W&OD gets plowed!!

[Rootchopper]

I have always hoped that the Mount Vernon trail would be plowed. I was told once that this is not doable since so many of its wooden bridges are too flimsy to support the plow. Looks like I was misinformed.

[PrintError]

The post mentions something about “bike season.” What is that? I thought every day was bike to work day. :p

[Dirt]

I’ve been plowed while riding on the W&OD. Added a bit of adventure to the ride. OH wait. That’s not what you were talking about. Nevermind.

Cool news.

[jabberwocky]

Man, they would wait until I’m no longer commuting on it.

Good news for sure. Even with studs, the rutted icy mess that was the W&OD after any snow was never fun to ride.

[FFX_Hinterlands]

When I asked NVRPA last year I think they said it was a snowblower that mounts to one of their tractors. They were undecided at that time citing that people should have time to cross country ski for a couple of days before plowing. I think that waiting will make snow removal more difficult because the snow could melt and ice over. I also think that skiers can use the walking trail adjacent to the paved trail.

Either way I spent some time last January riding in tire tracks on the W&OD because it was the only part of the trail that was cleared weeks after a snow event.

[americancyclo]

As an XC Skier myself, I thought that reason alone for not plowing the trail was crazy. XC skiers only need about a foot and a half for nordic style skiing. You need more room for skate style, but since no one grooms the trails, that’s a moot point. I’d like to think that bikes, peds, and skiers can all coexist in the same chilly temperatures, in the same space of asphalt and snow.

p.s. I was waiting for a ‘plowed’ joke. Thanks Pete!

[Greenbelt]

This is great. Last year I asked MNCPPC to plow, at least in areas that were easily accessible, and they said “huh?” They hadn’t even thought that people might be using the trails for transportation. This year, I can call them and say the VA is plowing, and MD should get with the program!

[Dirt]

A little bird told me that Arlington is responsible for the W&OD and Custis in Arlington, so we might be SOL for having the non-hinterland sections of the local trails plowed…. though Arlington often sends a truck down the trail from near Sycamore St. to the Custis Trail turn-off. Sometimes down to Bluemont. They can’t do too much further down because of the bridges. Falls Church shovels the first 10-20′ around the intersections so we have a non-slippy place to come to a complete stop.

I hope we have enough snow this year to get out the skis a bit.

[jabberwocky]

Last year they did eventually plow after the big snowstorms. I think it was close to a month later, but some sections of the trail still had deep rutted ice and snow on it when they did. They ran the plow down the trail held an inch or two above the pavement (presumably so as not to rip up the surface of the trail). That worked fine; shallow snow and ice isn’t difficult to ride, and once its down that low it melts off pretty quickly.

[Bruce Wright]

After checking with NVRPA, they confirmed that they have a blower, not a plow and that they “won’t plow the trail, but in case of heavy snows we would blow the trail off after some days.” It’s not clear what this means; guess we’ll find out this winter.

As for cross country skiing, people often forget that west of Vienna there is a second, unpaved trail that would be a much more interesting place to ski. The main, paved trail is usually not skiable due to foot prints and tire tracks. In my mind it’s one of the worst places to cross country ski unless you get out there immediately after the snow.

[Dirt]

This is me not commenting. I’m sitting on my hands at the moment.

[DismalScientist]

@Bruce Wright 11710 wrote:

As for cross country skiing, people often forget that west of Vienna there is a second, unpaved trail that would be a much more interesting place to ski. The main, paved trail is usually not skiable due to foot prints and tire tracks. In my mind it’s one of the worst places to cross country ski unless you get out there immediately after the snow.

Yea… And in Arlington, much of the W&OD is paralleled by the Four Mile Run Trail.

[CCrew]

@Bruce Wright 11710 wrote:

After checking with NVRPA, they confirmed that they have a blower, not a plow and that they “won’t plow the trail, but in case of heavy snows we would blow the trail off after some days.” It’s not clear what this means; guess we’ll find out this winter.

.

I thought there was a post here somewhere (Jan or so of this year) that they had gotten a plow back in February or so and the stance was they would plow after 2-3 days of a snowfall? Their blower isn’t gonna do squat, they use it for leaves if it’s the one I’ve seen recently.

I’m of the mindset that I’ll believe it when I see it, but I’m in year 4 of commuting and havent seen it yet.

Besides, I so want to build a Surly Pugsley or a Salsa Mukluk this winter and I NEED an excuse!

[MCL1981]

I think they mean snowblower, not a leaf blower. Probably tractor mounted? This seems stupid if that is what they bought. This is not Caribou Maine. A snowblower is SLOW even when mounted to a tractor. It would take forever to clear those trails with a tractor mounted snowblower and it would leave crap on the train since they don’t scrape. They’re not designed for that. If they’re serious about snow removal on the trails, they should have a 5-6ft plow on a tractor or a gator type ag vehicle. They can cruise down the trail at 15-20mph when there is nobody on it and have it down to pavement in no time. If owned on, I would do it myself for free. It’s fun!

[americancyclo]

Not a plow
From an NVRPA Facebook posting:

Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority The W&OD did purchase a small snow blower attachment for an existing tractor. It is not a plow and will not allow our staff to undertake full scale snow removal operations on the trail. This equipment will be deployed after significant snow of great than 6″ to supplement the melting process. We hope by using this equipment the amount of time the trail remains snow and ice covered will be greatly reduced.

[Author]

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