New GW ParHighway Path Marked

[DaveK]

@pfunkallstar 27166 wrote:

Was crossing said death trap this morning and notice some surveyor markers marking the rough outline for the new path. The only downside is that it looks like the new path with run smack into not only the oncoming sidewalk bridge traffic but also the merging sidewalk traffic circle traffic. SHOULD BE FUN!

Is this at Memorial Circle? I didn’t notice it this morning, I’ll try and take a look when I go home and maybe take a picture.

[pfunkallstar]

Yeah, small wooden stakes painted pink, they are positioned well, or about as well as they can be for the crossing, but the intersection is going to be a mess.

[dbb]

@pfunkallstar 27192 wrote:

Yeah, small wooden stakes painted pink.

That might just indicate that Dirt has returned.

[baiskeli]

@dbb 27199 wrote:

That might just indicate that Dirt has returned.

Maybe they’re building a Dirty-only lane. It will have pink stripes.

[PotomacCyclist]

Should be a nice improvement over the current path. Cyclists will only have to cross one lane of traffic instead of the two lanes currently. It’s still not ideal but at least we no longer have to worry about one lane of traffic stopping and then the other speeding through. The sight lines will be better as well. At the new location, it’ll be a little easier to tell if a car is turning or heading straight toward the bridge. It’s difficult to tell from the current crossing spot.

[dbb]

Took a look at the proposed layout this morning. I’m not taken with the routing. This is the part of the trail between the GWMP and Washington Blvd.

The routing that is staked out is shown in pink. An alternative is shown in green.

This discussion will be oriented as you are moving north (upstream). In the photo above, north is at the top.

This shows the alignment of the new trail and how it will connect to the existing trail. For cyclists, the turn seems pretty sharp. We saw how badly that worked with the trail connections at the MVT-14th St Bridge a while back. It would be easier to do it right from the outset. Either flare the connection or make the angle less sharp.

The trail goes around (on the river side) of a maple tree and then between some holly trees. The proposed crosswalk is at the right side of this photo.

The path is hidden by the holly tree in this photo, so trail users are hidden until they are about 30 feet from the proposed crosswalk. For a cyclist, that may mean they pop into view of the motorists just seconds before they get to the crosswalk. The trail seems to be a bit narrower as it goes around the tree. This photo is looking to the west.

This is looking at the proposed location from the existing crosswalk. The trail goes behind the holly tree that is just left of the stop sign. The Memorial Bridge is in the background.

Getting back to the Google Earth photo, my alternative green path will ease the new-old transition, keep trail users in sight, and save asphalt. The crosswalk would go about where the middle arrow is in the photo. It might make sense to have the crosswalk at a slight angle to the road, rather than a perpendicular crossing.

I’ll send this to the Superintendent of the GWMP as well.

Thoughts?

[Arlingtonrider]

I totally agree with you that the trail users should be visible to drivers long before the crossing and should not pop out suddenly from behind the holly tree. Thanks so much for your work on this. Please keep us posted on how we can support your efforts to have this change made.

[5555624]

Why do I think they’ll just cut down the tree?

[dbb]

I think they will cut no trees down. That will place riders at risk of being unseen, the trail at risk of roots, and the users at risk of a spot where snow and ice don’t melt.

I think the green alignment addresses all three of those issues and might save money.

[ShawnoftheDread]

The crossing also occurs before the road has completely narrowed to one lane wide. The more aggressive drivers may still try to go around those stopping in front of them.

[KLizotte]

@ShawnoftheDread 27359 wrote:

The crossing also occurs before the road has completely narrowed to one lane wide. The more aggressive drivers may still try to go around those stopping in front of them.

Yikes! I hope the traffic engineers notice that before the bldg begins.

[dbb]

This may be an opportunity to use those Pennsylvania Ave cycletrack flexible bollards to choke the roadway down to one lane. A more attractive (less ugly?) alternative might be some kind of traffic dot that vibrated the auto’s wheel when it gets out of the traffic lane. DaveK may have some good ideas on this as well.

[pfunkallstar]

@dbb 27374 wrote:

This may be an opportunity to use those Pennsylvania Ave cycletrack flexible bollards to choke the roadway down to one lane. A more attractive (less ugly?) alternative might be some kind of traffic dot that vibrated the auto’s wheel when it gets out of the traffic lane. DaveK may have some good ideas on this as well.

Flexible bollards for everyone!

[dbb]

Good news!

I met on site with staff from the NPS GWMP and Arlington County. The NPS has been listening and planned a revised layout that addressed the concerns we addressed. The trail will be wide (about 10 feet), well down the road (to get the motorists into a single lane), at right angles to the roadway, and well exposed so motorists have the greatest opportunity to see cyclists and pedestrians. I left the meeting feeling pretty happy about the discussion and project changes.

Thanks to the NPS for their interest and efforts in making the crossing as safe as possible.

Please note that the new crosswalk, while it will be be a great improvement, is not a substitute for awareness and caution about interacting with autos. Be Predictable, Alert and Lawful (PAL)

Work will be starting in the immediate future.

Thanks to everybody who showed an interest and contributed to the discussion.

Dana

[Arlingtonrider]

Dana,

Thank you once again. Every time I take the 14th Street Bridge to the Mount Vernon Trail I appreciate your interest and persistence in following up on these sorts of things. You find the right people to talk to, provide constructive and feasible solutions to problems and help make good things happen, all just as an interested cyclist. Our rides are much safer as a result.

Thanks again,
Kathy

[Author]

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