Key to Water/K Street to Penn Ave (Georgetown to Downtown Help!?)

[Gems]

Took my first urban ride from Courthouse Arlington to Downtown. I liked Key Bridge and the ride along Water St. Now, what is the best way to get to Water street from the bridge. I went down M to Wisconsin. Anything better?

When you ride along K, do you go with the traffic under the roundabout and head south to Penn on the other side or pop out on top and navigate the crazy circle? Not sure how to transition here. Should I have taken the Rock Creek exit and toggle back some? I didn’t mind Penn Ave and cut through White House to G (where I work and there is a bike lane). Suggestions on the movement from Water to Penn? I got schooled on the GW roundabout/Washington Circle (? New to town).

Topic

[baiskeli]

By Water Street do you mean K Street, the one that runs under the highway (Whitehurst Freeway)? You can turn right before Wisconsin but you will have to carry your bike up or down a few steps to cross the canal.

[DismalScientist]

I’ve never really figured out how to get out of Water Street eastbound.
As long as you are taking M Street to Wisconsin, you may just want to continue on M all the way to Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is wider and less stressful than M once you cross Rock Creek.

On alternate that many recommend is just taking the Whitehurst Freeway from the east sidewalk on the Key bridge all the way to Washington Circle. (You can cut over to the frontage road where the car traffic starts backing up.) As always, routing decisions depend on particular preferences regarding traffic.

[dasgeh]

As noted, you can get to Water Street from the Key Bridge without riding on M, but you have a dismount at some point. Assuming you don’t want to do that, you have to go to Wisconsin. I find the stretch on M from the Bridge to Wisconsin to be the worst part, so it seems to me to be worth it just to stay on M/Penn.

But, if you do end up on Water, you can continue on K in the ways you’ve mentioned, both of which involve some parts that have worse (imo) traffic than M. If you’re trying to avoid traffic, then Water to the trail to Virginia, then turn left on New Hampshire and on to H. Here’s the route, assuming you totally avoid M.

[baiskeli]

What Water Street? The only Water Street I see on the map is along the Southwest waterfront.

[dasgeh]

@baiskeli 114913 wrote:

What Water Street? The only Water Street I see on the map is along the Southwest waterfront.

K turns into Water Street NW. It’s hard to see on google maps because the Whitehurst is on top. As you can see from streetview, even the street signs say Water. But you knew that’s what everyone was talking about.

[vvill]

Like many others, I go Key => M St => Penn => Washington Circle.

Washington Circle from Penn has a light cycle that has pedestrian green before the traffic green, which (I think) legally means you can go with the pedestrians before vehicles, making the Circle much more navigable. It’s not actually that bad although you do have to ride assuming no one can see you as they change lanes. It depends on the time of day though – past 8:15am or so I will take the MVT => Roosevelt Bridge instead as M St gets significantly busier.

If you’re coming out of Water/K St eastbound, you can go in the tunnel under the circle, but it depends how comfortable you are in traffic. I’ve done it a number of times but it’s not a regular route for me. Often the light at K & 21st St is red anyway so traffic is slowing down.

On your first question, I think M to Wisconsin is the earliest turn you can make to get onto Water/K without having to dismount. As far as dismounts go, I’ll use the 33rd St canal bridge/stairs if I’m choosing one of those – seems the smoothest to me. I do that sometimes going westbound from K St to M St to Key.

[Author]

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