Working in Anacostia, where to live that makes for easy reasonable bike commute?

[brownnugen]

I’m in the Coast Guard and just found out that I will be getting stationed in Anacostia, MD (St Elizabeth’s) next summer for the next 4 years (I currently live in Michigan). I was previously stationed in DC and lived in Woodbridge, VA and would really like to avoid the traffic mess as much as possible. I would like to have the option of riding my bike to work and would much rather have to ride my bike for an hour than sit in traffic for an hour.

I was thinking about living in Alexandria, east of Route 1, close to the Mount Vernon bike trail, as close to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge as possible. If I lived in the Mt Vernon area, I think I would take the MVT, cross the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, ride through Bolling AFB, and then ride a short distance to St. E’s. Do the opposite to get home.

Some of the advice from other (non biking) forums are strongly urging me to not attempt to bike in Anacostia because it is just not safe. Does anyone here have any experience biking around Anacostia?

Thanks,
-Nick

Topic

[jrenaut]

I can’t speak for biking in Anacostia, as I’ve never done it, but bear in mind that many people think nothing in Anacostia is safe, so take those warnings with a grain of salt.

Also, curious about what part of Michigan – my wife is from Kalamazoo, and I seem to meet a disproportionate number of people from Michigan.

[TwoWheelsDC]

Welcome! I’ve ridden through Anacostia and other areas East of the River several times and have found it to be generally pleasant. I haven’t ridden during commuting hours, just weekends, but St. E’s is easily accessible by bike from the trails, so car traffic shouldn’t be too bad. Coming over the South Capitol street bridge would drop you practically at the main gate. Others can give you ideas about routes from the Wilson Bridge area. But really, it’s an area that’s easy to get to from just about anywhere, except maybe southern PG county, as the bike infrastructure between PG and that area of DC is almost non-existent. There are trails connecting from western PG county to the DC portions of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, which could be a fun commute.

As far as danger, I’d say that depends on what you mean…crime danger or automobile danger? Yeah, crime is an issue in that area, but it’s not really the type of crime that effects random passers through, particularly if you stick to the beaten paths. Traffic-wise, I think you’d be fine, since you wouldn’t need to be on surface roads for much of the time.

Worst case, bus connections to the Anacostia Metro are extensive, so you could bus in and ride home or vice versa. Keep us updated on your housing search and we can help narrow down the best route. Good luck with the move!

[ronwalf]

I’ve only biked south of the Anacostia river once (WAGBRAD II). The route took us straight down Southern Ave. I was dead tired and wanted to walk, but we had kids cheering us up the hills. I used to bike to work from Greenbelt to DC by following the Anacostia tributary trails, then jumping on Route 1 near the MD-DC border. That was also fine.

It looks like that section of DC is really well connected across the river (South Capital, 11th street, and Sousa). I don’t know those bridges well, but Google Maps says they all have cycling facilities.

[consularrider]

There have been a few posts on riding east of the Anacostia River, but I don’t remember anything very recent. Jsny had written about commuting in that area when he first joined, I think he was USN, but he hasn’t posted for five months. Also, search the WABA website for articles on east of the Anacostia. Check out some of the DC blogs (just don’t ask me which ones).

[Steve]

This post made me happy because sometimes it gets lonely crossing the river. I don’t know too much about the Wilson bridge crossing, but my understanding is that it does not put you in particularly bike friendly areas. I could be wrong about this, as I have never crossed there, but even using maps I just don’t see a good way to get up to JBAB or St. E’s from the Wilson Bridge. What most folks (myself included) seem to do is cross 14th St. Bridge, ride along the SW Waterfront, and then cross over the South Capitol St. Bridge. The bridge crossing puts you on a path the rides right down to the Firth Sterling gate a JBAB. From there I’m not sure exactly how you’d get to St. E’s, but I think minimal exploring could help you find a way. The safest (traffic wise) option would probably be to enter base at that gate, ride across to the main gate at Malcolm X Ave, and head up to St. E’s that way.

As far as safety goes, I don’t really find it to be a problem. That said, all I do is cross the bridge and head to the gate, so I can’t completely speak to it. I’d be surprised if you found it to be a problem though. It may depend, working at a hospital, on how odd your hours are.

One resource you might want to check is Bicycle Space (bicyclespacedc.com). They lead a weekly “Hills of Anacostia” ride, and so they probably have a lot of knowledge of riding thru this area.

Best of luck! If you need any help when you move down here, or want to ride down there to see the route, I’d be more than happy to help.
Side note: jrenaut, I am a short 7 days away from my holiday trip to Bell’s…. one of the real benefits of having a wife from Battle Creek.

[jrenaut]

@Steve 38455 wrote:

Side note: jrenaut, I am a short 7 days away from my holiday trip to Bell’s…. one of the real benefits of having a wife from Battle Creek.

