Rider down on MVT, north of 4MRT intersection

[lordofthemark]

As I rode to work from HDCC (so about 8:10 or so?) I saw a rider down on the MVT right where the trail splits between the MVT south to Alexandria and the 4MRT. There were several riders helping her, and they did not appear to want assistance from more (unskilled in emergeny medicine) riders, and someone who looked like he had medic equipment arrived from an MWAA truck, and one rider had made contact with Arlington emergency services so I rode on – the rider appeared to be hurt in the leg and in considerable pain. I hope she is okay.

Topic

[anomad]

I’ve seen many close calls in that intersection.

[Emm]

@anomad 165830 wrote:

I’ve seen many close calls in that intersection.

Yep. I bike it almost daily, and it’s one of the sketchier spots on my commute.

I don’t think many of the riders coming up from 4MRT to the MVT realize they need to yield to the northbound bikes and peds already on MVT coming down the little hill from the bridge. The yield sign seems to get ignored pretty often… Also, people going south on the MVT to 4MRT often don’t yield to the people already on the MVT heading north and coming down the hill from the overpass. I think they assume since they’re going straight they have the right of way, even though straight is actually leaving the MVT. The sight lines on that corner are awful if you’re on the MVT heading north and trying to look out for south bound cyclists/peds.

[paulg]

@Emm 165835 wrote:

Yep. I bike it almost daily, and it’s one of the sketchier spots on my commute.

I don’t think many of the riders coming up from 4MRT to the MVT realize they need to yield to the northbound bikes and peds already on MVT coming down the little hill from the bridge. The yield sign seems to get ignored pretty often… Also, people going south on the MVT to 4MRT often don’t yield to the people already on the MVT heading north and coming down the hill from the overpass. I think they assume since they’re going straight they have the right of way, even though straight is actually leaving the MVT. The sight lines on that corner are awful if you’re on the MVT heading north and trying to look out for south bound cyclists/peds.

I agree!
On my way to work in the morning I ride East on the 4MRT and the go left and ride South on the MVT. I never use the trail connector to make this turn, instead I ride another 20 feet or so to the little block paved area with the information sign and if it’s clear I turn left onto the MVT. The fence on the bridge completely blocks the view of riders coming north bound and going just a little further allows me to see in both directions. It’s fine doing that at 6:30am in the morning but during a busy weekend people hang out at the info sign so not as easy. I’m sorry to hear someone got hurt there, and thanks for the reminder for me to just pay more attention at that point.

[lordofthemark]

Time for a mea culpa – a couple of years agon when I was less experienced I had a close call there, entirely my fault (well me and the bad infra, right?) I was riding SB on the MVT towards 4MRT, focused on the bumps on the MVT and riding around peds, etc, and ignored the riders with ROW coming NB from Alexandria, and almost got hit by one. I have been a lot more careful there since.

IIUC NPS is planning improvements http://www.thewashcycle.com/2016/05/nps-trails-study-george-washington-parkway.html

(G4.7) At the intersection of Mount Vernon Trail and Four Mile Run Trail at Reagan National Airport, provide safety and sightline improvements and explore the potential for new roundabout

Not sure what the status of this is.

[bobco85]

That intersection of the MVT-4MR needs some serious traffic calming. People heading south on the MVT cannot see those coming north off the bridge, and I’ve personally been passed on the MVT multiple times by silent pathletes as I’ve slowed due to the poor sightlines. Also, it’s difficult for those trying to get from 4MR onto southbound MVT because of this. I have also witnessed folks coming off southbound MVT to get onto 4MR without yielding (it’s technically a left turn). Perhaps they could also do something about the fact that the curve there at 4MR is way too narrow.

Stay safe, everyone, and I hope the injured person heals quickly and completely.

[Erin Potter]

Any chance it was the fellow from this twitter thread? He’s got some colleagues worried about him:
https://twitter.com/sharrowsDC/status/913108871350243328
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[Erin Potter]

Apologies, just saw the gender in the OP. Still, folks on twitter are looking for the gentleman pictured.

[lordofthemark]

@Erin Potter 165877 wrote:

Apologies, just saw the gender in the OP. Still, folks on twitter are looking for the gentleman pictured.

I did not want to stare – pretty sure it was a woman, and no milk crate. And that she was conscious.

[Judd]

@lordofthemark 165856 wrote:

Not sure what the status of this is.

Current status: In a planning document sitting on a shelf.

For those interested, I found the finalized long term NPS plan for the trail network here: https://parkplanning.nps.gov/showFile.cfm?projectID=64643&MIMEType=application%252Fpdf&filename=NPS%20Paved%20Trails%20Study%20Final%20Reduced%2Epdf&sfid=252654

This project is on Page 125 of the PDF. It’s a really comprehensive planning document that I’ll spend some time reading later. Like all strategic plans, there needs to be someone with positional power to say that it’s important and a dedicated program manager driving the plan implementation.

[chris_s]

@lordofthemark 165856 wrote:

Not sure what the status of this is.

I think this might actually be on the next Arlington BAC meeting agenda. Stay tuned.

[Author]

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