New East Falls Church bridge over 4MR – Why the bollards??!!

[brendan]

@americancyclo 18941 wrote:

I’ll bet you a beer at the next forum happy hour that the fastest way to continue through across 29 on the W&OD is to take Van Buren to 19th to Vanderpool. :p

Definitely the fastest. You just have to be very careful of the bollard collar at the trail/van buren intersection. That one, plus the unfilled ones on the bluemont trail (where a friend crashed pretty badly at night) make me dislike the collars way more than the bollards themselves.

Brendan

[brendan]

@Steve O 18972 wrote:

So that then begs the question of why this particular trail intersection is special. How is it different and more deserving of bollards than any of the others?

Short answer: I suspect it is because the park authority was concerned that lost vehicles may see the bridge from the nearby street, drive the short stretch of asphalt around the field and attempt to drive over the bridge and have the bridge collapse.

Brendan

[KLizotte]

@brendan 19006 wrote:

Definitely the fastest. You just have to be very careful of the bollard collar at the trail/van buren intersection. That one, plus the unfilled ones on the bluemont trail (where a friend crashed pretty badly at night) make me dislike the collars way more than the bollards themselves.

Brendan

Are these on Arlington’s list to get fixed any time soon?

[Steve O]

Hi Pete,
No worries; I appreciate your perspective and experience.

One of the things that is troublesome to me is that where these things go seems totally capricious. I doubt someone could cite a consistent decision making template that would describe why bollards go here and not there.

Interestingly, it appears that the bollards on the east end of the bridge are out of compliance with the American with Disabilities Act, which states:
R302.3 Continuous Width. Except as provided in R302.3.1, the continuous clear width of pedestrian access routes shall be 1.2 m (4.0 ft) minimum, exclusive of the width of the curb.

Advisory R302.3 Continuous Width. The continuous clear width requirements in R302.3 apply to sidewalks and other pedestrian circulation paths, pedestrian street crossings and at-grade rail crossings, and pedestrian overpasses and underpasses and similar structures (see R302.2). Clear width requirements are contained in R304.5.1 for curb ramps and blended transitions, and in R407.4 for ramps. Where sidewalks are wider than 1.2 m (4.0 ft), only a portion of the sidewalk is required to comply with the requirements in R302.3 through R302.7. Additional maneuvering space should be provided at turns or changes in direction, transit stops, recesses and alcoves, building entrances, and along curved or angled routes, particularly where the grade exceeds 5 percent. R210 prohibits street furniture and other objects from reducing the minimum clear width of pedestrian access routes.

Also, it appears that at least one cyclist has already struck the base of one of the bollards, deduced from markings on the base itself, and they’ve been there less than a week. I’d be surprised if that person did not fall down, even at low speed. I don’t like using dangerous, crash-causing objects for speed control.

[Steve O]

The W&OD trail removed all their bollards a number of years ago, because they believed the safety benefit outweighed whatever potential trail encroachment might occur.

And from the Trails and Greenways yahoo group (via Allen Muchnick)

Two people have been killed by hitting bollards on the Foothills Trail in Washington State. I advocated using flexible plastic posts which
give way when hit, but the county did not buy it. They took out some bollards and painted the small ASHTO diamonds around the remaining
ones, but they are of no use at all. At 15 miles per hour a cyclist travels 22 ft/sec. If they see a warning on the pavement because they
are not looking up, they need at least two seconds or 44 feet to swerve and avoid the bollard.

Look at any bollard and you will see many rubber tire marks on it.
The ASHTO standard needs to be revised to reflect reality.

John Selby
Board Member, Foothills Trail Coalition
===========================
Fatal bike trail wreck raises safety concerns

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20120427/NEWS01/204270305/Fatal-bike-trail-wreck-raises-safety-concerns

MANSFIELD — A death on the Richland B&O Trail has local cyclists concerned about metal posts or barricades known as bollards, which are used to keep motor vehicles off the trail.

A 53-year-old man died Wednesday from injuries received in a bicycle accident Tuesday evening. The experienced cyclist, Giuseppe Maino, hit a barrier in Bellville.

Steve McKee, director of the Richland County Park District that oversees the bike trail, said the bollards have caused accidents in the past.

“It wasn’t really on the horizon until this accident,” McKee said of the bollards. “We’ve had a few people with scrapes in the past. This is going to make us take a serious look.”