We usually do a Michigan trip over Christmas and aren’t this year – Bell’s is definitely one of the things I’ll miss. Luckily we can get it down here. Now, if we could only get Shorts . . .

[PotomacCyclist]

I don’t think he’s working at the hospital. Part of the St. Elizabeths campus will be the new central home for Homeland Security.

I’ve ridden around National Harbor and the Wilson Bridge several times, but I’ve never tried to go north to D.C. from there. The route on Google Maps does not look promising and I’ve heard many complaints about the lack of bike infrastructure in that area.

If you take the 14th St. bridge route, it might be better to live in Arlington. Pentagon City, Crystal City and Aurora Highlands are close to the Crystal City connector to the MVT.

As for biking in Anacostia, I can’t help you there. I’ve never ridden over there.

[Mark Blacknell]

Riding in Anacostia’s just fine – anyone who says it isn’t safe hasn’t even tried.

As to your proposed commute, having quick access to Bolling makes it especially easy/safe.

If I were moving here to work on the St. E’s campus, I’d take a close look at places in SW Waterfront & Navy Yard areas. Very walkable/bikeable, and puts you right in the middle of things.

Good luck!

[americancyclo]

I’ve only ridden south from DC to the Wilson bridge through Oxon Hill. Mark can probably correct me if I’m wrong, but I think heading in from Alexandria you’d probably want to take Plains Drive to MLK. Keep in mind if you’re cycling this route, there are two hills, one climbing out of the bridge/National Harbor area, and again riding through the Bellevue neighborhood. There can sometimes be a bit more road debris, but I’ve never thought twice about riding through Anacostia.

[brownnugen]

I am currently in Sault Sainte Marie, MI in the Upper Peninsula. I was in Kalamazoo this summer for a wedding, very nice area.

I will be working at the “new” Coast Guard headquarters as part of the overall DHS move to St E’s.

I am married with children and the Mount Vernon portion of Alexandria seemed to best meet the criteria I had for housing:
1) Safe.
2) Good public schools (10 and 7 year old kids)
3) Reasonable commute. I am thinking about 15 miles or so.
4) Affordable. Since I have family in the area and there are always jobs, I would likely retire in that area in about 10 years or so. Based on my housing allowance, I think I can spend about $500K. When I get transferred out of the area, I want to be in an area where I can easily rent out the house to a good professional family (military, doctor, etc).

[ShawnoftheDread]

On the housing issue, the Mt. Vernon area is possible for $500K, but difficult.

[ShawnoftheDread]

On the commute issue, this route courtesy of Dirt includes a section that goes from the Wilson Bridge to near St. Elizabeth’s. Haven’t ridden it yet, so I can speak to how easy it is, but Dirt’s never steered us wrong before.
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/509867

[americancyclo]

@ShawnoftheDread 38469 wrote:

On the commute issue, this route courtesy of Dirt includes a section that goes from the Wilson Bridge to near St. Elizabeth’s. Haven’t ridden it yet, so I can speak to how easy it is, but Dirt’s never steered us wrong before.
http://ridewithgps.com/trips/509867

I’ve ridden the part of the Suitland Parkway Trail that is on that map, and it was not enjoyable on a road bike. Trail was bumpy and overgrown, shards of glass everywhere. I hope that has changed in the months since summer, but I’d stick to surface streets, at least in that area.

[creadinger]

It sounds like you have things pretty well sorted already, but I just wanted to chime in since I live in Arlington, and commute through SE DC past Anacostia. I don’t ride daily, but I do it when I can.

I think Steve said pretty much what I would say. I don’t know how you would get north from the east side of the Wilson bridge. It’s mostly a confluence of highways down that way and likely lots of high speed traffic or a long work around. Cutting through DC past Nats park might be a little bit of a detour, but is probably the best way because you can stay on trails or back roads for longer.

I’ve never had any concerns with people while riding in SE or Anacostia, but there is a LOT of glass on the roads and trails over here so make sure you bring your gatorskins or knobby mountain bike tires to minimize flats. The only other thing would be you can probably leave all of your UP Michigan winter clothing there….

[TwoWheelsDC]

@americancyclo 38474 wrote:

I’ve ridden the part of the Suitland Parkway Trail that is on that map, and it was not enjoyable on a road bike. Trail was bumpy and overgrown, shards of glass everywhere. I hope that has changed in the months since summer, but I’d stick to surface streets, at least in that area.

Yep…this was September:

And now that I think of it, the 50 States Ride came up MLK Blvd from the Anacostia Riverwalk, and right through St. E’s, and that wasn’t bad at all…it’s a hill, but nothing major:

http://app.strava.com/activities/22829032

[Author]

Replies