Memorial Bridge: Threatened sidepath closures Fall 2015

[dasgeh]

Subtitle: NPS is really a piece of work.

WABA followed up with NPS about the closure of one side of the sidepath on the Memorial Bridge earlier this week. NPS’s response was basically “Oops, we weren’t supposed to close it Tuesday, we were supposed to close it from Monday, October 26 to November 6!, after which, we’ll close the other side for two weeks”. That’s right, NPS has been planning to completely close one sidepath at a time on the Memorial Bridge for two weeks each without telling anyone. *sigh*

WABA is still looking into this, but it seems like the most important things you can do at this point is:

1. JOIN WABA. This is the most effective thing you can do, because membership dues pay the salaries of the folks who help us fix this. It also happens to be WABA’s membership drive, so you get a cool shirt if you join now.
2. Contact your Congressional representation. Tell them to tell NPS this kind of stuff is unacceptable. The sidepaths on the Memorial Bridge are important routes for daily commuters, occasional locals getting around, and tourists who use this as an important connection between sites.

There’s hope here. We’re not sure what type of work NPS needs to do, but they could WORK WITH THE LOCAL CYCLING (and pedestrian) COMMUNITY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT RIGHT. That might mean routing people from the sidepath onto the roadbed that is already closed (note: they’d need to build ramps to make that work). That might mean doing closures at night or during non-peak times. And whatever it means, it certainly must include COMMUNICATION – both digital to reach locals who use it and physical (i.e. signs) placed in useful places (not right at the closure) with clear indication of the detour options.

More background here

Topic

[Choiboy525]

Hey everyone, this is the contact info for Rep Beyer (https://beyer.house.gov/forms/writeyourrep) of Virginia District 8 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia%27s_8th_congressional_district).

[elbows]

I took the time to compose a letter to Rep Beyer in the 5 minutes I waited to cross Arlington Blvd at the north Mem Circle crossing on Friday night. Since brain-to-email technology is not yet available (thankfully) and my rare eloquence was lost in the distraction provided when a driver finally stopped to let me cross, enraging the driver behind her and starting a honking maelstrom. If it isn’t too late to write, I would suggest that anyone who types a message to their Rep. post it here so the rest of us can crib and expand.

[GovernorSilver]

@Choiboy525 126575 wrote:

Hey everyone, this is the contact info for Rep Beyer (https://beyer.house.gov/forms/writeyourrep) of Virginia District 8 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia%27s_8th_congressional_district).

What is his role in this? I thought the bridge is managed by NPS, not Virginia?

[chris_s]

@GovernorSilver 127580 wrote:

What is his role in this? I thought the bridge is managed by NPS, not Virginia?

NPS is the Federal Government. He’s our most targeted representative in the Federal Government.

[GovernorSilver]

@chris_s 127583 wrote:

NPS is the Federal Government. He’s our most targeted representative in the Federal Government.

I know the NPS is a federal organization but there was no previous explanation about why we should contact this Beyer. This forum seems to be Arlington-centric, but some of us don’t live in Arlington and are less familiar with Arlington politics.

How about the DC side of the bridge? Is there some representative/council member/whatever in DC government we should be contacting too?

[dbb]

I might have to shift my commute from the 14th Street Bridge to do a bit of vehicular cycling on the Memorial Bridge.

[lordofthemark]

@GovernorSilver 127584 wrote:

I know the NPS is a federal organization but there was no previous explanation about why we should contact this Beyer. This forum seems to be Arlington-centric, but some of us don’t live in Arlington and are less familiar with Arlington politics.

How about the DC side of the bridge? Is there some representative/council member/whatever in DC government we should be contacting too?

Rep Beyer also represents the City of Alexandria, City of Falls Church, and part of FFX county, including the area south of the City of Alexandria – IOW, most of the parts of NoVa that would be affected. DC is represented in Congress by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.

[Emm]

@lordofthemark 127589 wrote:

Rep Beyer also represents the City of Alexandria, City of Falls Church, and part of FFX county, including the area south of the City of Alexandria – IOW, most of the parts of NoVa that would be affected. DC is represented in Congress by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Map of Beyer’s district in case it helps (I used my home zip code for reference):

http://ziplook.house.gov/htbin/findrep?ZIP=22301&Submit=FIND+YOUR+REP+BY+ZIP

[GovernorSilver]

Thank you, lordofthemark and Emm.

[DCAKen]

@GovernorSilver 127584 wrote:

How about the DC side of the bridge? Is there some representative/council member/whatever in DC government we should be contacting too?

Actually, both ends of the bridge are in DC. The DC/Virginia boundary is along the Boundary Channel, not the Potomac River. https://goo.gl/maps/PjUn8xv6rrJ2

[Steve O]

@elbows 127579 wrote:

If it isn’t too late to write, I would suggest that anyone who types a message to their Rep. post it here so the rest of us can crib and expand.

I just sent this:

Hello Mr. Beyer,

I have learned through an on-line source that National Park Service intends to close the sidewalks on the Memorial Bridge as part of their ongoing bridge rehabilitation project.
Although I understand that these closings may be necessary, it is critical that NPS provide safe and comfortable alternatives for the hundreds of people who ride bikes across this bridge each day as well as thousands of tourists who use this bridge every week between Arlington Cemetery and the National Mall.

Diverting users to the other side of the bridge is only possible if some sort of traffic control is put in place, such as lights or an actual police officer directing traffic. Expecting users–especially out of towners–to navigate this extremely confusing and potentially dangerous traffic circle is a recipe for serious injury or possible death.

Please have your staff touch base with the National Park Service to ascertain what they have in mind. I also recommend you contact the Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA) to gain insight into how reasonable accommodations can be made that also keep bridge users safe.

Thank you,
Steve Offutt

[dasgeh]

I’ve seen an email from NPS sent on Friday (not sure who it went to – definitely WABA, but definitely not the Arlington BAC) that says that the work is to improve the sidewalk. Awesome. It also says NPS will put up adequate signage. What’s the verdict? I haven’t been out there today – have people seen any signs? Are they good enough?

Finally, the email is silent about enforcement. It was pointed out that NPP isn’t under NPS, but a separate agency in Interior (more like sisters than offspring). Still, you would think there would be coordination. I’m not sure on the overlapping jurisdiction issues here, but given that the worst crosswalk is in DC, could MPD come in and help with enforcement here?

[ShawnoftheDread]

Side path was closed this morning. I had forgotten it would be.

Taking the lane was fun though.

[dbb]

Rode it this morning. The first third of the bridge is a “lane closed ahead merge left” zone so it was pretty much all me there. The middle third the lane was actually closed and I had to take the middle lane. Not a particularly big challenge as it was rush hour and traffic was slow. The final third had barrels closing the curb lane (likely to protect workers later in the day) so I turned it into a PBL. The challenge is you are in the far right lane when you get off the bridge and most traffic wants to be turning right (and you are likely to want to go straight).

All in all, a fine commute.

[dasgeh]

I rode that way, taking the sidepath on the north side, just to check on signage and enforcement. Long story short: some signage for the detour, but not enough. No enforcement and no signage for motorists. I give NPS a D

[Author]

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