Maino was a contractor at the 179th Airlift Wing of the Ohio National Guard base in Mansfield. He died at 1:10 a.m. Wednesday at MedCentral/Mansfield Hospital, said Richland County Coroner’s Investigator Bob Ball.

McKee said the board will consider some substitute for the existing barricades.

“Our trail is 17 years old and the construction was overseen by the Ohio Department of Transportation, and it was state-of-the-art at the time,” he said Thursday. “Would we consider something different at this point? Yes, we would consider some changes.”

Cindy DeWeese, a park district board member, said, “If there’s something better, it would be something we would consider.”

Cyclist Pete Medek said he knows people who have gotten hurt hitting the bollards. He talked to McKee on Wednesday after Maino’s accident.

“I’m doing some research on what some new methods for bollards are,” Medek said. “There are other methods which can be used in place of bollards … We’re looking at different designs which are a lot safer.

“If we can do it without bollards, that would be my vote, but the ultimate decision is with the county parks. Hopefully, we’ll discuss the options and come up with the winner that everyone is happy with.”

Veteran cyclist Keith Elliott has been riding the Richland B&O Trail for years. Elliott said the group of cyclists associated with Y-Not Cycling and Fitness in Lexington will raise money to help pay for changes to the barricades.

“For the past six or seven years whenever we ride together as a group, the person who takes the lead yells, ‘Poles up!’ when we approach the barricades,” Elliott said Thursday. “We always knew they were dangerous and someone could get seriously injured, and we know people who have gotten hurt, but we never thought someone would get killed by one of those poles.”

Eric Oberg, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s manager of trail development based in Canal Winchester, said bollards are still the most widely used design for access points on trails.

“Bollards in and of themselves are not antiquated,” he said. “There are some other ideas being used now.”

He’s seen some trails split at approaching intersections.

“The trail splits at the intersection. Two trails split for 15 to 20 feet. It creates too narrow of a corridor for any motor vehicle to access,” he said. “A lot of bike trails are not putting in bollards at all now and hoping cars don’t go down the trails. Some places do gates partially open, and that appears more dangerous than a straight bollard. I can’t tell you I know of any other instance of a fatality (with a bollard).

“It’s an unfortunate tragedy, but an opportunity to look at things. … I’m hoping people don’t jump to conclusions and make it anybody’s fault. There’s no blame to be placed. The best thing would be if we learned something from it and make this the legacy of the accident.”

Bellville police Officer Burt Skeen said authorities responded to the bike trail shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday, about 200 yards west of the bridge where Ogle and East streets meet. Maino, of Turin, Italy, was taken to MedCentral/Mansfield Hospital by Jefferson Township Fire Department rescue personnel. He underwent emergency surgery.

“He was to the rear of the group and only one gentleman was beside him. The other bicyclist was approaching the posts on the bike trail and he went ahead to make sure Giuseppe could pass either on the left or the right of the center pole. Mr. Maino impacted the pole,” Skeen said.

[Dirt]

@Steve O 19050 wrote:

One of the things that is troublesome to me is that where these things go seems totally capricious. I doubt someone could cite a consistent decision making template that would describe why bollards go here and not there.

I fear you are 100% right on this count. I’ve may have given the subject more thought than those who had them installed… which is a truly scary thought indeed given the number of concussions I’ve had over the years.

[Randy]

Kudos to Kevin again. Kevin Stalika’s trail crew brought big machines out this week and cut back most of the vegetation that was blocking the sightlines for riders coming south on the W&OD from Van Buren. You get a much better view now of people coming off of the bridge. Kevin understood the issue immediately. We may have to help keep it clear from time to time.

I still don’t like the bridge location, but this will reduce the potential for crashes. And it was nice to see the County remove some of the excess asphalt from the site. Should help riders who have been getting lost there, particularly if the signage is improved.

You can congratulate Kevin and complain about some other spot: kstalika@arlingtonva.us

[Dirt]

Many bollards removed and lovely new pavement as of yesterday.

[brendan]

@Dirt 20832 wrote:

Many bollards removed and lovely new pavement as of yesterday.

Heh, I meant to post about that: it was changed sometime before Sunday at 7pm.

Which reminds me, I still need to document the empty/damaged bollard collars on the Bluemont Junction trail.

Brendan

[Author]

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