Pentagon "desire path"
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Judd.
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June 5, 2015 at 6:12 pm #1031476
PotomacCyclist
ParticipantBoundary Channel Drive Interchange Project
Public Information MeetingDate/Time
Date(s) – 06/23/2015
6:30 pmLocation
Aurora Hills Community & Senior CenterContact Details
Bonnie Parker
703-228-3173“The Boundary Channel Drive Interchange Project will replace the existing interchange with Interstate 395 in order to improve traffic operations and safety for all road users. A new connection to the Mount Vernon Trail will also be completed as part of the project for trail users to access Long Bridge Drive, the Pentagon and Crystal City.
All members of the Arlington community, including commuters and transit riders, are invited to attend and provide input on interchange design alternatives.
Participants also will learn about transportation projects underway in the Crystal City-Pentagon City area, and planning for future transit service in Arlington.”
June 5, 2015 at 6:43 pm #1031478ParticipantJune 5, 2015 at 6:57 pm #1031480Dewey
Participant@PotomacCyclist 117415 wrote:
A new connection to the Mount Vernon Trail will also be completed as part of the project for trail users to access Long Bridge Drive, the Pentagon and Crystal City.
It would be good to connect the MVT with Long Bridge Park. In addition to extending the Desire Path they would need to install at-grade crosswalks across the 395 intersection cloverleaf roads and narrow Boundary Channel Drive/widen the sidewalk under 395.
June 5, 2015 at 9:12 pm #1031495Kolohe
Participant@Dewey 117419 wrote:
It would be good to connect the MVT with Long Bridge Park. In addition to extending the Desire Path they would need to install at-grade crosswalks across the 395 intersection cloverleaf roads and narrow Boundary Channel Drive/widen the sidewalk under 395.
There’s a notional plan somewhere out there (beneath the pale blue sky?) to put a bike path on the replacement of the Long Bridge (the railroad bridge) that would have an interchange with the MVT and take the direct route to the Long Bridge Park high path (the one closest to the tracks). On the DC side it would connect directly to Maryland Avenue (again, up high).
June 5, 2015 at 9:29 pm #1031497ParticipantPrevious maps of the project have included a MVT connector that runs along the Pentagon Lagoon and connects to Boundary Channel Drive, to the west of the cloverleaf intersection. The only crosswalk would be one that crosses on Boundary Channel Drive. I don’t think it would be wise to have crosswalks on the 395 ramps.
There is a separate project to replace and upgrade Long Bridge. That involves multiple parties. I don’t remember the complete list but it likely includes Arlington, NPS, CSX, FHWA and probably agencies like NCPC. Some of the ideas proposed are a high-speed rail connection, an Arlington-DC streetcar (although this is unlikely, now that the Arlington streetcars have been canceled, for the time being) and a new bike/pedestrian path to East Potomac Park and possibly the Portals area. There was work done on an environmental impact statement for the bridge, but I haven’t heard anything after that.
I don’t think the Boundary Channel Drive project will include the direct connection between the park and the MVT. But I think that’s OK for now. Does anyone ride on Boundary Channel during rush hour? I’ve ridden on it a few times, but always on off-peak hours. I rarely see any traffic at those times, but there is likely to be more car traffic at rush hour. Maybe the project can include bike lanes between the park and the MVT connector. I could live with that.
The Long Bridge connector would be even better, because it would offer a direct path from the park to the MVT and possibly DC. But there is no timetable for the bridge replacement. I’m thinking that we might not see it for at least 6-10 years, if that.
June 5, 2015 at 10:21 pm #1031501
lordofthemarkParticipant@PotomacCyclist 117436 wrote:
Previous maps of the project have included a MVT connector that runs along the Pentagon Lagoon and connects to Boundary Channel Drive, to the west of the cloverleaf intersection. The only crosswalk would be one that crosses on Boundary Channel Drive. I don’t think it would be wise to have crosswalks on the 395 ramps.
There is a separate project to replace and upgrade Long Bridge. That involves multiple parties. I don’t remember the complete list but it likely includes Arlington, NPS, CSX, FHWA and probably agencies like NCPC. Some of the ideas proposed are a high-speed rail connection, an Arlington-DC streetcar (although this is unlikely, now that the Arlington streetcars have been canceled, for the time being) and a new bike/pedestrian path to East Potomac Park and possibly the Portals area. There was work done on an environmental impact statement for the bridge, but I haven’t heard anything after that.
I don’t think the Boundary Channel Drive project will include the direct connection between the park and the MVT. But I think that’s OK for now. Does anyone ride on Boundary Channel during rush hour? I’ve ridden on it a few times, but always on off-peak hours. I rarely see any traffic at those times, but there is likely to be more car traffic at rush hour. Maybe the project can include bike lanes between the park and the MVT connector. I could live with that.
The Long Bridge connector would be even better, because it would offer a direct path from the park to the MVT and possibly DC. But there is no timetable for the bridge replacement. I’m thinking that we might not see it for at least 6-10 years, if that.
Actually the lead agency is DDOT, since the Long Bridge is actually in DC, though I expect most public dollars will be federal (not sure if CSX will be pitching in anything) The street car connection is dead, I think – they could reserve a transit only lane for buses or they could add general travel lanes, or just save money and make it railroad plus bike/ped only.
June 6, 2015 at 12:02 am #1031505
ShawnoftheDreadParticipant@PotomacCyclist 117436 wrote:
Does anyone ride on Boundary Channel during rush hour? I’ve ridden on it a few times, but always on off-peak hours. I rarely see any traffic at those times, but there is likely to be more car traffic at rush hour. Maybe the project can include bike lanes between the park and the MVT connector. I could live with that.
