new entrance to 14th St Br near Humpback on MtV trail

[Mark Wigfield]

Does anyone besides me think there are going to be multiple bike wrecks at the new entrance to the 14th bridge built as part of the Humpback reconstruction? There are already lots of skidmarks on the access trail where it joins the MtV trail at a right angle. I honestly don’t know what design would be better, but there will be lots of crashes there IMHO

Topic

[OneEighth]

Just widening the intersection of the two trails to make turning easier would be a big improvement.

[PotomacCyclist]

@OneEighth 3634 wrote:

Just widening the intersection of the two trails to make turning easier would be a big improvement.

I agree. They could easily add some asphalt to make it less of a sharp turn. I’m assuming that the construction team will fill in the surrounding area with sod. Right now, there’s a bit of a dropoff if you happen to edge off the side of the trail. That can be a problem, especially for those riding at night.

Once the sod has been planted, I think a lot of people will make the turn while riding on the grass. It would be much better for the trail designers to understand this and add extra pavement now. No point in having a worn-out, muddy section there when just a small addition of asphalt would be needed.

[DaveK]

I think a little traffic control would go a long way. Some stop lines on the pavement for the 14th St bridge traffic and a direction for cyclists on the MVT to yield to through traffic. It needs to be treated like a proper intersection, which it is. If they widen it out it’ll lead to faster speeds and more chance of a crash.

[OneEighth]

Stop lines, etc are a good idea, but the intersection is too narrow for safe turning even at reasonably slow speeds. You just can’t turn a bike 90 degrees even from a stop.

[Justin Antos]

@PotomacCyclist 3651 wrote:

Once the sod has been planted, I think a lot of people will make the turn while riding on the grass. It would be much better for the trail designers to understand this and add extra pavement now.

I agree – bicyclists will cut the corner anyway; no amount of design can stop them. Widening the intersection would be helpful to avoid conflicts. It would also give us more time to signal our turns with hand outstretched, before we need both hands to brake/steer. I also agree with DaveK that a stop line and a bit of signage can be a big help too.

[Mark Wigfield]

What’s the best way to communicate to the NPS about this? Do we know if they read this forum?

[OneEighth]

Dottie P. Marshall, Park Superintendent:
GWMP_Superintendent@nps.gov

[Dirt]

Well I guess I’ll be a total jerk and suggest that it might not be a bad idea for cyclists to actually moderate their speed at busy intersections like that. Making it easy for people to ride through that intersection at full speed might not be the safest thing for other trail users.

Maybe that’s just me.

That said, I’m not sure they’ve completed the lines and signage for that intersection yet.

Love,

Pete

[Author]

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