Arlington carefully cleared the Four Mile Run trail (Anderson Bikeway) along Glebe Rd., the 395 underpass, and the W&OD in Shirlington between its eastern terminus and Columbia Pike. These stretches are totally clear and rideable now. However, north and west of Columbia Pike the W&OD hasn’t been touched, and most of it is unrideable. I bailed out onto Carlin Springs and then used the roads to get out to Great Falls St. on my way out to Tysons. I hear it is OK west of the Custis junction, because they cleared the Custis which is shared with the W&OD at that stretch. I don’t know why they would clear the Custis but leave the W&OD untouched (except for, ironically, the part of the W&OD through Shirlington that is easily bypassed and tends to melt off much quicker than the part they didn’t touch. They DID clear the untouched stretch of the W&OD last year. It seems that they should save their resources so that they can at least plow all the trails and skip some of the brine pretreatment if they have to in order to make ends meet. By now it is hardened into ice and isn’t very plowable until we get above freezing. The part they didn’t clear is one of the last stretches to melt on its own. That is the stretch that should receive the highest priority. They did not do any brine pretreatment on this stretch either.

Welcome to the multi-jurisdictional world of Arlington County. Arlington would love to plow that section of the W&OD, but doesn’t control it. The NVRPA does, and reports are that NVRPA didn’t want to clear their trails or let Arlington clear their trails because of concern for either cross-country skiers or damage to the trail.

[alrob]

@alrob 104425 wrote:

Arlington carefully cleared the Four Mile Run trail (Anderson Bikeway) along Glebe Rd., the 395 underpass, and the W&OD in Shirlington between its eastern terminus and Columbia Pike. These stretches are totally clear and rideable now. However, north and west of Columbia Pike the W&OD hasn’t been touched, and most of it is unrideable. I bailed out onto Carlin Springs and then used the roads to get out to Great Falls St. on my way out to Tysons. I hear it is OK west of the Custis junction, because they cleared the Custis which is shared with the W&OD at that stretch. I don’t know why they would clear the Custis but leave the W&OD untouched (except for, ironically, the part of the W&OD through Shirlington that is easily bypassed and tends to melt off much quicker than the part they didn’t touch. They DID clear the untouched stretch of the W&OD last year. It seems that they should save their resources so that they can at least plow all the trails and skip some of the brine pretreatment if they have to in order to make ends meet. By now it is hardened into ice and isn’t very plowable until we get above freezing. The part they didn’t clear is one of the last stretches to melt on its own. That is the stretch that should receive the highest priority. They did not do any brine pretreatment on this stretch either.

I asked Arlington about why the W&OD has been cleared the past several years but not this year and received the following reply:

“Many people don’t realize this, but the W&OD trail is not owned or operated by Arlington County. It is overseen by the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority. NVRPA. They maintain their own facilities at their own levels of service and told Arlington last year that in the future they do not want us clearing their trails without permission.

David J Goodman
Bicycle & Pedestrian Programs Manager
Arlington County Department of Environmental Services
703-228-3709″

So apparently NVRPA told them to stop doing it. I asked if they did get permission to clear the part that they did clear in Shirlington and whether they asked permission to clear the rest of it and were denied, but have not received a response. I don’t know why NVRPA wouldn’t want their trail cleared so it could be used, but it would appear to be some petty reason – like it makes them look bad if the Arlington part of the W&OD gets cleared but the rest of it does not. I also asked who at NVRPA should be contacted on this and find out what is going on, but I find it unconscionable that the county used to clear it off for us but now they can’t anymore because NVRPA won’t let them. I have heard their cross-country skiers excuse before, but that is a red herring as what cross-country skier would want to ski on lumpy ice? I have never seen any of the trails get damaged from clearing snow.

[Arlingtonrider]

I remember that from last year now. Ridiculous! Time to write NVRPA a note. Please let me know if you find a contact there.

[mstone]

NVRPA merely tolerates bike commuters using their recreational park.

[ian74]

@sethpo 104454 wrote:

The MoCo side of the CCT was icy but with plenty of clear paths so not bad at all. The DC side had been plowed at a different time and had a layer of thin-ish smooth ice. Some parts were ridable near the edge but many were not. I took to the tow path at Fletchers and rode that in. Still slow but it worked.

With the sun out and the warmer temps I think the thin layer of ice will melt fast so this afternoon will prob. be perfect. Hopefully that’s the same on the MVT.

It was a gorgeous morning and worth the extra time for these views.

Video of CCT ride.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]7387[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]7388[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]7389[/ATTACH]

Thanks for the video! Keep them coming! That’s the first I’ve seen of the CCT since the weather. I hope it warms up and clears soon or I’ll never be able to climb that trail to work and back.

[Mark Wigfield]

Apologies if this is redundant, but I don’t have time to read the earlier posts about conditions

Rode the mountain bike this morning from Columbia Pike/W&OD to 12th & Maine SW via MVT, with a stop at Wakefield High School. The little bit of the W&OD to George Mason I rode was fine, the trail on Walter Reed was OK and 4MR trail from Walter Reed to MVT was good. MVT is another matter. From the airport to the 14th St. bridge there are lots of polished ice ruts and and the best path in some sections is the grass (or the informal cross bike trail). The airport flyover bridges remain tricky, and I had a brief encounter with the concrete wall of the south bridge — but the rubber remained down and no harm. The ramp to the 14th St bridge is still quite snowy but rideable. There is a thin strip of bare concrete across most of the bridge, and still some snow remaining where you can get some grip on the other side.

