No immediate plans for Columbia Pike side paths (from Joyce St. past Navy Annex site)

[chris_s]

I’m doing a certain amount of reading between the lines here, but I get the strong impression that the Pike Multimodal project’s plans for a sidepath are very much a “best we feel we can do with the existing narrow right of way” and “last resort” not a “preferred solution” and is therefore way on the back burner in the hopes that this land deal can result in a wider, realigned Columbia Pike that has space for both generous sidewalks and dedicated bike facilities.

Unfortunately things are moving at the typical glacial pace of the federal government. The good news is that all sides have something to gain so I continue to hold out hope that a agreement will be reached that is beneficial to Arlington, the Cemetery and potentially also the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial.

The County and DoD have a memorandum of understanding on how a land swap deal will be structured but are still hammering out details.

[5555624]

@PotomacCyclist 54655 wrote:

Columbia Pike remains a difficult route for cyclists, including the eastern end. No change in that situation in the near future.

Actually, it may be changing for the worse. Right now, you can avoid part of that section of Columbia Pike by using Southgate Road. At some point, the land swap will transfer that to Arlington National Cemetery. If that’s before any improvements are made to Columbia Pike, it will be worse than it is now.

[KLizotte]

I live at that corner (mall side) and am somewhat disappointed that the current configuration makes it impossible to ride on the sidewalk easily (and without totally confusing the drivers) if you are heading north on S Joyce Street. S Joyce Street has bike lanes until it reaches Army Navy Dr then they disappear. I think the underpass engineers expected cyclists to use the newly expanded sidewalk under the bridge but no one does so because the only way to do so requires dismounting and walking across four lanes of traffic to the island, then crossing one more lane to the sidewalk, which features a sharp 90 degree turn at that curb cut.

It would have been better to have made the sidewalk narrower and put in proper bike lanes as a continuation of what already exists on S Joyce Street. The same sort of problem exists at the S Joyce and Columbia Pike intersection. Cyclists have to make a very sharp turn in a very narrow sidewalk at the curb cut on both sides of S Joyce.

I just stick to the road though it makes me nervous because sightlines aren’t great and it can be dark in the underpass.

[PotomacCyclist]

I agree on the awkward curb cuts on Joyce St. But the new sidewalk and street-level lighting has made it much easier to ride on that section of the road. I used to hate riding there in the past. If I biked on the road, I would get buzzed by high-speed cars. The old sidewalk was narrow and the path was dark. But now the sidewalk is very wide and the new lighting is bright. Other than the weird curb cuts at the intersection, I like the new design.

I rarely use Southgate Rd., but that’s because of the reason why I ride up that hill in the first place. I use that hill for shorter hill repeat workouts. I start to the east of Joyce St., near the Washington Blvd. overpass. Then I head along the sidewalk on Columbia Pike, passing Joyce St. and continue up the Air Force Memorial hill and past the Navy Annex. It’s kind of short, shorter than I’d like for my workout, but I just add reps until I get the total desired climbing time for the workout. I used to ride up the parking lots but that’s no longer an option.

(I know there are longer hills in North Arlington, but it’s not practical for me to ride up there most of the time. It takes me nearly an hour just to get to some of those hills, before I even start the main part of the hill workout. With an hour up and an hour back, plus the hill repeats, that turns the workout into an unmanageable 3-hr. ride. Too long when I’m not planning to do a long ride on those days. I took Metro once, over to Clarendon and then rode up to 31st St. N., but that still turned into a very long ride. Plus there are restrictions on bringing bikes onto Metro during the peak commuting hours. I’ve finished my hill training for the 1st half of the year so I don’t have to worry about this for the rest of the month. But I plan to get back to hill work in July. I’ll have to figure out a better plan for the rest of the summer, although I don’t need to do really long hill workouts. I’m not doing any super-hilly races or rides this year.)

***
I do think the DOD and Arlington will reach an agreement at some point in the not-too-distant future. The Cemetery’s expansion plans depend on the land transfer of Southgate Rd. Without the road, the Cemetery cannot expand and keep the new section connected to the existing areas. There is still time for both sides to play their negotiating games and strategies without delaying the process too much. Until the Navy Annex is completely demolished and the land cleared, the Cemetery expansion can’t start up anyway. The site is scheduled to be turned over to the Cemetery in August or September. So that’s the real deadline for the land transfer to happen without delaying the expansion plan.

