Large potholes on 15th Street Cycle track at Treasury Building

[PotomacCyclist]

This is the section of the cycle track, from Google Maps Street View:

http://goo.gl/maps/xhDXp

The concrete looks rough in the photo, but it’s far worse right now.

[consularrider]

What about potholepalooza? It will be interesting to see if the cycle track/bike lane potholes get the same level of attention.

[jrenaut]

@consularrider 82926 wrote:

What about potholepalooza? It will be interesting to see if the cycle track/bike lane potholes get the same level of attention.

I certainly hope that they don’t. It’s bad enough those stupid trucks scatter loose gravel all over the multi-use roads. If they start doing it in the bike lanes, too, we’ll never be able to get anywhere.

[dasgeh]

Did you report it via the website? I’ve had luck with that website, and it lets you drop a pin on the exact location.

Now, if they could only do something about the cars stopping in the cycletrack to load/unload…

[PotomacCyclist]

I used the DC 311 website. I didn’t see any place to drop a pin on a map. I’m hoping that won’t be necessary, since I described the exact spot.

I looked at it again today. It’s as bad as I first thought.

[PotomacCyclist]

I received a response and info to find the status on the service request. The info is confusing. Did they look for a pothole in the street and closed the ticket after not finding any potholes in the street? Or is the repair scheduled to be completed by April 23rd?

Activities Performed
This section lists the activities performed for the service request.

1. DDOT Comments
Status:
Created Date: Apr 21, 2014 03:09:PM
Due Date:
Completed Date: Apr 21, 2014 03:08:PM
Details: POTHOLE STREET REPAIR ( WO # 414622 )Projected Start: APR 21, 2014 Finish: APR 23, 2014 Actual Start: N/A Finish: APR 21, 2014

2. DDOT Comments
Status:
Created Date: Apr 21, 2014 02:30:PM
Due Date:
Completed Date: Apr 21, 2014 02:28:PM
Details: POTHOLE STREET REPAIR ( WO # 414622 )Projected Start: APR 21, 2014 Finish: APR 23, 2014 Actual Start: N/A Finish: N/A

3. DDOT Comments
Status:
Created Date: Apr 18, 2014 09:49:PM
Due Date:
Completed Date: Apr 18, 2014 09:47:PM
Details: Comments update: 14-00107486-The cycle track on 15th St, between F and G St is in terrible shape. There are a few very deep cuts/potholes in the concrete surface, bad enough that it is unsafe to ride in the southbound lane of the cycle track.

[PotomacCyclist]

I rode past that spot on Tuesday night. No repair work had been done.

[dasgeh]

No repair work as of this morning, but I’d give them until the end of the week.

[PotomacCyclist]

A week later and still no action on this. Looks like the repair crew looked at the road lanes, saw no potholes there and closed the service request ticket.

I used the DC 311 website:

http://311.dc.gov/

I’m trying to log onto my account but there’s a problem with the database, or my account. Without logging in, I can’t comment on the previous service request. I’ll try again later in the week. They really need to fix the right half of the southbound bike lane in the cycle track soon, next to the Treasury Building.

If anyone else notices that rough patch of concrete, they can use the DC 311 site to report it too. Maybe if there is more than one report, they will do a better job of looking at the cycle track, instead of the car lane.

[Subby]

@PotomacCyclist 84145 wrote:

If anyone else notices that rough patch of concrete, they can use the DC 311 site to report it too. Maybe if there is more than one report, they will do a better job of looking at the cycle track, instead of the car lane.

Done.

[PotomacCyclist]

May 9th photos

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[DCLiz]

I’ve been wondering if that’s what you meant. I wouldn’t call them potholes as much as the road collapsing. Either way, should be fixed, but I’m not sure reporting them as potholes will be fruitful since I suspect it’s a different kind of fix.

I will call, though, since I commute there daily. They’re far enough on the side of the road that I personally haven’t felt endangered, but I also have thicker, hybrid tires and go pretty slow down that stretch.

[PotomacCyclist]

I don’t know of any other brief term to describe the damage to the concrete surface other than “potholes”. I’m not aware of any other standard term. There is a menu option for “Bicycle Issues” on the DC 311 site. Maybe I’ll try that one. I’ll also include a reference to the previous report I sent. Plus I’ll use the Google Map feature to locate the correct street address. Maybe DDOT was confused by my use of the Pennsylvania Ave. address last time, even though I included a note that the damage was in the 15th St. cycle track between F and G Streets.

I noticed the damage because I almost ran into the pothole or crack or whatever you want to call it. It’s reasonable to expect that many cyclists will move a bit to the right if there is another cyclist approaching in the other lane. This is also necessary if a pedicab is approaching in the other lane. (There are many pedicabs in that immediate area, so this wouldn’t be a rare occurrence. I see them in the cycle track frequently. Not complaining. Just pointing it out.)

The worst of the cracks is a couple inches deep. That’s as thick as a road bike tire. Imagine if a car lane had a pothole that was the depth of a car tire. That could cause damage to the suspension.

I guess many people see the damage in the cycle track and avoid it, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a cycle track, not a cyclocross obstacle course. A cyclist should be able to wander a bit to the right while remaining in the lane without risking a nasty fall. I tested out the damage on a CaBi bike, just to see what it would feel like to run over that stretch. If I rode over it at normal speed, I would definitely feel it. Not unreasonable to think that someone could chip a tooth from the drop. (Not kidding here. I’ve almost done that on some unmarked holes and ditches, such as one on Columbia Pike a few months ago.)

It’s also reasonable to think that some cyclists could lose their balance and fall off the bike after riding over the damage. We shouldn’t rate a bike lane, cycle track or road based on how an experienced cyclist would handle it. We should rate it based on how the average cyclist and even beginners would handle it. Many would not do so well if they did not notice the surface damage in time.

[DCLiz]

No doubt, it’s a serious issue. I’m just thinking they’re going to need to re-lay that concrete bus pad (or replace it with standard asphalt now that it’s part of the cycle track). But maybe they can patch it temporarily.

[DCLiz]

Good news! Looks like this is getting fixed. I rode on the cycle track today and the crumbling concrete has been completely removed down to the street bed.

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