[dasgeh]

If you’re coming from the south or southwest, and you’re going to the Memorial Bridge (instead of the 14th St Bridge), here are some options:

FMR –> Army-Navy –> Tunnel –> 27 Trail –> Memorial Bridge

FMR –> Eads –> 27 Trail –> Memorial Bridge

MVT –> Wooden Bridge –> 27 Trail –> Memorial Bridge

[dasgeh]

@bentbike33 181186 wrote:

My concern is mainly the afternoon commute. I work in southwest DC and live near Tysons. Even though it is about 1 mile further, I prefer the 14th St-MVT route to Custis because far fewer cars. Since I transit through around 7 am, there is little difference to me to cross via Key or TR bridge (I avoid Memorial and associated GWMP crosswalk) since getting from NW to SW at the hour is no big deal. The afternoon (transiting about 5 pm) is a different story. I think I can rule out Key as when I went that way to avoid a frozen Trollheim, I found it faster to walk my bike on the sidewalk than cycle vehicularly (I am not a fan of filtering). Regarding TR Bridge, it seems (based on recent morning efforts to avoid MVT floods/mud) the only way to get there given the Kennedy Center construction is to go up via Virginia Ave to the north end of the Kennedy Center and ride the Death Star Trench/sidewalk to the bridge. Any alternatives? How trafficky is Virginia Ave in the afternoon (in the morning, I see more bikes and joggers than cars)?

Thanks.

Regular TR Bridge commuter here. I should tell everyone to stay off it, because the more people that use it, the more unpleasant it becomes. But out of the kindness of my heart, I’ll tell you that Virginia is empty all the time. But yes, the Kennedy Center is the only entrance to that sidepath. The alternative to what you laid out is taking the Memorial Bridge. See here for connections from the Memorial Bridge to the Custis.

Not sure where the Death Star Trench/sidewalk is …

[dasgeh]

If you’re coming from the north/northwest, and you’re going to the Memorial Bridge (instead of the 14th St Bridge), here are some options:

Custis –> Fort Myer Drive –> Iwo Jima –> 110 Trail

Custis –> Veitch –> Rte 50 Service Road –> Iwo Jima –> 110 Trail

Custis –> Ballston Connector –> Fairfax Drive –> Clarendon Cannonball –> Iwo Jima –> 110 Trail

Custis –> Ballston Connector –> Fairfax Drive –> 10th St –> 50 Trail –> Iwo Jima –> 110 Trail

** Note that when I made these maps, Google maps thought the Custis was still closed near Mom’s. It’s not. Ugh **

[dasgeh]

@NovaEbike 181178 wrote:

Ok, so I don’t really know the trails in Arlington too well. I commute most days eastbound from Vienna on the W&OD then link up with the 4MRT and then take the MVT north to 14th st bridge. Going home, I take the MVT north from 14th and up Custis to the W&OD. Twice this week, I tried going from the MVT, across these crosswalks then to the memorial bridge and down Ohio Drive (surprisingly pleasant, I just took the lane, no cars). But I was not really happy with the two crosswalks from MVT to the memorial bridge and having to take Custis eastbound to do so. So, for those of you more familiar with the area, how would you get to memorial bridge from the W&OD/4MRT? One time when the 4MRT was flooded out, a kind soul showed me how to take Eads over to the Crystal City connector and I hopped back on the MVT there, but that’s been the extent of my exploration. I’ve also considered taking Custis to crossing the key bridge and then following the river on the DC side, but I’ve never done that either, been playing with google maps to get comfortable.

The discussion of detours for the NPS Bridge work deserves its own thread. I started one here: http://bikearlingtonforum.com/showthread.php?13775-Detours-for-the-2018-(and-beyond!)-NPS-Bridge-Work&p=181183#post181183

[dasgeh]

I saw a data analysis a while ago that indicated the crowded conditions were limited to less than half the lines for less than half of the rush hour ban. Look at the data and figure out a policy that makes sense for the whole system, not just based on one person’s commute.

[dasgeh]

The crosswalk across the GWMP is certainly an issue, but I’m more worried about the crosswalk on the VA side (though not in VA) of the Memorial Bridge, upstream side. I believe that ALL Memorial Bridge traffic, which is going to include a significant portion of the 14th St Bridge traffic during the closure, will have to use that crosswalk. It is much more dangerous than the other side, as drivers think they are leaving an urban area and are preparing for controlled access highways. USPP already has officers nearby in the mornings as they move the cones that control the traffic pattern getting on to the Memorial Bridge. Those officers are often there for at least 30 minutes longer than they need to be to move cones. Those officers could police the crosswalk.

@scoot 181150 wrote:

Typical 14th Street Bridge traffic is almost certainly an overestimate for the increase in use of the GWMP crosswalk. Some 14th St Bridge traffic comes from the north, no? These folks are likely to decrease their current crosswalk usage during the construction, partially offsetting the increase in use by people coming from the south. For instance, anyone who currently commutes from the 110 Trail to the 14th St Bridge (e.g. Courthouse to Navy Yard) uses that crosswalk now but will stop doing so during construction.

That said, there will certainly be a lot of new people starting to cross there. I support and applaud your initiative to use the construction as a justification to focus more attention on the problems with this dangerous crosswalk.