[KLizotte]

You can get a good hill work out by heading down Army Navy Drive and hitting 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, and S. Pierce Streets. The whole area is built on a great big hill plus there is little traffic (except on Arlington Ridge) and the paving is in good condition.

[PotomacCyclist]

I’ve used 20th and 23rd Streets in the past, but they are a little too short for bike hill intervals. Part of the road goes downhill and then back uphill, and only at a modest incline before it becomes really steep in the final block before Arlington Ridge Road. I’m looking for more of a steady uphill climb.

Some of those streets aren’t in great shape either. When going back down the hill, I have to look out for some serious potholes and bumps, especially in the evenings. (There’s too much traffic during the day.) Maybe the roads have been cleaned up, but I don’t know. I haven’t done many workouts on 20th or 23rd St. in a while.

Walter Reed Drive is also very steep but the hill isn’t that long either.

Georgetown is another nice place for moderate hills, but that’s just as inconvenient to get to as North Arlington is, for me. I like doing run hill workouts in Georgetown on occasion, especially when I can run over there directly from work. Then I head back to the Foggy Bottom Metro and take the Metro home.

[Drewdane]

Wait – someone wants to make Columbia Pike somewhat less of a death trap?

That’s… that’s crazy talk!

[PotomacCyclist]

Sort of an update:

Senator Tim Kaine issued a written statement and spoke about a transfer agreement between the Army/DOD and Arlington County for the land at the former Navy Annex site and nearby tracts (former parking lot, former gas station). But this is only part of an appropriations bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The full Senate will consider the bill and possibly modify it. Then they would have to reconcile it with a House bill, so the land swap deal could be modified again. In the end, nothing has really been settled. But this is the first news about the land swap negotiations in some time.

This is an excerpt from Sen. Kaine’s press release from yesterday, Fri. May 23, 2014:

“After many months of negotiations with the appropriations Committee, Arlington County and Pentagon officials I am pleased that we agreed on a path forward that will greatly increase the amount of burial space at Arlington Cemetery while also requiring the Pentagon to agree to a Memorandum of Agreement and a Master Plan for redevelopment of the area for Arlington County,” said [Senator] Warner.”

…

Arlington National Cemetery: The Committee endorsed a land transfer between the Department of Defense and Arlington County which would increase available land for burial space at Arlington Cemetery and also allow Arlington County to proceed with important development plans by re-aligning Columbia Pike and adjacent roads. The Committee urges the Secretary of the Army to provide the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress with an amended Master Plan and Navy Annex Area Development Plan, as well as the final Memorandum of Understanding between the Army and Arlington County, detailing how any land conveyed to the Cemetery will be utilized for internments and other Cemetery needs.

http://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/warner-kaine-applaud-advancement-of-virginia-funding-priorities-in-spending-bill

An ABC7 report indicates that Arlington Cemetery would eventually receive the Navy Annex land and Southgate Rd. while Arlington appears to receive the former parking lot on the south side of Columbia Pike. There’s a simplified map starting at the 1:50 mark of the video.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2014/05/alrington-cemetery-will-go-through-with-a-land-swap–103441.html

The reporter’s description doesn’t seem to match the map though. He says that the Navy Annex site, about 41 acres, will likely become Cemetery property. The County, after removing part of Columbia Pike and Southgate Rd., will get about 10 acres. On the map, it looks like the future County property is larger than the future Cemetery property.

So there is no final authorization from Congress or a final MOU between the Army and Arlington County.

*****
The Navy Annex demolition website indicates that the Navy Annex site and Air Force Memorial were transferred from the Army to Arlington National Cemetery in January. The parking lot and gas station parcels are supposed to be transferred from the Army to the Cemetery this month. But the Senate Appropriations bill and new agreement indicate that those two parcels might be transferred to Arlington, in return for Southgate Rd. being transferred to the Cemetery.

http://www.whs.mil/demolition-navy-annex/milestones

The Navy Annex site has been cleared of all building structures. Same with the other parcels. I’m still hoping to see bike/pedestrian paths along the eastern section of Columbia Pike sometime, maybe before the century is over?

In previously released plans, Arlington had already indicated that it wanted to realign Columbia Pike to run in a straight path from the Navy Annex site to Joyce St. I don’t know what would happen with the area of the former parking lot that would then be located north of a realigned Columbia Pike.

Big announcements but no real updates. At least it indicates that DOD, Congress and Arlington are still talking about the land swap. After all this silence, I thought that people might have forgotten about it.

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