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@huskerdont 225598 wrote:

Yes, I’m only 6 ft tall on a 58 cm frame, but it would scarily close if I were to ride upright down the center line where their center lumber piece sits pointing endwise. A taller person could easily hit that, and the result could be very bad indeed. They do have police tape and streamers up, but going fast down the hill in the dark, these could easily be missed. This really doesn’t seem safe, and while I’m sure they’re trying to avoid a detour, a detour here would not be onerous.

This has a very easy and obvious detour that would add about 10 seconds to one’s commuting time. left at the Vernon street exit off of the Custis. Right onto 15th St. Take 15th Street about 3 blocks, then right onto the Custis entrance just after Taylor Street and continue on your way.

The more I think about it, the more shocked I am that there’s not a detour AND flashing lights or something similar on the lumber. It felt low to me, and I’m a pretty short runner.

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For those of you who ride the Custis, there is work on the underside of Utah Street, which is one of the streets that the Custis ducks under during the two sisters hills.

The work effectively lowers the “ceiling” that you ride under when going under Utah Street. I’m a runner myself, not a cyclist, so I’m not sure how risky this is for cyclists – it looks like it’s only an issue if you are sitting up on your bike, and most cyclists are not going to be sitting up while going down that steep hill. But I thought I’d point it out anyway.

The county has it marked, but it’s not lit, so a cyclist in the dark might not see it.

If you are travelling eastbound on the Custis, Utah street is the first street that you ride under after riding up the overpass near Glebe Road.

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@consularrider 221170 wrote:

More importantly, will the NPS remove the “cyclists must stop” sign attached to the stop sign across from the tennis courts?

I’m honestly not sure if the DC law applies to NPS property.

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@ursus 220809 wrote:

My recollection, which could be faulty, was that both lanes were clockwise with the one nearer the golf course for pedestrians and the one nearer the car lane for cyclists. Cyclists also allowed to use the car lane if they could keep up with cars (15 MPH). That more or less made sense to me. If it is the way you wrote, I agree it would be a disaster, especially when there is cross wind which is often.

Nope – of the two inner lanes – one is clockwise and one is counterclockwise. Which you do need for pedestrians. Forcing pedestrians to only go one direction means that they are forced to complete the loop of the island if they walk there, which is a far bigger ask for pedestrians than it is for cyclists. And limiting pedestrians to one narrow lane (narrower than requirements for a DC sidewalk) would be unfeasible because at certain times of day there are too many pedestrians of differing speeds for such a narrow lane.

I’m not a fan at all of this – my preference was that they a) eliminate the buses, b) install automated speed cameras, and c) post signs indicating that the road is to be shared.

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Hi all – wanted to let you know that as of this morning (8/13), there was a large tree down on the Cap Crescent/MBT just west of Connecticut Avenue.

The tree completely blocks the trail but you can go around it on the grass (actually mud) on one side. I’m a runner, not a cyclist, but my hunch is that cyclists will need to dismount to get past it.

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@DrP 121883 wrote:

Any idea what the detour route might be? Or is it a wait and see?

/delurking (and, I’ll fess up – I’m a runner, not a cyclist)

I hit the detour this morning while running eastbound on the Custis. The trail was blocked off at the turn off just before Harrison Street. They have you turn left off of the Custis, then right onto Fairfax Drive, and then left onto Harrison. From there, I can’t tell you where they send you, as I opted to turn right and run down Harrison to Wilson and continue east from there.

(I was running late, and knew that Wilson eastbound would get me where I needed to be, while I wasn’t sure how far out of my way the official detour would take me).

/relurking.

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