The Long Bridge connector would be even better, because it would offer a direct path from the park to the MVT and possibly DC. But there is no timetable for the bridge replacement. I’m thinking that we might not see it for at least 6-10 years, if that.
Boundary Channel is fine during both rush hours in either direction. Very little traffic and people tend to behave well on the Pentagon property in my experience.
June 6, 2015 at 1:39 am #1031510
KWLParticipant@ShawnoftheDread 117445 wrote:
Boundary Channel is fine during both rush hours in either direction. Very little traffic and people tend to behave well on the Pentagon property in my experience.
This is my experience as well. Boundary Channel Drive is my snow route so I’ve ridden it often. There’s something about military discipline that is comforting while on a bike in traffic.
June 6, 2015 at 2:58 am #1031518KLizotte
ParticipantI echo what KWL and Shawn say above. BCD is my daily commute and while people drive a little faster than they do on the Connector Road the drivers are overall much better than on regular roads with that many lanes. That said, I have been buzzed a few times by careless drivers and I’m always worried about a driver staring at his cellphone so I’ve started using the sidewalk (virtually no pedestrians). It’s in very good condition and doesn’t take me out of my way so I figure why not be safer? Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bus on BCD so there may be restrictions on large vehicles.
So the answer is, yes, you can feel confident traveling along that route. Please note that BCD under the 395 bridge is a complete mess (lots of gravel and potholes); the rest of the road is in good condition.
June 6, 2015 at 3:10 am #1031522
chris_sParticipant@Dewey 117419 wrote:
It would be good to connect the MVT with Long Bridge Park. In addition to extending the Desire Path they would need to install at-grade crosswalks across the 395 intersection cloverleaf roads and narrow Boundary Channel Drive/widen the sidewalk under 395.
To some extent the cloverleafs are going away as part of this project, replaced by rotaries.
Concept plan:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]8800[/ATTACH]June 6, 2015 at 2:17 pm #1031531ParticipantA related study/project:
There used to be a website for the 14th Street Bridge Corridor draft environmental impact statement, but that site is not currently accessible. I don’t know if this is temporary or if the parties lost interest in maintaining it or what.
The only site I can find now is from a company called KCI. They are an engineering firm that prepared an EIS for mobility improvements along the 14th St Bridge Corridor. The client was the FHWA.
According to the FHWA website, the EIS is still active, as of Feb. 17, 2015: http://environment.fhwa.dot.gov/projdev/active_eis.asp
The draft EIS was issued on Jan. 20, 2012. There are no dates for the supplemental EIS (SEIS) or the final EIS (FEIS).
The project is not listed on the FHWA Projects page: http://flh.fhwa.dot.gov/projects/
Greater Greater Washington reported on the project a couple months after the DEIS was released: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/14020/6-year-study-suggests-tweaks-to-14th-street-bridges/
According to GGW, the project participants are the FHWA, DDOT, VDOT and the NPS.
GGW posted a follow-up article about how bike connections could be improved in the 14th St. Bridge Corridor: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/14021/14th-street-bridge-area-needs-a-good-bicycle-connection/
The Washcycle also wrote about the DEIS: http://www.thewashcycle.com/2012/02/14th-street-bridge.html
June 6, 2015 at 2:50 pm #1031533ParticipantThere is also the Long Bridge Study website: http://longbridgeproject.com/
DDOT and the Federal Railroad Administration conducted the study. The study area includes DC, Arlington and Alexandria, because the railroad tracks continue into Alexandria.
The last public meeting was on Dec. 5, 2013. Various presentations and proposals are available on the website: http://longbridgeproject.com/resources-one/
The final report was supposed to be issued in Winter 2014.
June 10, 2015 at 9:59 pm #1031845Participanthttp://www.arlnow.com/2015/06/10/boundary-channel-drive-revamp-to-include-new-bike-trail/
The trail is planned to connect Humpback Bridge to Long Bridge Park but has not been designed yet, Kirschner said. The proposed trail will go from the existing Mount Vernon Trail that connects to the underpass under Humpback Bridge and would extend to Boundary Channel Drive through the interchange that already exists.
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As the project is still in its planning stages, the new trail has not yet been designed and which department will oversee the maintenance has not been determined. The trail’s planned path falls under multiple jurisdictions, as the National Park Service oversees the Mount Vernon Trail and Long Bridge Park is run by Arlington County.
June 11, 2015 at 1:00 pm #1031870Birdstrike
Participant@ShawnoftheDread 117445 wrote:
Boundary Channel is fine during both rush hours in either direction. Very little traffic and people tend to behave well on the Pentagon property in my experience.
Yeah, the 25 mph speed limit is usually vigorously enforced on BCD. I can verify from experience…
June 11, 2015 at 1:14 pm #1031872Terpfan
Participant@KWL 117450 wrote:
This is my experience as well. Boundary Channel Drive is my snow route so I’ve ridden it often. There’s something about military discipline that is comforting while on a bike in traffic.
Ditto my snow route and ditto the experience. I actually fine it a quite pleasant ride and I’ve never had a close pass along it. Then again, I’ve probably only done it maybe 15-20x total. Honestly, I’m surprised more folks in Crystal City don’t go this way as it drops very nicely to Memorial Bridge. The only downside is on the return route underneath 395 where there are so many potholes you would think the road wasn’t actually a road.
I’m still lost as to why there is a steep grade along this lagoon path. I didn’t notice much in the way of elevation change riding this route or MVT in that section. I must be missing something.
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