January Road and Trail Conditons

[consularrider]

So far no issues this morning inside the Beltway.  Pickle juice was down yesterday and I saw salt/grit being spread on the side walks at Vermont and R St, NW

[LhasaCM]

If anything, DC overdid it with the salt – some areas (e.g., 9th NE/Mt. Olivet) looked like they had enough salt to last all winter as trucks just dumped giant piles on the road.  Even yesterday, sidewalks around NW schools were practically Smurf-like with as much as they used.  Whatever doesn’t wash down the drain is going to make for a crunchy mess.

[Judd]

Four Mile Run Trail in Arlington and Alexandria were brined yesterday as was the Mount Vernon Trail alternate in Alexandria.

[melancholera]

Around 3pm on 1/9, there was minor flooding on the Bluemont Junction trail and Four Mile Run trail through Bluemont Junction. Flooding was worse on the path running along Columbia Pike past the tip of Lake Barcroft.

[LhasaCM]

Can confirm that as of half an hour ago the MBT is flooded in all the ways it normally is flooded during a lot of rain; lots of water under the NY Ave bridge, lots of water along the Fort Myer side of the trail, and plenty of water running across the trail outside of the Penn Center (the DC owned building between R and Randolph).

[DrP]

Metro has waaaay too many charter buses clogging the streets and bike lanes near Ballston. (Rosslyn and Courthouse stations are closed today through Monday, for some reason the buses are in Ballston). They have been lined up all along Fairfax Drive in both directions in the bike lanes and sometimes in the whole car lane (so cannot go around them “safely” in a partially filled lane either – have to take the whole car lane and block impatient commuters). At about 8 am there was one waiting on Quincy south of Fairfax Dr near the fire hydrant blocking lanes. And another that was on Fairfax Drive and blocking Quincy. At that time of day, it was very dangerous for cyclists, and even cars. I commented on it to a Metro worker and she said “and what do you want me to do about it?” I suggested letting the drivers know they should make more space for people, but I doubt that happened.

This should be all done Monday evening.

Metro needs to give training to any of these temporary drivers. They are clearly all from charter bus companies that have no clue how to act around populated areas.

[DrP]

And it is no better this afternoon or in Clarendon. Buses everywhere, little regard for cars or bicycles. They were much better during last year’s (I think it was in 2023, could have been 2022) track closures and bus needs. These buses are from different companies, so perhaps that is the problem.

[melancholera]

1/15/24, 7:30am (⚠️=bad, ⚠️⚠️=really bad)

• ⚠️⚠️ Columbia Pike service roads/path from Lincolnia Rd to Blair Rd completely snow-covered, not treated
• Columbia Pike (main roadway) eastbound slushy/icy at the tip of Lake Barcroft
• Blair Rd from Columbia Pike to Glencarlyn Dr snowy but passable
• ⚠️⚠️ Glencarlyn Dr from Blair Rd to Manchester St bike lanes not treated; severe ice on bike lanes and car lanes between Leesburg Pike and Manchester St
• ⚠️ Manchester St from Glencarlyn Dr to Rt 50 icy
• Manchester St from Rt 50 to Bluemont Park heavily salted, no ice or snow
• ⚠️⚠️ Bluemont Park parking lot and entrance/egress completely untreated, ice patches under snow, use extreme caution
• Bluemont Junction trail from 4MR trail to Wilson Blvd snowy, not much ice yet, less coated than Bluemont Park parking lot (so possibly treated under the snow?)
• Wilson Blvd clear into Clarendon; numerous buses parked blocking bike lanes in vicinity of Clarendon Metro
• ⚠️ Clarendon side streets (Highland, 11th) icy; use caution

[LhasaCM]

In general, it seems like DC didn’t pre-treat much of anything for this precipitation (unlike the previous “winter storm” that was just rain and resulted in salt everywhere).  Things are mostly OK downtown, but any bridges/overpasses are icy (and getting worse).  Same holds for the MBT – the turns and bridges are a bit sketchy, and were worse on my way home than my way out (an hour earlier).

[Steve O]

Not bad early this morning if you are confident in the snow. It will likely get slipperier as more of it gets packed down. Roads are treated – mostly just wet with occasional slush, so if you take the lane, you’ll be fine. I only saw a handful of other tracks on the Mt Vernon Trail.

Also, a good day for my annual #snowdangerpanda

[DrP]

Trail report: As of 7am 1/17/24, Custis was plowed and relatively clear, at least between Harrison St and past the Ballston Connector.

Ballston Connector was NOT clear, Lost of refrozen foot, paw, and bike prints. Not easy to get over.

Trails in Lyon Park (behind houses and apartments) were not plowed or treated and often thick ice. Hard to get over (I avoided two sections with roads, but I wasn’t sure how to avoid the one behind the apartments near Rt 50).

Trail coming off Rt50 to go to Washington Blvd not clear. Clear under Washinton Blvd. Otherwise, rutty mess to the S. Courthouse exit off Washington Blvd.

First bit of the Washington Blvd trail was beautifully cleared and salted (over salted) until under 2nd street. Then NOTHING was done. Complete mess of footprints, paw prints, tire tracks, refrozen solid ice sheets. All snow on the bridge. Up by the tennis courts it was thinner and easier to go over, but still not clear. [This is an Arlington Trail, why isn’t it on their clearance route?]

9th and Rolfe streets between towers park and Columbia Pike was okay, but patches of frozen slush/beaten down snow.

Sidewalk on Columbia Pike from Rolfe to Orme was clear (except for construction debris). Orme, Southgate and Joyce streets were generally clear. It looked like the bike/ped detour along Southgate was cleared of snow.

[DrP]

Anyone know what 4MRT and W&OD are like? (looking for alternative routes home)

[Henry]

Both W&OD and 4MR are reported cleared.

Can report that Rte 50 trail hasn’t been touched and is a treacherous mix of frozen ruts and foot prints. Best place to ride is the virgin snow if there is any.

Bike lanes in Court House on Clarendon are a mixed bag, too. Many also have not been touched by plows or sweepers. Best to take the lane of dry pavement in the auto lanes.

Henry

[DrP]

Thank you, Henry! I should be able to get home without too many refrozen slush areas then.

I should have also mentioned that the bike lanes on Fairfax drive in Ballston are mostly messy, so lane is the way to go. The protected bike lanes on Quincy between Fairfax Drive and Wilson were clear.

 

I presume that the MVT from Roosevelt island to the airport is not very clear. Usually the trail around the cemetery along Rt 110 is cleared and I haven’t noticed a real pattern in clearance from the cemetery to the Pentagon and Pentagon City (either side of the Pentagon). So if anyone has any information on these, that would be helpful for me (and others, I presume!) too.

 

[gibby]

At about 930a today most of the trail around Gravelly Pt to the 14th St bridge was crunchy, rutted ice due to foot traffic. Taking to the snow on the side was much easier going even with skinny tires. The ramps for the airport overpasses were pretty solidly iced with hard pack snow on the overpasses.

The 14st St Bridge is plowed and clear.

I’m heading home early to maneuver the ruts in the daylight.

[Author]

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