Anyway, MVT between the airport/14th St bridge remained a fairly challenging ride in many spots this morning in my opinion. There were a couple of other riders on the trail with cross bikes but MTB seems like a better choice since off-trail is easier in some particularly ice-rutted sections.

[alrob]

@alrob 104425 wrote:

Arlington carefully cleared the Four Mile Run trail (Anderson Bikeway) along Glebe Rd., the 395 underpass, and the W&OD in Shirlington between its eastern terminus and Columbia Pike. These stretches are totally clear and rideable now. However, north and west of Columbia Pike the W&OD hasn’t been touched, and most of it is unrideable. I bailed out onto Carlin Springs and then used the roads to get out to Great Falls St. on my way out to Tysons. I hear it is OK west of the Custis junction, because they cleared the Custis which is shared with the W&OD at that stretch. I don’t know why they would clear the Custis but leave the W&OD untouched (except for, ironically, the part of the W&OD through Shirlington that is easily bypassed and tends to melt off much quicker than the part they didn’t touch. They DID clear the untouched stretch of the W&OD last year. It seems that they should save their resources so that they can at least plow all the trails and skip some of the brine pretreatment if they have to in order to make ends meet. By now it is hardened into ice and isn’t very plowable until we get above freezing. The part they didn’t clear is one of the last stretches to melt on its own. That is the stretch that should receive the highest priority. They did not do any brine pretreatment on this stretch either.

@alrob 104462 wrote:

I asked Arlington about why the W&OD has been cleared the past several years but not this year and received the following reply:

“Many people don’t realize this, but the W&OD trail is not owned or operated by Arlington County. It is overseen by the Northern Virginia Regional Parks Authority. NVRPA. They maintain their own facilities at their own levels of service and told Arlington last year that in the future they do not want us clearing their trails without permission.

David J Goodman
Bicycle & Pedestrian Programs Manager
Arlington County Department of Environmental Services
703-228-3709″

So apparently NVRPA told them to stop doing it. I asked if they did get permission to clear the part that they did clear in Shirlington and whether they asked permission to clear the rest of it and were denied, but have not received a response. I don’t know why NVRPA wouldn’t want their trail cleared so it could be used, but it would appear to be some petty reason – like it makes them look bad if the Arlington part of the W&OD gets cleared but the rest of it does not. I also asked who at NVRPA should be contacted on this and find out what is going on, but I find it unconscionable that the county used to clear it off for us but now they can’t anymore because NVRPA won’t let them. I have heard their cross-country skiers excuse before, but that is a red herring as what cross-country skier would want to ski on lumpy ice? I have never seen any of the trails get damaged from clearing snow.

I received the following additional response from Mr. Goodman:

“

On 01/09/15, David Goodman wrote:

I don’t know who might have cleared that section or whether or not they had permission.​;

Your best approach as a citizen is to speak with Arlington’s two members on the NVRPA board, Paul Ferguson and Mike Nardolilli. http://www.nvrpa.org/park/main_site/content/the_board

If you’d like to discuss this further feel free to give me a call at my contact information, below.

Best of luck.”

So, I don’t know if it would do any good, but he said go to the NVRPA board.

[bikenurse]

@Greenbelt 104452 wrote:

MD trails in Prince George’s are in pretty horrible shape. The College Park trolley trail is rideable between 193 and Lakeland Road, but not from Lakeland to Paint Branch Expressway. The sidepath under the Metro on Paint Branch is impassable. Better to cross under at the Metro station pedestrian tunnel. From there, take neighborhood streets (Old Riverdale, Jefferson, Hamilton, 38th, Arundel to get to DC. The Hyattsville trolley trail behind the arts district and Franklins to old Riverdale was unrideable.

Once in DC, it’s smooth sailing. The streets are good, the Met Branch is beautifully plowed, the 1st street bikeway is good, the PA Ave median bikelanes are good, the 15th street bikeway is good.

You can really tell the difference in priorities — in DC, they’re making an effort to clear the bike lanes and sidewalks. In Maryland, the usual contempt and unconcern for non-motorized transport.

Anyone with recon on the Anacostia Trails can tweet @pgparks. I sent them Jeff’s complaint and they responded right away. Not that they did anything about the trails, but they were at least interested.

[rcannon100]

Bluemont Park current conditions
* 4MR Trail icy and covered
* WOD Ice with two tire tracks going down the trail giving occasional pavement
* Bluemont Junction Trail – cleared

[Tim Kelley]

@alrob 104483 wrote:

So, I don’t know if it would do any good, but he said go to the NVRPA board.

Yes, do it!

[Greenbelt]

@rcannon100 104495 wrote:

Bluemont Park current conditions
* 4MR Trail icy and covered
* WOD Ice with two tire tracks going down the trail giving occasional pavement
* Bluemont Junction Trail – cleared

Not sure all the trail names, but does this imply that the trail from MVT/Eads road is rideable to get to Shirlington for the happy hour tonight? Or not? -Jeff

[Author]

Posts