I doubt there are many people who take the 110 trail then head to the 14th St Bridge. If you take the 110 trail, it’s easy to just take the Memorial Bridge. That said, folks who normally take the MVT from Rosslyn to the 14th St Bridge would probably be better served biking through Rosslyn to the Iwo Jima then the 110 Trail to get to the Memorial Bridge, so those folks wouldn’t need to use the crosswalk across the GWMP.

[dasgeh]

@Tania 181152 wrote:

This is a terrible idea. I can barely get ME on the train during rush hour.

It seems your situation is more the exception than the rule, and could easily be dealt with by rules that allow bikes when they fit.

[dasgeh]

@Steve O 181014 wrote:

Well, this is bad news as part of the good news.
The intersection construction on the Rosslyn Hill is being finished up at Scott Street. However, I noted this problem this morning:
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18364[/ATTACH]

The beg button poles are being placed virtually in the path of travel. It is hard to imagine a more dangerous place to put them.

I actually think the other pole is worse, and why two poles?

[dasgeh]

@Judd 181052 wrote:

Some people are getting really agro on Twitter about it. Based on what work has to be done, I don’t see a way to construct an alternate ramp. There is going to be significant work to regrade the slope of the hill to provide a wider flat area. This project is going to be a significant improvement to the ramp and also gets another small piece of cycletrack installed. It’s going to be super inconvenient to detour to the stairs or have to cross GW and multiple times to use Memorial Bridge, but the payoff is going to be pretty good on this one.

Those that are ok about the 10 weeks of work seem to be those who can use the stairs. For the rest of us (cargo bikes, biking with kids, recumbant bikes, wheelchairs, strollers, etc, etc), this “detour” shuts down this route entirely. That’s 10 weeks of no 14th Street Bridge sidepath while the Memorial Bridge is being worked on.

There is a ton of unused pavement on 395 there — throw up some jersey barriers and add a path back to the bridge and you can move the cycletrack up there.

[dasgeh]

If you build bike lanes that aren’t safe and comfortable to ride in and that don’t connect form a network of safe and comfortable infrastructure, you can’t be surprised that people don’t ride in it.

[dasgeh]

@huskerdont 180969 wrote:

And how much narrower is the trail now compared to when it was first paved what with the encroachment of grass and debris? I am truly thankful I usually commute via the Custis, which does get attention from Arlington county, rather than the MVT. If a tree comes down along the trail in Arlington and you write in, they take care of it that day. Trollheim injures people regularly, yet nothing is done. It’s too bad people generally can’t successfully sue because of substandard infrastructure that causes injury. But I suppose a successful suit, instead of prompting remediation, would likely end up with a closing of the trail.

Please tell the people who can do something about it: your elected federal officials.

[dasgeh]

@mstone 180936 wrote:

The real issue is how much of our bike/ped infrastructure is dependent on nature trails, because they’re the only spots left that haven’t been completely overtaken by cars. It would be nice if we could just take back some of the car space instead of fighting over the nature trails.

I’ve gotten a lot of traction with the argument, at least in Arlington, that we need better on street infrastructure in order to make the trails better.

Neighbor: I hate bikes passing me at top speed on the Custis
Me: I know! Me too. And I hate biking on the Custis. If Arlington put a two-way protected bike lane on the north side of Lee Highway — in what’s currently the right-most westbound lane — people on bikes would take that (it’s less climbing), which would mean the Custis would be more pleasant.
Neighbor: Gosh darn it, you’re right! We should do that.

I’ve had similar conversations about Eads and the MVT, Wilson and the Bluemont Trail, Mason/FMR Drive and the W&OD.

[dasgeh]

@Judd 180822 wrote:

A friend told me that those signs are really easy to fold up and that once folded they fit perfectly in the narrow shoulder on the roadway without obstructing the travel lane.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not these. The orange one has a wooden base — at least they tried to get the sign higher, but the base still takes up half the trail. The white one is attached to the railing. If we could only fold up the railing and put it in the shoulder.

I tweeted at DDOT. If you could tweet the pic of the white sign (I only had a pic of the orange one), that would be great. @dasgeh

[dasgeh]

This is the project that, I believe, will include building the path. Email Jon Lawler to get an update on timing. He’s a nice guy.

https://projects.arlingtonva.us/projects/boundary-channel-drive-interchange/

[dasgeh]

Virginia Code: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title46.2/chapter8/section46.2-905

Quote:

Any person operating a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, or moped on a roadway at less than the normal speed of traffic at the time and place under conditions then existing shall ride as close as safely practicable to the right curb or edge of the roadway, except under any of the following circumstances:

1. When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction;

2. When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway;

3. When reasonably necessary to avoid conditions including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, pedestrians, animals, surface hazards, or substandard width lanes that make it unsafe to continue along the right curb or edge;

4. When avoiding riding in a lane that must turn or diverge to the right; and

5. When riding upon a one-way road or highway, a person may also ride as near the left-hand curb or edge of such roadway as safely practicable.

For purposes of this section, a “substandard width lane” is a lane too narrow for a bicycle, electric personal assistive mobility device, electric power-assisted bicycle, motorized skateboard or foot-scooter, or moped and another vehicle to pass safely side by side within the lane.

Note, this only applies when the bike is traveling faster than the normal speed of traffic at the time, and not if the lane width is substandard. Since cars are at least 6′ wide, 3′ is required to pass, a bike is at least 2′ wide and no one is expected to ride closer than 1′ from the curb, a lane would need to be more than 12′ wide to not be “substandard”. There are not many of those lanes in Arlington.

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